Veterans’ Organizations

I’ve been thinking a lot about starting an official USS San Francisco SSN 711 organization. The purpose would be for the crew to stay connected and informed about where people ended up and what they did after graduating from the boat. It could also be a one stop shop for future reunions and gatherings. Finally, […]

Aloha Spirit and Maui – Forty Years of Memories

Watching the television and on-line reports of damage to Maui has been difficult. The loss of life and property damage is heart wrenching. My memories of that paradise are fading now with age but I can still see some images in my head. The first time I went there was at the end of a […]

PACT Act Extension – August 14 2023

Good news for those who are having trouble getting through the web portal:

August 9, 2023 PACT ACT Update

Today is an important day for those affected by the PACT ACT. https://www.va.gov

The SHIP’S DECK LOG SHEET NAVPERS 3100/2 (Rev 5-73) – Every Entry Tells a Story

The SHIP’S DECK LOG SHEET NAVPERS 3100/2 (Rev 5-73) I have been working on my application for PACT act benefits for a number of months now. One of the most frustrating things is trying to prove that we were where we were. Submarines are notorious for secrecy (which they should be) but in order to […]

Purple Heart Day July 7 2023 – Leadership Matters

Leadership I have studied leadership for most of my adult life. Watching the ultimate example of my own Father and the men of his generation was my first exposure to what it should look like. Honesty, even when it hurts. Integrity, even when it costs you. Dependability, even in the face of extreme challenges. My […]

Retirement 3.0 Let’s try this again

I think I am a bit of a hoarder. Well, that’s not quite true. I know I am a hoarder. For instance, I have an old file resistant box that has every piece of paper the Navy ever gave me. Everything from my DD-214’s to the evaluations and fitness reports that were in my service jacket […]

500,000 Visitors as of July 28

Its been over twelve years since I began the blog and I’ve posted over 1150 times. Some have been well received and others have not been as well received. But the growth has been steady over the years. so its been fun watching the number of visitors grow. A half a million. That is really […]

USS Pittsburgh and the First Pandemic

USS Pittsburgh and the First Pandemic Over a hundred years ago, the world experienced a devastating pandemic called the Spanish Flu. It traveled the world with incredible ease killing untold millions of people. The US Navy was not exempt in this tragedy. In 1918, the country was at war and heavily reliant on the Navy […]

Crush Depth is theoretical… until it isn’t

Note: I collected much of the technical information for this story from open source documentation. As always, I do not reveal information from my actual submarine experience. I love and respect my fellow submariners still on patrol and only publish these generic submarine statistics to make a point. So you were a submariner? What […]