The Navy just released the report of its investigation into the separate collisions of two Navy destroyers with merchant ships (http://bit.ly/2hmzAra). The U.S Naval Institute provides a good summary (http://bit.ly/2i7MpGT). From my viewpoint as a former destroyer and cruiser ship captain, the report accurately lays the blame primarily on each captain’s failure to ensure his […]
It was across the road from the only drive-in hamburger stand in town. It was where we as kids looked through the fence at the big Army trucks parked behind the tall roof building. We held high school dances there. It was the National Guard Armory, one of many in towns across America built after Pearl […]
Good morning everyone and thank you for that kind introduction. You forgot to add one key point, however. You forgot to add that neither of the ships I commanded sank while I was captain. That’s important to ship captains. As Dick Gregory once quipped: “When I was in the Army, if I lost my rifle […]
At the National War College reading Sun Tsu is required reading. My most memorable take away was the following statement: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a […]
I was watching last week the movie “Love Actually.” It’s become an annual tradition in my family, along with Chevy Chase’s “Christmas Vacation.” Chevy reminds me not to plug in too many lights. “Love Actually” reminds me that the Christmas season is in part about honest relationships. Non-Christians have separate times of the year to […]
Embroidered on the back of the Navy helmets at the Army-Navy game this year was the famous Navy battle cry: “Damn the Torpedoes! Full speed ahead.” That’s the battle order by Admiral Farragut for his ships to charge forward at full speed as they fought their way into Mobile Bay during the Civil War. That […]
December 7th is Pearl Harbor Day in America. America was surprised by a Japanese attack that left most of the Pacific Fleet on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. 2,500 Americans were killed. “Remember Pearl Harbor!” became a WW II battle cry. Last month France, and indeed the world, was surprised by Islamic radical jihadists in […]
Yesterday France deployed the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to assist France’s forces already bombing the Islamic Caliphate (State). This deployment caught the world’s attention as it shows France is deadly serious when President Hollande says France is “at war.” While the United States already has significant air and naval forces in the […]
The carnage in Paris is the latest step in an escalating war between radical, jihadist Muslims and western civilization. Only one side in this war is playing with force, and it’s not the civilized side. Burned by the results of massive efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and its western civilization allies have […]
For the past week the television networks did a wonderful job of highlighting our troops overseas and in a variety of ways saying thanks to those in the military. However, Veterans Day should be more than just saying thanks. It should be a time to think about why our troops today are in combat zones, […]