Steel Boats, Iron Men and their stories (plus a bit more)
I recently posted a story about sea trials and the USS San Francisco (SSN 711). My shipmate EM1/SS Jerry Stanek was a Plankowner on the boat and has remained a friend for over 39 years. We don’t see each other much anymore but still stay in touch. I mentioned that Jerry has a copy of […]
Read More We have the watch – Saturdays, Sundays and NightsSEA TRIALS – TESTING THE BOAT AND THE CREW Out of the vast cauldron of experiences related to being a Submariner, memories of one experience on submarines normally dominates above all the rest for someone who was a Plankowner of a sub. Sea Trials I have a lot of memories of the sea trials on […]
Read More SEA TRIALS – TESTING THE BOAT AND THE CREWBe careful what you wish for… life of a Trident Sailor I have an old bumper sticker someone gave me after I made Chief Warrant Officer that says “I did it the hard way… I earned it”. Another one that was given to me was ironic when I look back over the years leading up […]
Read More Post #726 – Be careful what you wish for… life of a Trident SailorOro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra – The San Francisco Story (Post #711) Over the years, I have heard many submariners say that a boat changed their life. For some, it was because the boat was their qualification boat. The completion of a hard and grueling period in their life when they were required to […]
Read More I left my heart… on the San FranciscoThe 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 […]
Read More Get in line you useless pollywog! Prepare to meet King Neptune!Homesick Once upon a time on a submarine far, far away (USS San Francisco to be exact) a number of us were homesick for the place we had originally called home. In this case, it was Western Pennsylvania. The 711 boat was a hard working boat and once we hit our homeport in Pearl Harbor, […]
Read More Can the Groundhog see his shadow underwater?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 […]
Read More “In my spare time, I went to Harvard”… how they kept from being bored on a boomer in ’65Sailors by and large are a very superstitious lot. The things that set a sailing man or woman on edge are as ancient as the sea itself. I am not sure if it is the dangers they know they will face once they are divorced from the shore or just a strong feeling that fate […]
Read More The unluckiest dayAs it so often happens, I was looking through the archives and discovered an article that jumped off the pages at me. This article was found in a collection of Navy Department News Releases and was released seventy seven years ago today (September 7, 2018) NAVY DEPARTMENT HOLD FOR RELEASE SUNDAY PAPERS, SEPTEMBER 7, 1941 […]
Read More The Patten Family and the USS Nevada (1941)Today marks the end of yet another year. The world has turned 365 more times in its journey and I feel fortunate to have had more good days than bad ones during that time. I find myself in a much better place today than I did a year ago and for that I am grateful. […]
Read More The one thing you can’t stop