March 10, 2019 Article On USS Pittsburgh SSN 720

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2019/03/09/USS-Pittsburgh-comes-home-after-35-years-undersea-duty-groton-naval-submarine-base/stories/201903100051?fbclid=IwAR1IC7vOyWSuIhg65FCcsd9rZBi-WNSgB6Yf5v—khhUVQTT6Fzzi-OqrY

USS Patrick Henry SSBN 599 – Give Me Liberty or Give Me death!

USS Patrick Henry “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” As a sailor who sailed on a number of submarines and ships, I can assure you there is no sweeter word that “Liberty”. I have to be honest with you and say that […]

USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN 617) – Castles in the Air

This is the next story in the series about the 41 for Freedom boats. The name Alexander Hamilton has been widely resurrected in the past few years with the wild success of the Broadway show “Hamilton”. But for me, the name will always be synonymous with the second Lafayette Class submarine that bore his name. […]

The First American – Benjamin Franklin and the SSBN 640 Submarine named for him

Ben Franklin was always one of my favorite historical figures as I was growing up. I learned about his exploits as a young man and of course he was a writer among many of his achievements. His ability to learn has always fascinated me and maybe made me a bit jealous. From the time he […]

A different kind of adventure – Public Office

Up until today it’s been all talk and lots of opinions. But today is different. I join many others in this great experiment called the American Republic by publicly beginning my candidacy for election to a public office. In this case, it is a candidate for Sewickley Township Supervisor. I have no delusions about what […]

A deep diving dog? There’s something you don’t see every day.

The equation is simple. The number of surfaces must equal the number of dives in order for a submarine to be considered successful in its mission. There are very few other finite measurements that can be applied to submarines throughout our long history. But that doesn’t mean that the time beneath the surface or […]

USS James Madison SSBN 627 – Tribute to a Founding Father

This is the fourth in the series about the 41 for Freedom submarines. If you have followed the series, you have noticed that they are not in chronological order. I am trying to remain faithful to the way they were arranged in the book EMINENT AMERICANS, NAMESAKES of the POLARIS SUBMARINE FLEET, by H. G. […]

USS Thomas Jefferson SSBN 618 – Hostility Against Tyranny

This is the third in the 41 for freedom series of Articles on theleansubmariner. Like the first two, it captures the thoughts of the man who was the Father of the Nuclear Navy in his own words from his book about the submarines that were named after American icons. Thomas Jefferson was a very complicated […]

Get in line you useless pollywog! Prepare to meet King Neptune!

The world is filled with pollywogs and Shellbacks There were a number of very old traditions observed when I was a sailor so many years ago. One of the most significant was explained to me in great detail on the 8th of February 1974 on the USS George Washington (SSBN 598) Blue crew. The submarine […]

Can the Groundhog see his shadow underwater?

Homesick Once upon a time on a submarine far, far away (USS San Francisco to be exact) a number of us were homesick for the place we had originally called home. In this case, it was Western Pennsylvania. The 711 boat was a hard working boat and once we hit our homeport in Pearl Harbor, […]