Gerald D. Skoning
The U.S. Navy is facing what has been described as a “disaster of epic proportion” on its newest class aircraft carrier, the USS Ford (CVN 78), a travesty that until now has slipped by largely under the radar. In February, the…
With great fanfare the United States Navy has unveiled a new recruiting campaign built around the slogan, “Forged by the Sea.” The Navy paid its PR/advertising consultant Young & Rubicam $457 million to develop the new brand, which took 18…
Imagine a sub-zero winter morning. You are worried your car might not start. You turn the ignition key and wait, and wait, and wait. For a total of 19 hours, 35 minutes, you wait to learn that your car has…
Holiday wreaths being hung in October? Santa Claus making appearances in November? Christmas music before Thanksgiving? Enough! I think we need a new federal law to rein in the expanding duration and outlandish excesses of the Christmas holiday season. Now, critics…
Astronomers recently announced that they had seen and heard a pair of neutron stars collide, giving scientists a glimpse of the violent process by which most heavy metals in the universe were created. Neutron stars are the smallest in the…
As the national media spotlight continues to glare on Harvey Weinstein’s arrogant and shameful sexual misconduct (and possible criminal assault) and the “me too” social media campaign demonstrates the grotesque depth of the problem nationwide, a variety of questions swirl…
Ken Burns’ riveting documentary on the war in Vietnam stirred emotions and brought back haunting memories of a dark slice of our long national nightmare. One aspect of the war that received only passing coverage was the massive air war…
Images on the evening news in recent weeks, have been gut-wrenchingly sad. When Hurricane Harvey roared into Texas, flooding much of Houston and surrounding communities, my heart was broken to see refugees huddled in horror in shelters and evacuation centers….
President Trump recently vowed that North Korea’s threats of nuclear war “will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before.” In response, North Korea fired back with a threat of its…
According to a Navy version of gallows humor, “A collision at sea can ruin your whole day.” Well, a corollary to that quip might be, “A series of collisions at sea can sink a fleet admiral’s career.” The commander of…
