How fast will that thing go? The USS Skipjack Story

How fast can you go on a submarine? Along with how deep, how fast is often one of the most asked questions once someone knows you were on board a submarine. The standard answer that was pounded into our heads in submarine school was in excess of 20 knots and deeper than 400 feet. Once […]

Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. Lao Tzu and the answer to Global Pandemics

Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. Lao Tzu Before it moves, hold it, Before it goes wrong, mold it, Drain off water in winter before it freezes, Before weeds grow, sow them to the breezes. You can deal with what has not happened, Can foresee Harmful events and not allow them to be. Simple […]

THE BACKBONE OF THE FLEET – The United States Navy in 1940

THE BACKBONE OF THE FLEET – The United States Navy in 1940 Navy Day is a holiday that is no longer really celebrated in the United States. While President Truman surely helped to bring about its demise, the American public was probably ready for a break from too much emphasis on the military by the […]

We might as well stop daydreaming about defeating Japan – February 1940

WE MIGHT AS WELL STOP DAYDREAMING ABOUT DEFEATING JAPAN In February of 1940, the world was already at war. Germany had launched its offensive against Czechoslovakia and Poland and Hitler was in the process of approving the Mannstein Plan which would lead to the invasion and subjugation of France in the summer of 1940. In America, […]

“What nation will own the submarine monster is a question.” The Original Submarine Day Story

“What nation will own the submarine monster is a question.” I was watching the posts put up on social media about the “Original” submarine day recently (March 17th). My own tradition has always been to recognize April as the American Submarine month. I also have been pretty much centered on 1900 as the founding year […]

Me? Stressed??? No. I am quite sure the flooding will put the fire out

One of the oldest sayings I can remember about the even temperedness of being a submariner was something that I heard a junior officer relay to the Captain during a multiple casualty on the George Washington. We had just had a very stressful few weeks in a sea tossed by typhoons and generally bad weather. […]

You are late for watch – why aren’t you ready yet?

You are late for watch Dreaded words. Despite your best efforts, you find yourself facing a hostile shipmate. Time on a submarine is precious and you just robbed him of some of his by being late. Let’s be honest. It happens to all of us. We think we are going to be ready for the […]

The Skipjack Class – Unleashing a New Kind of Sea Monster

There she blows!–there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick! “Some of the subtlest secrets of the seas seemed divulged to us in this enchanted pond. We saw young Leviathan amours in the deep. And thus, though surrounded by circle upon circle of consternations and affrights, did these inscrutable creatures [mother […]

Admiral Rickover’s Rules

Admiral Rickover’s Rules “Since the end of World War II, the number of high-grade civilians in relation to the total (federal) government workforce has steadily increased to the point where we have more managers and checkers than we have doers. Our senior employees have been schooled in this “new” philosophy which holds that, as long […]

March 8 1945 – John C. MacPherson goes off to fight the war

Excerpt from my first book “Love, Your Son Butch” March 8th on the Seventy Fifth Anniversary of my Dad’s entry into the Navy John Charles MacPherson, Jr. was inducted into the Navy on March 8, 1945 (more than a month before he turned 18). He did not have a great time in school and was […]