(Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, USAF-Ret., the prospective Director of National Intelligence.)   The nomination of Jim Clapper spread like wildfire late yesterday, and in all the places Spooks gather there was animated discussion. My pal Phil heard the word out at Langley, where he was attending the elevation of a Marine general to his […]

(Bit of cold steel, shredded in 1966) We were at Willow- it is the Admiral’s first venture out since his left arm has turned back to a normal color. We secured the little sitting area at the end of the bar and relaxed. There was a lot to catch up on. The Admiral is still […]

(USS Olympia back in the Day. Official Navy Picture) For me, it is getting on to one of those calendar moments that force one to take brief pause.   I was conceived, best I can determine, in the fall of 1950. The Korean war was raging, and Dad was probably sweating the idea that he […]

(Bow of the USS Olympia. Oil on Masonite by Jeffery Alllon) Man, it is hard to come back to work, and particularly challenging after some international and transcontinental travel. There were sedimentary layers of dirty laundry and loose furniture all over the apartment, and an issue of a neglected Quarterly to get out the door […]

(Fort Sumpter under attack. Image courtesy American Public University) The rebels had to fire on the unarmed ship, didn’t they? They could not permit a hostile fort to sit in their midst and be reinforced.   Mr. Lincoln got his act of aggression, and a justification to save the Union, though of course the garrison […]

(Snuffies. US Army photo)   The citation indicates that the President Johnson took pleasure in the award for the Navy Cross for these actions:   “During the period 1 to 6 March 1969, Company C was engaged in a combat operation north of the Rockpile and sustained numerous casualties from North Vietnamese Army mortars, rocket-propelled […]

(Rolling Thunder staging area, Pentagon, Arlington VA)   The roar of engines is pouring in the open door to the balcony. The pool is placid far below.   The Streak is intact. I made it first in again, thank goodness, and it appears the competition has resgned themselves to it. The Banana was second, and […]

Oh, you better believe it. The swim trunks are out, the towel is at the ready. An electrifying book is in the tote bag along with a fresh Bic lighter and the sun block I rarely use.   I have the new pool pass in the plastic sleeve and am fully prepared to meet the […]

(DPRK Army Vice Chief of Staff and Socotra, 1995, Pyongyang) We are on the verge of a holiday, as you know, and I have a recipe for deviled eggs I want to give you. But I am literally all aquiver this morning, so bear with me. All the nerve ends are firing, seemingly at random. […]

Everything in the little unit was intended to fold, and I built the room out in the style of a Navy officer’s stateroom. You were there on the coldest day in recorded Arlington History when the Murphy bed and its thirty boxes arrived by truck.   When that project was complete, the bed folded into […]