(Cimmarron-class fleet oiler Neosho (AO-23) during her fitting out in New Jersey in 1939. Photo USN). Yesterday I celebrated the extraordinary career of ADM Noel Gayler, Naval Aviator extraordinaire and hero of the Battle of the Coral Sea, a tactical draw between the navies that saved Australia from the predations of the Empire of the […]

(ADM Noel Gayler in his office at Camp Smith, HI, 1976. An authentic hero and warrior, he was proud of being the first no-nucs officer to head the Pacific Command. Photo New York Times.) It is appropriate to look back to the battle before the battle that changed everything in the Pacific. I hope you […]

​(A placid farm on the way down to the Shenandoah. Image Steven Christie). It is unusual to be down at the farm during the week, but there was a ceremony marking the 5th Anniversary of the company’s presence out in Page County at ten this morning, and I took the opportunity to beat rush hour […]

Editors Note: With the public spotlight in the US on the upcoming Midway commemoration, the memory of the vital pre-momentum shift represented by the Battle of Coral Sea has been muted here. That event solidified the commitment of the U.S. to the independence of Australia, and the unique bond between our nations. RADM Paul Becker, […]

(Blast from the Past, courtesy of the New York Daily News). This morning marks the end of Black April, forty-two years to the day since Saigon fell to the communists on April 30, 1975. I am not sure if it is correct to use the phrase, given the sensitivity so many of us have with […]

Busy morning in Arlington. I had a pop-up 0900 conference call that I almost forgot to dial in to. Then the Porters showed up to prepare and inspect the unit for the cut-over from heating to cooling season. You know, rhythms of the season and all that, and I as pleased the unit looked all […]