An Ethan Allen Son’s Request

Submariners are certainly a unique group of people. I belong to a number of Veteran’s groups including the VFW and American Legion. I’m semi active with the Navy and Submarine League as well as Military Officer’s Association. But USSVI remains one of the best organizations as a whole. I am a life member and looking […]

The Submarine Recognition Manual NAVPERS 10011

A new era In 1959, the United States was about to fast forward its submarine program. The nuclear program was well under way and the ballistic missile submarine program called Polaris was in full swing. Congressional reports at the time talked about the mounting Soviet threat. The Soviets had also developed a number of shipyards […]

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 […]

How MAD were we?

In January 1963, the world was on edge. The recent Cuban Missile Crisis had shown how close we were to Mutual Assured Destruction on a scale never before seen. The arms race of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s had pushed the east and west closer to global confrontation since the end of the Second […]

Making a Submariner – Fifty Years ago

In January of 1973, my education as a submarine sailor began. I had already graduated from Machinist Mate “A” school and my original path to nuclear power school was diverted because of my inability to master the math and chemistry that was tested upon completion of “A” school. I was a bit disappointed. Instead of […]

Has anyone seen the anchor?

Adrift The definition of the word adrift is often this: so as to float without being either moored or steered: “a cargo ship went adrift”. Unless you are a submariner by trade, you are probably not familiar with the fact that some submarines have anchors. My first boat was the USS George Washington and she […]

October 16, 1962 – The Day the World Found Itself on the Brink

I was eight years old on October 16, 1962. It was a Tuesday and I was in grade school probably day-dreaming about anything but the world coming to an abrupt end. But on that day, President Kennedy was shown some pictures of Soviet Missiles being assembled in a place called Cuba. It may has well […]

1930 – the last chance to eliminate the rattlesnakes of the seas is over

The London Naval Conference of 1930 This conference was the third in a series of conferences meant to slow, limit or eliminate large combat shipbuilding efforts among a group of nations that were seen as potential adversaries. From the State Department’s Historian: “The purpose of the meetings was to promote disarmament in the wake of […]

1917 – Submarines have many adventures (and so do Submariners)

1917 “We need a bigger fleet” “You’re going to need a lot more sailors.” The war that had started in Europe in 1914 had ended up being a stalemate on land. The Germans were never able to get past their early gains without being pushed back. The Allies were also kept to minimal gains with […]

May you live long enough that you long for your past despite the hardships and difficulties.

The definition for nostalgia that comes from Webster’s Dictionary include these: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period of irrecoverable condition the state of being homesick With apologies to Webster and company, this is my definition: May you live long enough that you long for your past despite […]