Blessed are the volunteers… for they shall inherit the next watch … The USSV CF Scholarship Fund

Blessed are the volunteers… for they shall inherit the next watch I have always liked the fact that duty in the armed forces has been a volunteer organization since the draft ended. I signed up in the delayed entry program in April of 1972 when I was just seventeen. The draft still existed but I […]

Your Table is ready Mr. Ambassador… Serving the USSV CF

Your Table is ready Mr. Ambassador Mac. Petty Officer Mac. Chief Mac. Mister Mac. (and a hundred various civilian titles including manager, trainer, leader, coach, speaker, preacher and on and on). Of all the titles I have had in my life, one that I have never had was Ambassador. At least not until this week. […]

“The Flight Is Doomed” … until the submarine shows up to the rescue

“The Flight Is Doomed” Of all the submarine stories from history that have been forgotten over time, very few are as interesting as the one about a submarine rescuing an airplane in the Pacific Ocean which then then towed it to safety. Nearly 100 years ago, flying between the continental US and Hawaii was still […]

In the beginning… building a submarine despite the odds (1900)

In the beginning… building a submarine despite the odds (1900) The 125th Anniversary of the United States Submarine force will occur in April of 2025. This is one of a number of articles related to that celebration. I spend a lot of time researching history and my favorite source material comes from the National Archives. […]

Some “Very Cool navy traditions” as a civilian would view them

As the year 2024 comes to an end, we are finally settling down in our new home in South Carolina. One of the things that drew me to living here is the plethora of historical and veteran’s activities. We haven’t had much time to visit too many places yet, but a number of previous visits […]

Home 2024

Home We attended the highland Games in Charleston SC yesterday. It was a pretty nice affair held down on the waterfront in North Charleston. I hadn’t been to a gathering for a few years so hearing the pipes and drums was a special treat. I have to give the bands credit though. They played well […]

Random thoughts to wrap up October 2024

Happy October 30th Some random thoughts as I waited for a family member to come out of his medical procedure here at the Medical Center in Charleston. He has been in pain for a long time, and I hope they can find the root cause of the problem. I got a call from a very […]

Happy Navy Day 2024 – The 75th Anniversary of one of the worst bureaucratical decisions in history

I’ve written a lot about the history of Navy Day in the past including this article from 2019 The Last Navy Day – How Truman almost killed the US Navy This is the 75th anniversary of that last Navy Day and the criticality of having a strong navy is becoming clearer with every passing day. […]

Greetings from South Carolina (July 24, 2024) – (Revised July 2026

Revised version… See new Content at the end A good friend of mine sent me an email a few days ago checking in on me. It has been a few months since I put up any new content and for that, I apologize. It has been a while since I had the time or energy […]

A Great Reunion – Well, Mostly Great

The 2024 Gathering of the Saints is finally over. I have been absent from the keyboard for a while as we executed our latest reunion in Charleston SC. The planning for the reunion started at the end of 2023 and was non-stop until the very last day of the event. One thing about reunions is […]