Editor’s Note: The Goat Locker is where the Navy and Coast Guard Chiefs hang out on naval ships or revenue cutters underway. It is an honor (or horror) to be invited there, depending on your rank. But we all know who runs this complex business. And they always have. This is from my retired Master […]

Swamp Update OK- we are all jet-lagged here in the Swamp, every one of us, though in varying degrees. There were a hundred thousand or more people on the Nation’s Front Yard down at the mall all day yesterday to take in the Capitol 4th show. I avoid crowds these days, and had a vague […]

This being the eve of the nation’s birthday, some of the usual suspects have been talking about the foibles of cruises-past, when we were in the best Fleet in the world. I got to USS Midway (CV-41) in 1978, and I learned my trade at the knee of the Magnificent Vinnie and CVIC Asst. Rich […]

I was feeing pretty good for a Sunday morning. A little sunburned from the afternoon at the pool, but I had to be downtown fairly early, since I was meeting a group from Oz to give a waking tour of the landmarks near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue. It is only appropriate, since […]

Considering the pace of breaking news over the last six months, things seem to be cooling a bit as we head into the Congressional recess and the 4th of July holiday. Dribbling out this weekend include a raft of Supreme Court interim decisions, some questions about what the current (and previous) Administration knew about the […]

It is hot, muggy and finally it is really Summer. That happened shortly after midnight, concluding the longest day of the year, which Jim Champagne at Willow’s famed Amen Corner always maintained was exactly the same length as every other day- some just have more daylight than others. I have always been a bit of […]

Gentle Readers, You noted our commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the great conflict off Midway Atoll 75 years ago. It was at the beginning of the month of June, on the actual days that defined history. Today, the last remnants of the battle were being resolved though the memories will never fade. The Japanese […]

I don’t do these hybrid tales very well. I used to think these “inside baseball” accounts were useful excursions for those who can mostly ignore the daily follies of the central government, but it occurs to me that it is not quite worth the time. I do have to remark at this juncture that things […]

Just when you thought it could not get stranger… Copyright 2017 Vic Socotra www.vicsocotra.com

So, the morning messages included an insightful essay from an old shipmate that analyzed the decision that Great Caesar made about crossing the Rubicon River, heading south and ending the Republic of Rome. It had lasted a half a thousand years, so it was a significant one. He decided to trade the Republic for an […]