A faraway land that still calls me back – Holy Loch and Polaris

I remember the day that the announcement came that Holy Loch was closing. February 1991 was a typical cold Scottish month. I had already completed my initial qualifications as Docking Officer and would be certified in the next docking of a nuclear submarine on March 15th. But before I could even think about the […]

Oh Flower of Scotland… Happy Saint Andrews Day 2018

November 30th is Saint Andrews day in Scotland. It has been over 27 years since we left Scotland to return to America but in so many ways it seems like yesterday. Our trip was cut way too short with the imminent closing of the American base at Holy Loch and so many things have filled […]

It’s a Bonny Life in the Land of Kilts and Bagpipes – ALL HANDS September 1967

This article was written less than a decade after Site One was established in the Holy Loch. I did not arrive in Scotland until August of 1990 to serve on board the AFDB 7 Floating Drydock but many of the same conditions that existed back in the Sixties were very similar to what was written. The […]

Address to a Haggis

From 1961 – 1992, two cultures were given the opportunity to live side by side and learn from each other at a place called Holy Loch Scotland The locals taught the incoming Yanks how to eat Fish and Chips, the right way to drink Scotch, and a wee bit about the old ways. The Yanks […]

Bagpipes and Boomers and Beer, oh my!

Holy Loch Scotland One of the saddest days of my life was the day we left Dunoon Scotland and the Holy Loch so many years ago. It was 1991, our tour was shortened by the end of the Cold War drawdown and I was headed to a tour as M Division officer on the Hunley. […]