The main job an officer had in the squadron was to be a pilot or RIO. Pilots were judged on their competency in the air, whether they were ‘a good stick’. This ranking went on a scale from “a damn fine stick’ to ‘unsafe at any speed’.
Title: The Perfect Wreck
Author: Steven E. Maffeo
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1611791510
"This is the true story of the battle between the famous USS "Constitution" ("Old Ironsides"), and HMS "Java," in late 1812. It's told from the viewpoints of the officers and men whose story it is. It's also a narrative of the preceding four months when both of the ships, their captains, and their crews took infinite pains in preparation for their two diverse missions -- missions which then took each of them thousands of miles in adventurous blue-water sailing.
I've used a slight fictional treatment, trying to mix solid reporting with novelistic description in a scenic, dramatic fashion; but, I assure you that the sequence of events is accurate, the events are confirmed, and every named individual really existed. I've tried to entertain you with an incredible sea story while simultaneously handing you accurate, unequivocal history."
Navy Draftsman Second Class Michael Noeth is my friend. Like other great people, he’ll somewhere cringe at my high thoughts and words of him. Most of us come across truth as it appears before us like a highway car accident. We’d like to know the realities but shield our squinting eyes so we can close them faster if the horrors are overwhelming.
Title: A Wound in the Mind
Author: Francis J. Partel, Jr.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Fran McGraw
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B00361FBVS
It is 1968. The US naval war in Vietnam is at peak level of intensity. USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, is in the Gulf of Tonkin for her fifth combat cruise of the war prosecuting Operation Rolling Thunder. The historical naval novel has moved forward from the Napoleonic Wars of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian to the modern navy. The ships and weapons may have changed, but time-tested traits of courage and leaderhip remain very much in demand.
Ltjg. Cannon has just returned to his stateroom when Gunnery Sergeant Mates phones him to take on the defense of a marine's marine who won the Navy Cross in the brutal Hill Fights of Khe Sanh in 1967. LCPL Cachora is charged with assault and battery while on liberty in Hong Kong. Ltjg. Cannon along with Ens. Chase take on an uphill struggle to defend their client. With the odds stacked against them, they creatively mount a spirited defense. This is the thrilling drama of Cahora's court-martial.
Introduction: Jim Enderle, Dispatches Editor
I was asked to introduce myself, so here goes. I’m an active duty (until this November’s retirement) Navy Chief Petty Officer/Hospital Corpsman stationed in Groton, CT. I oversee, as leading chief, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation/Traumatic Brain Injury/Behavior Health Clinics situated on the Navy’s New London Submarine Base. After retirement, I hope to continue serving my comrades in arms in one form or another.