Happy New Year 2019 – Annual Report: 2018 was a great year overall

Happy New Year I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on the year just completed and look ahead to the coming year. Each day when I check the web site statistics board, I think about my readers and those who come for a visit. In the eight years I have been blogging, […]

A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969

A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969 Nearly a decade of progress changed the face of submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence. Between 1959 and 1969, the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines went from concept to reality in a way that fundamentally changed the way two major powers viewed warfare and strategic deterrence. […]

The Boomer Pin Turns 50 – (Does that mean it can finally join the Holland Club?)

The Boomer Pin turns 50 in 2019 One of the most divisive subjects in the American submarine family is the breast insignia know by most as the Boomer pin. This little device has been a part of my uniform since January 1974 when I completed my first ballistic missile patrol. Wearing the pin by itself […]

What’s in a name? (a short explanation of how naming submarines got so fishy fifty years ago)

Growing up, I read nearly every book I could get my hands on that contained US Navy ships. I especially loved the stories about the Second World War. It was so cool to be able to know that Battleships were always named after states, cruisers bore the names of cities and destroyers were honored with […]

Qualified: “One thing that the modern Submariner has in common with the old timer is esprit de corps”

Each generation of Submariners benefits from the work of the precious generation. As a young man, I had no idea what it would be like to serve on a submarine. Despite growing up in the Steel Valley of Pittsburgh and its suburbs where the birth of the nuclear Navy really occurred, I had no one […]

LOOKING BACK: NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY- EIGHT is gone. (How the submarine force pivoted in 1958 to win the Cold War)

Cold War 1 – How the American Navy Pivoted its Submarine Force to Win the Day I love this time of year. Perspectives on the achievements of the past year reign supreme in the press and on almost all manner of media. With the advances of social media, the avalanche of looking back articles will […]

Would you do it again?

Would you do it again? As I have written before, so many people have the same reaction when you tell them that you were a Submariner. “Oh, I could never do that.” You just give them a certain smile of understanding and know that they are probably right. It takes a certain kind of crazy […]

The Secret of the Art: The Holland in 1898

Its been a busy month gearing up for the holidays so its also been hard to sit down and post stories. I am finishing up a couple of other projects (including my book on Cassin Young) but ran across this story while researching old Navy stories. Traditionally, the official start of the American Submarine Service […]

Two Cultures Collide and Heroes Emerge from the Sea

The United States in 1941 was tense and filled with anticipation about the war in Europe. But nothing could prepare the nation for the events that were about to transpire. The nation and the Japanese had long been on a collision course because of the nature of their two cultures. But the population at large had […]

Oh Flower of Scotland… Happy Saint Andrews Day 2018

November 30th is Saint Andrews day in Scotland. It has been over 27 years since we left Scotland to return to America but in so many ways it seems like yesterday. Our trip was cut way too short with the imminent closing of the American base at Holy Loch and so many things have filled […]