> USS Herring (SS-233) > Memorial Day… It seems lots of people get caught up in the “Served” side of “remembering those who served and died” and Memorial Day quickly becomes a second Veterans Day. But, of course, it isn’t; Memorial Day is not about thanking anyone for their service, Memorial Day is about remembering […]

Editor’s Note: Arrias leads us off this week with some observations on what is rational in our world and what is not. It struck the Editorial Board as a sensible start to a week that is filled with irrationality, if not outright madness. One of my touchstones in the ongoing climate debate is the mutability […]

Editor’s Note: There has been chatter back and forth across the net of old soldiers and shipmates. It is about the nature of things we thought we knew being played out before the backdrop of renewed kinetic war in what we knew as the Holy Land. I had the opportunity to walk the Temple Mount […]

Editor’s Note: We welcome Arrias back to the regular line-up. Salvaging A Maritime Power On April 21st KRI Nanggala, an Indonesian submarine, sank in the waters north of Bali. This past week the Chinese military offered a large, state-of-the-art salvage ship to assist the Indonesian Navy in recovering the remains of that submarine. > > […]

Editor’s Note: It was a fabulous holiday weekend down at the farm. It was filled with warmth and the sunlit prospect of hope. The Socotra editorial staff unanimously decided to allow tomorrow to take care of itself. Now, as often happens, tomorrow has arrived. Arrias has some thoughts on the kettle of crises, and one […]

Editor’s Note: Arrias this morning addresses one of the primary reasons things don’t seem to be working well in our Republic these days. There was a string that followed about the distance between those that enjoy the sea of cash that is flowing from Government printing presses to a variety of startling things beyond the […]

I applaud Bill Maher for stating the obvious: that China and Cancel Culture represent real threats to the United States, to all Americans, to our way of life, and to the culture of individual freedoms and limited government. Mr. Maher quoted from the movie “Lawrence of Arabia:” So long as the Arabs fight tribe against […]

Editor’s Note: A marvelous day in the Piedmont of Virginia. Our glimpse of Spring from the back deck, overlooking the pastures and the treeline that separates us from the Chinese Glass project were a backdrop to a delightful Joint Service visit. Arrayed at the outdoor table were proud members of Army, Air Force and Navy. […]

Editor’s Note: Arrias helps the Socotra House Staff limp from the sadness of the loss of a good friend and back to the surreal world in which we (temporarily) reside. There are large things in motion in the wide world. Royal squabbles on Oprah is one for the morning. The COVID extravaganza, of course, and […]

Editor’s Note: Frabjous day! Calloo, Calay! That snarly little month of February has been placed behind us now, and the depths of winter here in the Piedmont have passed! Of course, the chill rain has been falling since yesterday, washing us in a sea of country gray of ambivalence. A former President appeared somewhere late […]