Author’s Note: The Legal section was in more of an uproar than usual this morning. They approved the Disclaimer, then told us we had to run it. That apparently is how the Law works! – Vic “The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Socotra House Publications […]

(Image from USS Midway, CV-41, Cruisebook 1979-80. We thought we were going to war with Iran 45 years ago). The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Socotra House Publications and its various subsidiaries. So, the discussion was solemn this morning talking about the three Yanks killed […]

We have a shipmate who made the Mountain West the family home after retiring from the Service. We had been all over in the course of working in Asia, Europe and several smaller places.We have been working in both loose and direct contact since we met in 1981, so we share a fair amount of […]

Out on the Patio, the Writer’s Section was taking a Sunday approach to original works of creative energy. There were a couple lingering issues first brought up by Amanda, the intern in the Socotra House Legal Section. She had a Millennial approach to things, and is familiar on how LawFare works in America at this […]

Morning Headlines, 27 January 2024: “On the Staggering $83.3 Million Carroll II Verdict against Trump” “Trump ordered to pay $83M, vows to appeal” Andrew McCarthy of the National Review On Line helped us wake up this morning. Andrew is a columnist for the National Review, a right-wing digital publication originally founded by one of our […]

(Bethesda Naval Hospital before base consolidation with Walter Reed). We talked about the insurrection of the Navy’s flag officers the other day. It was part of something larger, of course, and simultaneously smaller in contrast to the struggle of the war. Like you, the writers on the Patio have been thrilled since we realized that […]

As you might expect, talk about the current hotspots of conflict have led to discussion of where this ball of crisis is going. Some of us think it is like President Xi’s Belt-and-Road Initiative. With luck, we will be able to avoid an atomic exchange between the various Nuclear Powers or almost Powers in mass […]

(President Harry Truman Appoints SECNAV James V. Forrestall as first Secretary of Defense. Photo AP). In 1947, President Harry Truman appointed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. Forrestal had three or four areas of controversy with the Administration. First was the amount of money the new unified Department would spend to clean […]

We nearly had a revolt of our own out on The Patio. Not that there were any Flag or General Officers involved. It was mmore of a vigorous debate about what was happening in our Navy today. you know, the one that commissions a whole class of ships and retires them nearly as fast as […]

(President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on board this aircraft, a VC-54C Presidential transport, the first aircraft used in the role of Air Fore ONE). We have wrestled with telling the story of how the Department of War and the Navy were disestablished and re-invented in 1947 alongside a brand new Department […]