The verdict in the court-martial of 21-year-old Seaman Ryan Mays, accused of deliberately setting the fire that torched the billion-plus dollar amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, is in the hands of a military judge. If convicted of arson and willful hazarding a vessel, Mays could face a sentence of life in prison.
Now that the trial has concluded, it is hard not to wonder whether the Navy’s case will go up in smoke. The nine-day trial featured a Navy case that was largely circumstantial and relied heavily on a single witness, whose story changed over time. The Navy also admitted to identifying and interviewing another suspect but being forced to stop looking into the sailor because he was discharged from the service.
On a recent trip to Scotland, we visited the beautiful Loch Ness. While we were there, we heard of a sighting of a weird beastie in the loch. But no, not Nessie, the famous monster, or even a loch 
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier 
The 
In early September, just weeks before his sentencing in a decade-long Navy bribery and corruption scandal, Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “
The 137-foot 
The legend of the 
Herbert “Bert” Jacobson was 21 when he died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Over 80 years later, he was finally laid to rest yesterday in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He was one of 429 sailors and Marines on the battleship 
On the morning of September 4, at 7:35 AM, Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” cut his ankle bracelet monitor and 
The 
An updated repost. There is a line from a Paul Simon song, “these are the days of miracle and wonder.” One might not think to apply that lyric to the events of 9/11, 21 years ago today. Yet for at least part of that strange and horrible day, they fit. The great 