Nuclear Power: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963-2023)

(NOTE: This post is a big longer than my usual post, but hopefully it will be worth your time to read.) Nuclear Power: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow I was reading about the two nuclear powered aircraft carriers and their battle groups gathering in the eastern Mediterranean this week and got to thinking about when I […]

Happy Birthday United States Navy – 2023

The United States Navy turns 248 years old this year. Ships and aircraft of the fleet are sailing around the world today in defense of freedom, just as they have for most of her rich history. At this time, despite pressure from many quarters to change her focus, she remains the single most powerful and […]

Telegraphic News Flash: Explosion Kills Three on Submarine S-37

Life on submarines has always been risky. Whether it’s defying the physics of overcoming the sea’s depths or the nature of the machinery required to do so, every submariner undestands that the unexpected can be managed to a certain extent, but the uexpected cab still arrive with dire results. One hundred years ago today (October […]

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 […]

Aloha Spirit and Maui – Forty Years of Memories

Watching the television and on-line reports of damage to Maui has been difficult. The loss of life and property damage is heart wrenching. My memories of that paradise are fading now with age but I can still see some images in my head. The first time I went there was at the end of a […]

Retirement 3.0 Let’s try this again

I think I am a bit of a hoarder. Well, that’s not quite true. I know I am a hoarder. For instance, I have an old file resistant box that has every piece of paper the Navy ever gave me. Everything from my DD-214’s to the evaluations and fitness reports that were in my service jacket […]

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 […]

Rule number one at sea: keep the sea outside of the boat

What is bravery? Through the years, I have often been told by people that they could never ride a submarine. Claustrophobia is probably a big thing, but the fear of being cooped up in a small metal cylinder operating in a vast ocean is also a factor. I saw a lot of brave actions in […]

She built it well

I got a “proud Aunt” note from one of my favorite cousins last year about her niece. “Hi Bob! Hope all is well. Just wanted to share. My niece, Isabella just became a certified welder and had her second interview over at Electric Boat in New London. If she gets hired she might get to […]