First call, first call to colors

Yesterday was a really good day. I was proud to have represented the Pittsburgh Council of the Navy League at the inactivation ceremony for the USS Pittsburgh. Tomorrow’s post will contain the speech Captain Jason Deichler made to commemorate the day. This morning, I woke up to my phone ringing. My First Mate was calling […]

We’ll say farewell but not goodbye

The day has finally arrived. This morning, the Captain and remaining crew will gather with their families and friends and say farewell to the submarine that has been their home and our defender for over 35 years. The USS Pittsburgh will officially begin her inactivation period which will lead to the last act of any […]

Who’s sail it is anyway?

Warning: Some salty language mixed with the metaphors and memories… you have been warned One of my favorite submarine memorials has a personal connection. I qualified in 1974 on board the USS George Washington somewhere in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. My joy at the time was that the grueling journey was over […]

The life of a boat… from the crash to the splash to the dash

A boat’s life First comes the crash followed (hopefully) by the splash The keel was laid what seems like years ago. Bit by bit the submarine starts to come together. The process has evolved over the generations to include changes in all kinds of technology. The boats needed to go deeper and faster so better […]

These are mine

These are mine. I share them with all who have gone through the same crucible. They (like us) were forged in pressure. They were quenched in the waters of the darkest parts of the ocean. They symbolize a tradition that is shared by only a few. Fire, flooding and the crashing of the waves above […]

Coming Home – Saying Goodbye to the USS Pittsburgh SSN 720

Coming Home It’s been over 25 years since I retired from the Navy. We have traveled and lived all over the country since then but Western Pennsylvania has been “where I live” for the past six plus years. I had never intended to come back here even though it was where I grew up. Eighteen […]

How theleansubmariner came to exist

I love history. I really love submarine history. It’s amazing to live in an age where so much information is available. Most of the research I do is conducted online using the Library of Congress, a reference called the Hathi Trust (digitalized books) and of course the many Naval Heritage web site pages that capture […]

What’s in a name? The story of how the most famous submarine in modern history was named

What’s in a name? All Navy ships have a designation. Through the years, technology and advances in design have created the need for new designations. The book Dictionary of American naval fighting ships. v.1. United States categorized all of the ship types used in the American Navy’s history as of 1959. As far as submarines, […]

The question of the monster (the fictional vision that became the Fast Attack Submarine)

The Monster “THE year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumours which agitated the maritime population, and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […]

Grandfather to the Fast Attack – USS Carp (SS 20) F-1 (The Mysterious loss of Bob the Submarine Dog)

When the Navy bought its first Holland class submarine, the future of the craft was still as murky as the water it would dive into . The original boats were very limited in depth capability and the propulsion mechanism was still primitive by today’s standards. The vision for many was to mimic Jules Verne’s novel […]