Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now? Social media has really had an impact on the world. While some might argue that it has been mostly negative, there are some positive impacts that most of us would have never thought of fifty years ago. In previous generations, you had to meet face to face in a common space […]

All ahead slow

All ahead slow. Mister Mac Note: If you are a sensitive soul and easily offended, this is probably not a great story for you to engage in. Check back later for more submarine related stories Many years ago, when I was I the middle of my second career (2006), I went on my first trip […]

April 24, 1972 Revisited

We are really settling in to our new community. Del Webb Cane Bay in Summerville SC encourages people to participate in a number of clubs. I am one of the leaders in the Veterans Club and enjoy meeting with so many people who served the country. We also belong to the Wine Club where we […]

Learning to see

It’s the little things in life that make you think. One of the nice things about the new house is that the first owners traded up on a number of things in relation to the construction of the house. One of those items is a very large shower stall. It’s got enough room for several […]

Lest We Forget. USSV CF Memorial and Museum Boat Fund

Lest We Forget. USSV CF Memorial and Museum Boat Fund The desire to memorialize the great sacrifices made for a nation or cause goes back to the earliest times. Cave drawings and crude monuments to great battles are found in all parts of the world. The Romans mastered the art with buildings and statues […]

The Navy Warrant Officer Mystery – 249 Years in the Making

What exactly is a Navy Warrant Officer and what do they do? To be honest, the definitions are all over the map. Quite often, even long serving officers struggle with what a warrant is, no less a Chief Warrant Officer. The basic thing to understand is a Warrant and a Chief Warrant are not the […]

Part time sailors? There is no such thing

I’m still going through boxes of old paperwork and stuff I have saved over the years. Some of the items include pictures and mementoes from my years in the navy. One item that was in an old album was a faded copy of a Welcome Aboard letter from Charleston’s FBMSTC (Fleet Ballistic Missile Training Center). […]

April 11 2024 – Holland Club

I was honored to have my wife and my Submariner Brothers present last night at the USSVI Charleston Base to see my induction into the Holland Club. I actually wasn’t sure I would ever make it. A special thanks to RADM Mike Sharp and the men from the USS San Francisco SSN 711 that were […]

What’s that hissing sound?

Looking at the launch and commissioning of the Nautilus the last few days, it seemed odd to me that the sea trials were somehow out of whack with what I was used to. The experience of building a submarine in the eighties was that you had the launch, fitting out, sea trials, then commissioning. Looking […]

The First Time You Dive

You never forget your first There are few moments in any submariner’s life that equal the first time you submerge below the surface of the sea. For each generation or type of boat, the lead up to that dive is different. It might come at the end of a lengthy transit on the surface in […]