Liberty call

Its been a good week here at TLS. In just a few weeks, the site managed to double its “Hits” thanks to visitors like you. I am taking a couple of days off for some important missions around the house. But TLS will be back on Moday morning . Hope to see you then Mac […]

Boom

Submarines operate for extended periods of time under the ocean. This ability gives them the advantage of stealth in performing her missions. Since even the most modern submarine requires people to operate it, providing the basics of life while submerged has always been a challenge. Think about those World War 2 movies where the Destroyer […]

Blinders? Why no, these are my new leadership Goggles!

For over a century the leadership of the U.S. Army and Navy were in agreement about how the United States coast would be managed: the Army would defend the beaches and out to the range of their coastal guns, and the Navy would protect anything beyond that range. The advent of the airplane challenged that […]

Turn On Your GPS

A few weeks ago, we went up to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Neither of us had ever been there before so we did what we have always done. One of us will go on either Yahoo or MapQuest and see what the best route is. I should point out immediately that we […]

You Need More Mustangs

I have a great friend and mentor in Michigan who taught me a lot about systems and change. One of the things he talks about is the change that goes on in an organization during its journey from an entrepreneurial adventure to one that is more established. If you think about it, a brand new […]

What is the most important part?

Systems thinking is an important part of Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline. In an organization, it mostly means having the ability to see the whole while balancing the importance of the parts. For me, this has always been a touchstone of lean thinking. Every part has its own role and in any system, their interactions make […]

How Deep Can You Go?

I wish I had a nickel for every time I have heard this question asked. For the past seventeen years I have been delivering speeches to all kinds of organizations about submarine operations during the cold war. Submarines played a key role throughout the Cold War and some of the stories remain buried in secret […]

Steam Will Replace Sails? Madness!!!

An Ohio class submarine slips its mooring next to the Delta pier in Bangor Washington. Silently, she glides down the flat calm waters of the Hood Canal on her way to the open ocean. This five hundred sixty foot vessel will soon submerge and begin her primary mission. For over fifty years, ships like this […]

Escape to Freedom – Submarine Escape and Rescue

The Buoyant Ascent The tower at the US Naval Submarine Base was one of the most memorable features of the Groton, Conn. Skyline. Submariners from the past who trained there will always remember that tower as one of the defining points in their submarine journey. This tower was used to prepare us for the day […]

Waiting

Ask any submariner what one of the most common statements they hear from non-submariners is “Oh I couldn’t do what you do (or did in some of our cases)”. The reasons are as varied as the people who make that statement. Fear of confinement, fear of the unknown, fear of being crushed or drowned, or […]