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Norman’s Corner: Speaking to Admiral Rickover

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Soon after I went to work for Navy Times in late 1959, the editor-in-chief, John Slinkman, came over to my desk and

Norman’s Corner: Tom Clancy

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the seventeenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In July 1983 a friend asked my wife, Beverly, and me to attend a bar-b-q at his home. Among the few others

Norman’s Corner: A Man for All Seasons

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 27th a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here. Mr. Polmar is now traveling abroad and the series will resume this summer.) On an afternoon in late 1975 I received a telephone

Submarine History Seminar Recap: A Century of U.S. Navy Torpedo Development

“We’ve come a long way since FIDO.” In the years since the first Submarine History Seminar was held at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History during the Submarine Force Centennial in 2010, enthusiasts of undersea warfare have learned a great deal about the history and memory of the submarine service. Everything from the legacy

Norman’s Corner: A Most Unforgettable Character

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 26th a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Being a “character” is a very positive description of a person.  To me, a character is one who thinks for himself or herself,

Norman’s Corner: My Protégé and My Mentor

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 25th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) During the summer of 1965, when I was assistant editor of the Naval Institute Proceedings, a young man came into my Annapolis

Norman’s Corner: My Adopted Brother

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 24th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) The U.S. nuclear attack submarine Thresher sank during sea trials off the New England coast on 10 April 1963, with the loss

Norman’s Corner: An Airman’s Airman

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 23nd in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) I knew Don Engen for a very brief period. Still, he had a significant influence on me. Vice Admiral Engen dropped out

Norman’s Corner: Everybody Likes Fred Rainbow

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 22nd in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.)   Everybody likes Fred Rainbow.  At least that is a widely held perception.  At times it has gotten embarrassing.  For example, when

Norman’s Corner: Who is Nigel West?

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 21st in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Nigel West is not a spy.  Some people think that he is.  British journalist and documentary film producer Jon Ronson, in his

Norman’s Corner: The Father of Aegis

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 20th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In the mid-1970s my neighbors in Northern Virginia included Stu and Martha Landersman.  Stu was a Navy captain and a surface warfare

Norman’s Corner: An Astronaut Underwater

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the nineteenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) I knew an astronaut.  We were friends for a few years.  We were not close, but we were on a first-name basis.

Norman’s Corner: A Real Curmudgeon

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the eighteenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) We often tend to use terms and words to describe people that, when we learn the true meaning of the word, often

Norman’s Corner: Tom Clancy

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the seventeenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In July 1983 a friend asked my wife, Beverly, and me to attend a bar-b-q at his home. Among the few others

VADM Chris Cagle

Norman’s Corner: Admiral Chris Cagle in War and in Peace

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the sixteenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In high school I began writing my first book—a history of the world’s aircraft carriers. In 1964, I wrote to the