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 […]

It was epic, even if the events of the day swept over me and meant I never left the property at Big Pink. It was worth it. Epic. Among he other things that happened while I wasn’t looking in the course of the day, I think I won the Front Page bar pool on the […]

So, my best friend called this morning to start it all, and it went well, or at least as well as it could have been since I had hoped to be in the Friendly Islands and avoid the whole thing. Oh well, didn’t work out that way. But the cancelled trip gave me some un-programmed […]

Well, long suffering readers, this is the second edition of the Postcard series from the placid bogs that line the majestic Potomac. The big brown river flows at its own pace between the District and Arlington County. Not so the affairs of humans here. We are already in a steamy heat from the swirl of […]

The battle of Midway culminated today, 75 years ago. Though badly stricken with severe battle damage, USS Yorktown refused to die. When the Americans found their carrier still afloat on the morning of 5 June, they hoped to tow her back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The tug Vireo took Yorktown under tow. Despite efforts […]

Editor’s Note: this essay from Paul Becker sums up some of the lessons that we have already paid for in blood and treasure, and which we need to re-learn. Our thanks to the Navy’s History and Heritage Command, ably led by RADM Sam Cox, for publishing this in The Sextant. http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/ 75 years ago today […]

Editor’s note: I wish I had been there to see the ceremony honoring the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. It was held in front of what had been the 14th Naval District on Pearl, and home of The Dungeon, where our pal Mac worked with the legends of naval intelligence. But I wasn’t, […]

Editor’s Note: I am a little frustrated. I was supposed to be in Honolulu this morning. But that does not change the significance of the date, 75years ago. We talked about some of this yesterday, as the epic Battle of Midway was nearing. The 3rd of June was a special day, and we ought to […]