A New Wrinkle on H. G. Rickover – A Real Life Saver

I was doing a little research this morning about the main subject of a book I am writing and I ran across a little gem that while unrelated was certainly an eye catcher. It had to do with a young Lieutenant named Hyman G. Rickover. Okay, to be fair, he wasn’t all that old when […]

Aloha to my Facebook Ohana

I did three shortened tours in the Navy in Hawaii and had some of my greatest and worst life experiences while I was there. One word that comes to mind when I think of Hawaii and the subject of this post is Ohana. From Wikipedia: “Part of Hawaiian culture, ʻ ohana means family (in an […]

A Prophesy From Nearly a Hundred Years Ago is Just as True Today

Everywhere you look these days, people are reacting to the senseless deaths of innocent people and wondering how we can stop the killing. I think its a fair question. But I think we are not examining the root causes of what seems to be an increase in evil actions. Society has become very sophisticated since […]

I love LA

Regular readers know that once upon a time when the world was still dark with fears from the Soviets, a little known base in Scotland served as a portable pier for our submarine fleet. Starting in 1960, units of the United States Fleet anchored in a small inlet called Holy Loch that was just up […]

A Bluejacket’s Memory

The Peacoat I can think of few images that better represent an American Bluejacket more than the famous statue of a sailor in his peacoat with the collar turned up and his hands in his pockets. I remember the controversy when the Lone Sailor was first unveiled. Purists were quick to point out that the […]

Primus in Pace – USS George Washington SSBN 598

Post #598: Primus In Pace If you cross parts of the great American prairie, you can still see the ruts of the wagons that crossed the vast wilderness on their way to the west. Those ruts have been superseded by ribbons of concrete and asphalt that stretch from sea to shining sea and remind you […]

Post number 597… Submarine Number 597

An odd kind of submarine Today’s post is about an odd numbered submarine that played a unique role in the development of the nuclear Navy, the USS Tulibee. I am always reminded when I do stories about the nuclear submarine Navy that there has never been a point in my life that the United […]

Random Thoughts from theleansubmariner… I lived

I lived. I could have chosen to stay in my hometown and learned a trade. I could have hidden from life’s greatest challenges and been safe. But instead… I lived. I could have worked harder to gain acceptance to a fine educational institution and maybe be part of a fraternity that I could look back […]

The Madness of Crowds

“In reading The History of Nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities, their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously […]

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 […]