Excellent leadership isn’t hard… but it can be difficult.

Excellent leadership isn’t hard… but it can be difficult. There are probably hundreds of thousands of books on leadership written in every language on earth. In these books you will find words like “character”, “strength”, “wisdom”, and any number of words that define what competencies a leader should possess. What makes an excellent leader? It […]

Homecoming… its a harder journey than you think without brothers

When you get to a certain point in your life you start taking stock of what mattered. The first seventeen or eighteen years of most people’s lives are the foundations for much of who they become. If you grew up in Middle America, your understanding of relationships, education, and spirituality are all forged from those […]

It was never easy

It was never easy On the day I retired from the Navy, my crew presented me with a shadow box. That box sits on my desk and I look at it from time to time when I am not typing stories or checking out the latest on the Internet. It’s a nice box with beveled […]

Ballistic Missile Submarine Documentary 2015

The Ultimate Stealth Submarine

With shrinking budgets and caps on military spending, its important to remember that submarines represent one of the most survivable elements in modern sea warfare. The increasing flexibility to meet emerging threats as well as long established threats adds value to this resource. Make no mistake: the threats from external forces will not go away […]

Surfacing Employee Engagement

Years ago I belonged to a very bureaucratic organization that had multiple “business units” performing many of the same tasks on a global level. I was a member of five of these units and made some observations about how each performed. All had the exact same mission and vision statements. All had the exact same […]

I made that. (Okay. I might have had some help)

There was a change of command in San Diego California on January 24, 2014 onboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711). Cdr. Eric Severseike turned over command to Cdr. Jeff Juergens during the ceremony held at Naval Base Point Loma. Congratulations to Commander Severseike for a successful tour and best wishes […]

Rescue from the heart of a typhoon

The link below will take you to an amazing story about a submarine crew doing something pretty amazing. Having sailed in a few typhoons myself, I can assure you that being anywhere near the surface in a boat is not desirable. http://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/rescue.htm

Life on a sub

A recurring question most boat sailors hear most has to do with what it’s like to live on a submarine. If you think about it, purposely going underwater for months at a time isn’t exactly what you learn about in schools when it comes to life. The Navy has an interesting link up right now […]

Doing the right thing…

I am very grateful for my company’s generosity with it’s funds. http://triblive.com/mobile/4178047-96/dyno-nobel-macpherson Thanks Dyno Nobel and IPL. A lot of people’s lives are a little better because you cared. Mister Mac