by Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D. (gCaptain) Many members of the maritime industry enter the profession without an adequate knowledge of what preceded it and how it evolved over time. Even those who graduate from professional institutions, such as the states or federal maritime academies, may have only a passing knowledge, while many outside the profession are starved … [Read more...]
Leadership On The High Seas, A Book Review
A search for leadership books on Amazon yields over 100,000 results and there is no shortage of Naval Leadership books (including a few excellent ones) but the commercial maritime domain is strikingly different from the navy and few books look at leadership from the perspective of merchant ship officers. Captain Parani discovered this problem when he took … [Read more...]
gCaptain’s Best Nautical Books Of 2017
gCaptain is proud to announce the winners of our second annual award for gCaptain’s Best Nautical Books Of The Year. The year’s notable nautical fiction and nonfiction books of late 2016 and 2017, as selected by gCaptain’s editors. This list represents books we have read or reviewed in the past year (or so) and we believe are well worth your time. P.S. … [Read more...]
Ball Diamond Ball – The U.S. Navy’s Failure To Reorient To Danger
By Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) Collision avoidance requires all members of a bridge team to have certain traits. Observation skills, quick thinking, intuition, pattern recognition and the ability to make and act upon decisions quickly in a complex environment. A prudent watch officer must also be able to recognize when the only good option is to turn the ship around to cut … [Read more...]
Held Hostage By A Cargo Of Bombs
Most military historians agree about the critical importance and sacrifice of the Merchant Marine of the Allied nations in winning World War Two but very few mention the role civilian ships flying the American flag have played in the wars since. Dr. Salvatore R. Mercogliano, a professor of History at Campbell University and a SUNY Maritime College alumni, has taken the first … [Read more...]