Eight Years Ago Today

…another chapter in the Long War against terror is written: The toll: * Seventeen American Sailors dead: Hull Maintenance Technician Second Class Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, 21, of Mechanicsville, Va. Electronics Technician Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, 35, of Morrisville, Pa. Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, 19, of Woodleaf, N.C. Information Systems Technician Timothy…

Airplan: 5-11 Sep

Several years back I had the extraordinary privilege to get to know a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack who had been assigned to one of the gun turret crews onboard the USS Nevada (BB-36).  As a junior "hinge" (O-4/LCDR) I was both captivated by the re-telling, first hand, of the accounts of that morning, and…

Remembering Fallen Shipmates – Part II (N513)

(SJS: N513 is the Strategy & Concepts branch, part of the N51 Strategy & Policy Division of N3N5. N513’s personel were the folks who looked at “the big picture” focusing on warfighting concepts and maritime strategies in defense of the US and our Allied partners. This is the branch that in the past had worked…

Remembering Fallen Shipmates – Part I (N3N5)

Eternal Father, strong to save,Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,Who biddest the mighty ocean deepIts own appointed limits keep;Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,For those in peril on the sea! CAPT Gerry Decanto, USN, Navy Captain Gerald F. DeConto of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Alexandria, Va., was killed during the terrorist…