How a World War 2 Submarine Works

I saw this video on one of the Navy Facebook pages earlier today and thought it was worth sharing. When you think about how complex a machine submarines really are, you can understand why training and qualifications are so important. Compared to any other occupation or job I have had, none come close […]

The Submariner’s Wife

Navy wife… the toughest job in the Navy Mrs. Mac spent a few hours underway on the USS San Francisco SSN 711. One of my favorite memories is the dependents cruise from Maui back to Oahu back in the 80’s. I had just qualified as Chief of the Watch and was on watch when it […]

Happy Anniversary – Three years

When I first started the blog, life was very different… The intent was to share some ideas on lean manufacturing while celebrating the heritage of the United States Navy submarine forces. A lot of water has gone under the bow since those days. Over 260,000 views later, I find that the submarine stories have continued to […]

Patches

If you look to the right side of my blog, you will see a number of patches that reflect my duty stations (boats and ships) along the way. My sub vets vest has a fair representation of them and it is a matter of some pride that I wear each one. They all stand for […]

Sub Pay

SUBMARINE PAY Teddy Roosevelt was the first American president to go aboard a submarine and participate in a dive. The USS Plunger dove beneath the surface of Long Island Sound on August 25th 1905 with the President on board. President Roosevelt not only achieved this historical first but was the man directly responsible for […]

WE ARE SUBMARINERS – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Throughout the generation where men have gone to sea on submarines, a bond has formed that crosses all of those generations. This anonymous quote comes from one of the web sites I frequent. I can’t identify the author so I have taken it directly from the posting but will gladly give credit if the […]

A little respect… 42 years later, its still not that big of a deal

Recently I was following a post on one of my submarine Facebook pages. The original guy had posted about a lack of recognition. To be fair, he had a lot of supporters and frankly I can’t give him a hard time since I have seen some of this through the years myself. “Okay I have […]

The “Georgia Swamp Fox” that Fathered the Two Ocean Navy – Carl Vinson

This is a story published in the Port of Pittsburgh, Official Publication of the Navy League of the United States, Pittsburgh Council Jan-March 2014 Volume 18 No.1 edited by Katherine Kersten, written by Bob MacPherson (aka theleansubmariner) “The most expensive thing in the world is a cheap Army and Navy,” Congressman Carl Vinson On March […]

#earnednevergiven

For my brothers… April 11, 2014 Mister Mac

AFDB-7 Los Alamos Holy Loch Scotland “IN THE BEGINNING…”

For the second time in the history of theleansubmariner, I am posting an article from a Shipmate that I have come to know via our common interests in history and events that shaped it. This article comes from Norman Rachels SWE4 (formerly of the United States Navy). Norm was one of the guys who arrived early […]