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 […]

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 […]

Remembering the Marby – The Story of the USS Marblehead and her Brave Crew

Watching the types of ships being built for the past few years reminds me of the ideology of the 1920’s. There was a desire for peaceful relations between the global community mixed with theunderstanding that peace was an illusion as long as resources were desired by the same forces around the world. Battleships were limited […]

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 […]

At the heart of it all – August 15

August 15, 2002 was just another ordinary day. Well at least it started out that way. I was ending up one work project working at a new factory that I helped develop. The Hummer project was pretty challenging for many reasons. I was the third project manager brought in by Raytheon to try and close […]

Veterans’ Organizations

I’ve been thinking a lot about starting an official USS San Francisco SSN 711 organization. The purpose would be for the crew to stay connected and informed about where people ended up and what they did after graduating from the boat. It could also be a one stop shop for future reunions and gatherings. Finally, […]

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 […]

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 […]