The cost of peace is often the next war.

On February 12, 1922, the American fleet began their annual exercises. These exercises had been conducted for a very long time and were designed to test the readiness of the sips and the men who sailed on them. But in 1922, a very different atmosphere hung heavy over the entire fleet. Coming off of […]

Prepare to launch

“Take a chance. All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The “sure thing” boat never gets far from the shore.” From the writings of Dale Carnegie Today is one of those days where you stand on the edge of the cliff […]

Keep on Trucking… or else

Note: this is one of those rare posts I make that is not military or submarine related. It is about Lean Systems, however. We are potentially on the precipice of a national disaster, and I fear that the people in charge do not have a clue of its magnitude. When I was growing up, […]

Crossing the line February 8, 1974

Our fears are always more numerous than our dangers Seneca Forty-eight years ago, I was brought into one of the most ancient organizations called the Ancient Order of the Deep. The Crossing the Line Ceremony is as old as the sea. From the Official Navy Web Site: Although crossing the equator may seem like a […]

All Hope was abandoned – the S-26 (Part 2)

Submarine rescues were still pretty rare in 1942. The rescue of the sailors from the sunken USS Squalus in 1939 was made possible because of the emerging technology that allowed a rescue bell to be attached to the boat. On the morning of May 23, 1939, the submarine USS Squalus slipped beneath the storm-tossed surface […]

Sinking of the S-26 Boat January 1942

Subsafe Anyone who has ever sailed on a US Navy submarine probably had at least some idea about the reasons for all the training and emphasis on safety that was given to them. From the beginning of submarine operations in the early 1900’s, diving on a submersible ship in an unforgiving ocean has always […]

Women went to war; I wonder what they wore ? – February 3 1942

My Mom celebrated her tenth birthday on February 3, 1942. She and I talked a few times about the war that was going on around her at that time and she did not have many memories. She was born into a well to do family and was isolated from the events that were transpiring […]

Death of the Old Gambler – Yamamoto’s End

I was browsing through the movie selections on my TV a few weeks ago looking for something to occupy my time while I was on the treadmill. One of the movies that came up was about Admiral Halsey called The Gallant Hours. The Gallant Hours is an American docudrama from 1960 about William F. Halsey, […]

“hey… you have the next watch”

Originally posted on theleansubmariner:
Watches in the military have been around since the beginning of recorded time. The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, divided the night into military watches instead of hours, each watch representing the period for which sentinels or pickets remained on duty. The proper Jewish reckoning recognized only three such watches,…

Against all odds – The Story of the USS Barton at Guadalcanal

Against all odds – The Story of the USS Barton at Guadalcanal On January 31, 1942, the USS Barton was launched in Quincy, Mass. At the Bethlehem Steel Co. shipyard. She was a capable ship designed to provide anti-aircraft services for herself and larger ships as well as provide a platform for launching torpedoes. Her […]