Let Us Dare to Read, Think, Speak, Write – and BLOG

Admiral Jim Stavridis is an Annapolis graduate with a PhD in international relations from Tufts University. He has held multiple commands at sea and various strategic planning jobs in the Pentagon. He has published four books and over a hundred print articles – but now focuses on blogging and other web-centric means of communicating ideas. His interests are joint, international, interagency, and private-public cooperation in Europe as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command. Admiral Stavridis’ Blog

Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed the duties of the 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 25th, 2006. As such, he leads the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), comprised of about 42,000 men and women on Active Duty, 7,000 civilians, 8,000 Reservists and 34,000 volunteer Auxiliarists. He is the only four-star Admiral of the Coast Guard, and is appointed for a four year term by the President of the United States upon confirmation of the US Senate. The Coast Guard Commandant is not a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He reports to the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense. Prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the Coast Guard Commandant reported to the Secretary of Transportation. The Coast Guard is America’s oldest continuous seagoing service and is a Federal law enforcement agency as well as a branch of the armed forces. The Coast Guard serves the American people by saving lives and property at sea; ensuring the safety of thousands of professional mariners and millions of recreational and commercial vessels; protecting our ports and maritime infrastructure from terrorism, securing our borders, maintaining aids to navigation, responding to natural disasters, defending our Nation, conducting humanitarian operations, protecting our marine environment, and keeping shipping routes open and clear of hazards. The Coast Guard is “Semper Paratus” – Always Ready to respond to All Hazards – All Threats.

To keep up with Admiral Allen and his activities as Commandant visit www.uscg.mil/comdt. Be sure to sign up for RSS feed of his journal, iCommandant.

ASM, American. Captain Alexander Martin was born in the shadow of the first ever Rubik’s Cube World Championships, The Falkland’s War, Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the death of Ayn Rand. (John Belushi also died.) He is most importantly the son of Jackie and Kurt and brother to Jack and Ashly. He is a sailing enthusiast and also enjoys day drinking. ASM is currently a Marine Force Reconnaissance platoon commander, and has also served as an Infantry and Reconnaissance platoon commander. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and blogs about “War & Women” at warandwomen.blogspot.com. ASM lives in La Jolla, California, where he was raised.

Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. assumed command of United States Fleet Forces Command in July 2009. Admiral Harvey is a Baltimore native and a 1973 U.S. Naval Academy graduate. His interests include history and political science. He is a regular blog contributor and established the U.S. Fleet Forces Command Blog.

The Bunny is a former naval officer, the third generation in her family to serve.  She runs the marketing programs at a military non-profit and is the author of three non-fiction books about the military.  She has a master’s degree in marketing communications.  Her middle name is “pro bono,” as she loves to volunteer with veterans and the elderly and, especially, elderly veterans.  She serves on several charitable non-profit boards of directors and continues to moonlight as a writer.  She was nicknamed “The Bunny” five years ago as a veiled reference to her energy level (remember the Energizer Bunny?).

Chap Commander Chapman Godbey, USN is a foreign area officer on active duty with enlisted, submarine, expeditionary strike group, and staff experience.  He has written for a variety of publications, including USNI Proceedings.  CDR Godbey is en route to a liaison job in a Middle Eastern country.

Cadet Christiaan Conover is a cadet at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the class of 2011. He is majoring in Marine Transportation, in order to earn a Coast Guard unlimited tonnage Third Mate’s license upon graduation. He plans to become a commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard when he graduates. Beyond having a love of the water and of ships, he has a strong knowledge of technology, particularly computers and the Internet. He has many years of experience in web design and development, providing services to many companies and organizations, including an internship at the Naval Institute.

Christiaan is enlisted and is a Seaman in the Coast Guard Reserve, having joined in July 2008.  He is stationed at Small Boat Station Woods Hole, MA. Christiaan blogs at his own site Christiaan Conover and CGBlog.org :: An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog.

CDR Salamander A warfare qualified, active duty officer who was a Navy Commander when he started his blog CDR Salamander in the summer of 2004. CDR Salamander’s Blog 

Christopher Albon is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy. Christopher could talk about them forever. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Jen. Chris Albon’s blog http://warandhealth.com/ 

Defense Springboard is an academic who began engaging in national security debates as a doctoral student in Biomedical Sciences at Harvard University.  After earning his degree in 2005, he lectures somewhere on the West Coast, and his research interests range from biological weaponry to littoral engagement.  A frequent contributor to USNI’s Proceedings Magazine, Springboard has published in the Naval War College Review, Navy Medicine, National Defense Magazine, The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune and elsewhere. Defense Springboard’s Blog

Eagle1 is an attorney and a retired Navy Reserve Captain (Surface Warfare). His military experience includes service in destroyers, the logistics force, inshore security, and naval control of shipping. He held command of a Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit and several other reserve units. A Navy ROTC grad, he saw active duty service off Vietnam and was recalled for Desert Storm and Kosovo. His legal practice includes maritime law. His blog is www. eaglespeak.us.

Eric Wertheim is a defense consultant, columnist and author specializing in naval and air force issues. He was named to the helm of the internationally acknowledged, one volume Naval Institute reference Combat Fleets of the World in 2002. As author and editor, his duties include tracking, analyzing and compiling data and photography on every vessel, aircraft and major weapon system, in every naval and paranaval force in the world – from Albania to Zimbabwe. He leads an independent maritime intelligence effort that spans the globe to produce the book commonly known as “Combat Fleets.” Mr. Wertheim has served as a speechwriter for senior Pentagon officials and as a consultant to best-selling authors, publishers and nonprofit organizations, and he has been instrumental in the advancement of numerous high-technology weapons and concepts. From 1994 through 2004 he wrote the bimonthly “Lest We Forget” column on historic U.S. warships for the Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine. In 2004 he began writing a monthly “Combat Fleets” column for the magazine, and his annual review of world navies runs in the March issue of the magazine. He is the coauthor with Norman Polmar of the books, Chronology of the Cold War at Sea and Dictionary of Military Abbreviations, both published by the Naval Institute Press.

Fouled Anchor is a retired Senior Chief who served 20 years in the Intelligence Community, including service in the joint environment and with NATO partners. His experience includes operational intelligence billets ashore and afloat, and significant human resources and training assignments. He earned a bachelors and a masters degree while on active duty.

Fred Fry is a Marine Transportation graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and MBA graduate of Finland’s Helsinki School of Economics. He has worked in the maritime industry both at sea and ashore for his whole career and has experience working both in the US and in Europe. Fred is the author of the weekly series ‘Maritime Monday‘ hosted at gCaptain and also blogs on his own site, Fred Fry International.

 Frogman is a former Marine Corps Captain who spent fours years as a Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Detachment Commander.  During that tour of duty he commanded an clandestine surveillance and deep reconnaissance platoon for the 24th and 26th MEU (SOC).  The detachment was trained in in-extremis hostage rescue, free fall and close circuit diving insertion, and limited scale raids. Frogman has conducted special operation missions in support of other government agencies in Cuba, Haiti, Arabia, Italy, Somalia, Liberia, and South America.  Prior to his tour at Force Recon, Frogman was a Rifle and Weapons Platoon Commander in a Marine Rifle Battalion. Frogman’s military decorations include the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Humanitarian Service Award, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and Joint Special Operations Award. Currently, Frogman works in private equity focused on distressed companies and works in support of the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.

Galrahn is an alias for Raymond Pritchett. Raymond is a technologist, entrepreneur, and owns a technology consulting company in upstate New York. His experience ranges from the technical roles in secure Enterprise IT architectures, internet media marketing and business strategies, and developing secure information sharing technologies between clients and partners. Raymond has worked for numerous private companies in a variety of industries, with previous clients ranging from Wal-Mart to Government in a variety of industries ranging from health care to massive multi-player online gaming. Raymond has no military experience, is self educated, and is the owner of the blog Information Dissemination.

Jim Dolbow is a writer, Coast Guard Reserve Officer, and former defense staffer on Capitol Hill.   From February 2000 to January 2007, Jim served as Legislative Director/Military Legislative Assistant for Congressman John Hostettler (IN-08). In this capacity, he handled Congressman Hostettler’s House Armed Services Committee portfolio. Jim received his commission in the United States Coast Guard Reserve on 31 July 2002.  His advanced degrees include an MA in National Security & Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and an M.A. in Statecraft and World Politics from The Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. Jim Dolbow’s Blog

LTJG Ryan R. Erickson is an Active Duty Officer in the United States Coast Guard. He began his military career in 1995 joining the U.S. Army as an 11B Infantryman (240B Gunner) with the 1/75 Ranger Battalion. Upon completion of his tour he was assigned to the Washington State National Guard and in 1999 changed course to join the U.S. Coast Guard. His time in the USCG has included a tour in Kodiak, AK as an Avionics Technician and HC-130 Navigator, and a tour in Elizabeth City, NC as a plank-owner of the C-130J program. In 2004 he was accepted to Officer Candidate School; on graduation, he was stationed at Sector Seattle, Washington where he was the supervisor of their Vessel Board and Search Team and a Command Duty Officer in the Joint Harbor Operations Center. Currently LTJG Erickson is stationed in Portsmouth, VA as a member of LANT (OPCOM)/D5 Command Center. Ryan’s blogs are CGBlog.org :: An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog and RyanErickson.com

Military History Buffs are avid consumers of all types of military history, but especially Navy history. They love the stories behind our country’s rich maritime heritage and spend the majority of their free time buried in historical books and museums. They are military veterans themselves and might even name their next child Decatur.

Steeljaw Scribe is a senior defense consultant and retired Navy Captain. A former Hawkeye squadron CO, he has over 3,000 hours and 500-plus traps in the E-2C and several other aircraft. With additional duties and experience spanning from CVN navigator to Special Assistant to the CNO for Joint Matters and operations from the Arctic to the Middle East and South America, he brings a unique perspective to his writing with interests focused on naval and aviation operations and history, nuclear strategy and policy issues and missile defense. SJS, as he is known in the blogging world since 2006, is a graduate of The Citadel, Naval War College and Naval Postgraduate School, holding a Master’s in National Security Studies from the latter. He has published articles in several periodicals and is presently working on two books. Steeljaw Scribe’s Website

UltimaRatioRegis: The Last Argument of Kings is a Reserve Marine Lieutenant Colonel, an
Artillery officer with 22 years of service. He has servedin all four Marine Divisions, and is a combat veteran of OIFII. In his civilian occupation, he is an emergency planner in New England, and is a qualified exercise developer who has participated in the planning and conduct of myriad federal and state exercises with scenarios ranging from natural disaster to terrorism to cyber attack. His current USMCR unit supports Title X war games for all services.

Jeff Withington is a midshipman in the class of 2010 at the U.S. Naval Academy. During the fall of 2008, he served as a squad leader, responsible for thirteen other midshipmen. Jeff has cruised from Pearl Harbor to Guam on the USS Buffalo (SSN-715), participated in RIMPAC onboard the USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), and spent a week learning basic Marine Corps infantry tactics at Camp LeJeune. This past summer he interned with the Trident Program at the Office of Naval Intelligence providing intelligence support to Naval Special Warfare. He is an honors history major, minoring in Chinese. 

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