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 achievement, […]

The second shot heard round the world – Polaris A1

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. − Emerson, “Concord Hymn” (A poem about the events on April 19, 1775 that are credited with being the first shots of the Revolution that changed […]

USS Thomas Jefferson SSBN 618 – Hostility Against Tyranny

This is the third in the 41 for freedom series of Articles on theleansubmariner. Like the first two, it captures the thoughts of the man who was the Father of the Nuclear Navy in his own words from his book about the submarines that were named after American icons. Thomas Jefferson was a very complicated […]

Get in line you useless pollywog! Prepare to meet King Neptune!

The world is filled with pollywogs and Shellbacks There were a number of very old traditions observed when I was a sailor so many years ago. One of the most significant was explained to me in great detail on the 8th of February 1974 on the USS George Washington (SSBN 598) Blue crew. The submarine […]

The End of the World was THIS close. (The Gaither Report and its consequences)

The End of the World was THIS close. This is a story about a series of events that happened in the late 1950’s that changed the course of the world in one of its darkest times. America and her allies had squared off against the Soviet Union in an increasingly complex game of […]

Writing the story of the “Eminent Americans… Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet”

Writing the story of the “Eminent Americans… Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet” Of all the treasures about submarine lore that have been recorded, very few meet the level of excitement for me than the book listed in the title to this post. When Admiral Rickover originally wrote his letters about the men who make […]

First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

I asked for a sign and this is what I got (1638 EST 1/7/2019) I monitor the traffic on the web site each day to see what is working and what is not. It was kind of an interesting surprise to open the blog up and see that number on the left. Recently, the focus […]

Inconceivable – It was just a plastic toy anyone could buy for $2.98

A most unusual executive session This story is about the transcripts from a Congressional committee meeting of a most unusual nature. It was held on April 9, 1960 on board the USS George Washington. Some interesting notes: The boat was underway, the depth was 400 feet at the time and had just conducted a […]

Obstacles to Overcome – Building the Polaris Submarine

Obstacles to Overcome – Building the Polaris Submarine It is a well-known fact among the submarine community that the USS George Washington started out life as the fast attack submarine Scorpion. Building the new boat was driven by the need for a platform for the Polaris missile system. Normally when a new submarine or ship […]

EMINENT AMERICANS Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet (41 for Freedom)

Polaris 1959 This year is the year of the Polaris Program. It has been 60 years since the program burst onto the submarine scene and its impact is still felt today. The marriage of so much technology to convincingly prove to the Soviet Union and the world that a reliable part of the Strategic […]