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 […]

The Emergency Meeting: January 1, 1959

The Emergency Meeting: January 1, 1959 The following transcript, (heavily redacted for security reasons) is a record of an emergency meeting held at the office of Manpower for the United States Navy Bureau of Personnel on New Year’s Day 1959. This meeting was held in the strictest secrecy and portions of the meeting have only […]

A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969

A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969 Nearly a decade of progress changed the face of submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence. Between 1959 and 1969, the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines went from concept to reality in a way that fundamentally changed the way two major powers viewed warfare and strategic deterrence. […]

The Boomer Pin Turns 50 – (Does that mean it can finally join the Holland Club?)

The Boomer Pin turns 50 in 2019 One of the most divisive subjects in the American submarine family is the breast insignia know by most as the Boomer pin. This little device has been a part of my uniform since January 1974 when I completed my first ballistic missile patrol. Wearing the pin by itself […]

“In my spare time, I went to Harvard”… how they kept from being bored on a boomer in ’65

November has been submarine month at theleansubmariner. Probably a large part of that is the nostalgia of looking back over the last 45 years and my own experiences on the boats. I got a chance to share some of my memories as well as stories from the archives that highlighted submarine development since the early […]

You’re a Nuclear Submariner? How did you get such a cool job? (1963)

By January 1963, the United States Navy submarine force was growing at an amazing pace. The Soviet launching of Sputnik had sparked a fire in the Defense Department and the government as a whole to find ways to counter the perceived threats of an unbridled Soviet Union. The answer of course was to capitalize on […]

Submarines: “from a boy to a giant”

One of my favorite pastimes is discovering unique stories about the United States Submarine force and the development through the ages. There is no better witness to the phenomenal growth than that of one of the most profound influences on submarine operation and development: Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. The most fascinating thing about this man […]

USS George Washington SSBN 598 – First and Finest (December 30, 1959)

A short history of the first ballistic missile submarine. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) THIS SHIP has been given the most illustrious name in America. Rarely does history conﬁrm contemporary judgment in pronouncing a man “indispensable” to his country. But there is general agreement that on three occasions, when the fate of our Nation hung in […]

August 28, 1973 The Journey Begins

I joined the Navy in April of 1972 by raising my right hand for the very first time. The Navy used the Delayed Entry Program to pre-sign willing young volunteers and at the age of seventeen, I was anxious to leave home and see the world. I remember my girlfriend at the time crying a […]