LTC Colonel Alexander Vindman has demonstrated exemplary leadership, as have Navy Captains Brett Crozier and Charles McVay, but all three were fired. Summarily removed from their positions of responsibility despite...

By CW4 Michael Carr “Find the feet first,” I kept saying to myself. “Feet first, not the head.” I did not want to find the head. I had to find...

By Michael Carr – I worked at bracing myself under the ship, trying to steady my body against the hull while inserting the foam lance’s fabric-covered tip into the icebreaker’s...

By Michael Carr – Standing was the only option, but I was now falling asleep standing up. I would drift off, my knees would buckle, and I would suddenly wake...

By Michael Carr – We all respected Jan Miles, captain of the schooner Pride of Baltimore. His vessel was faster, sleeker, bigger, and better funded than the rest of us...

By Michael Carr – Joint Base Balad Iraq is surrounded by sand. When you drive out its gates, all you see is sand. Sand blows onto the road, it consumes...

By Michael Carr – We were all beyond exhausted. Muscle memory and caffeine were keeping us going. And now I was certainly going to jail when all I had wanted...

By Michael Carr – Portsmouth Virginia’s Inner Harbor seawall is lined with lampposts spaced about 25 feet apart. They are ornate, built of steel and concrete, and stand at the...

By Michael Carr – “Come more to the left, now straighten out,” Steve directed. “On this wreck, the current comes in from the east, so you need to compensate for...

By CW4 Michael Carr – “This is your cabin sir,” pronounced the Carnival crewman. “Thank you” I replied, attempting to keep a low key and unemotional tone in my voice,...

By CW4 Michael Carr – I had heard enough. This constant debate on the need for electronics. Someone would say, “Well, celestial is great, but you really need electronics, I mean...

By CW4 Michael Carr – We huddled behind the ship’s superstructure, momentarily escaping wind, rain and snow flurries. Soon, though, we would need to leave this protection, and move to...

“Canal Control, Canal Control, Canal Control, this is Army Tug 915, channel 13 over”. I speak slowly into the VHF microphone. One hand on the mike, my other hand controlling...

Wayne was steering and I was navigating, but I knew we were not navigating in the way Bowditch defines the art and science of this endeavor. We were making 8...

By Michael Carr – A Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft is a big aircraft, with a wingspan of 169 ft., and length of 174 ft. Her fuselage width is 20 ft....

By CW4 Michael Carr – Tropical Storm, and potentially Hurricane Barry was heading directly for us. Though still a thousand miles away, which might seem far away, that distance is...

By Michael Carr – We were searching the bottom of Long Island Sound between Old Saybrook CT and Plum Island Long Island, for a 36 ft. powerboat. The boat sank...

By Michael Carr – Building a log cabin while underway is not easy. But I persisted and built one, many times over. Each time I began constructing the cabin it...

By Michael Carr – “Ensign Carr, the skipper wants to see you in his cabin now, I am here to relieve you of the watch.” I could not speak. “OK,”...

By Michael Carr – “Chief, we have a problem” came the message from the Bos’n. We always had problems before getting underway, the “Pre-Sail Checklist” was extensive, taking days to...