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Flotsam & Jetsam - A collection of Sea Stories that have washed ashore during a forty-year career in the United States Navy by [Hank McKinney]

Flotsam & Jetsam - A collection of Sea Stories that have washed ashore during a forty-year career in the United States Navy Kindle Edition

by Hank McKinney (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A collection of Sea Stories that have washed ashore during a forty-year career in the United States Navy.

Any veteran of the United States Navy knows about “sea stories”. If you served in the Navy, it is almost a 100% certainty that you’ve heard one (probably many more than just one). And maybe you even told “one or two” yourself.

In a sense, “sea stories” and the tellers of them have all the finest attributes of oral historians and cultures that preserve through Stories the tradition and lore specific to their society. From old to young, handed down in rich detail shared by telling stories—much that we learn in life comes from this medium—and in the service (all branches) older more experienced personnel share much of their knowledge in just such a way. In their finest sense, a Navy sea story carries with it a lesson learned—a small slice of experience and specific circumstance talked about. Often leavened with humor, sometimes touching on the tragic—the cold hard facts of the risks involved—stories of experience help us to connect with our own contextual existence and adjust our thinking based on what we learn from what we hear.

At this writing, the statistic is that only 5% of the U.S. population has served in the military. So the vast majority of citizens of the United States do not know what it means to serve as a member of our armed forces. Service is voluntary—so it become a decision and many choose not to serve. Nothing wrong with that but I think it is important for those who have not served—to gain a better understanding of life inside the military. Hank McKinney’s book provides us a glimpse not often seen, into a life and career that shares some of the humor and tragedy you experience in a 40-year military career. If you had a friend or family member who served in the Navy—you can understand a bit more about their service by reading this book. If they were in the submarine service—you will gain an even stronger understanding.

Story tellers usually have a single intent. To touch the listener – some way and some how. Hank McKinney does that with his stories. For those who have served you’ll see bits of your own service in these stories. And I would be surprised if some of them don’t bring a smile in remembrance. You will also feel the pang of separation from family, an unavoidable price paid by those who serve and their families

As Admiral Frank Kelso so colorfully commented on in his endorsement of this book “The book is a great read and does a wonderful job of telling others what goes on in the steel tube beneath the sea. … It is a delightful chronicle of the professional life of a remarkable naval officer imbued with exceptional intellect and wit.”

You’ll find stories that cover the gamut of experience and responsibility, from midshipman to admiral, told in a refreshing conversational tone. You have permission to come onboard and spend some time with Hank McKinney. You’ll come away with a better understanding and appreciation for the “Silent Service” and the men and women who serve and I guarantee you will learn things that you never knew about what was essentially a critical component of our front line defense during the Cold War.

Print length

344 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 3, 2012
File size

3387 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0080I52EI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fortis Publishing (May 3, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3387 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #1,816,059 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #196 in Biographies of the Cold War
- #571 in Biographies of the Military Navy
- #6,030 in Military & Spies Biographies

Customer Reviews:
23 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		9%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		19%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Scott vH

I enjoyed it tremendously

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

In fairness, I knew Hank McKinney 56 years ago but have not seen him since. I, too, was a nuclear submarine officer and knew many of the people in the book and could relate well with his experiences. I thought his emphasis on the important role of the Navy wife was also accurate and well noted. I was very sorry that the book did not go on to the rest of his career which must have developed quite a few more "sea stories."

Helpful

RDW

A Very Personal Rememberance of Life as a Submariner

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is not a tell-all book. No national secrets are revealed here. It is, however, a delightfully readable collection of tales about a life well lived while serving in the United States Submarine Force. There is a great deal of folklore and drama surrounding submarine service, some of it justified, much of it exaggerated. If ever you wanted to know what it was like to serve in the Submarine Force during the Cold War, this is your book.

In fairness, I should note that I was a submarine commanding officer who served under then CAPT McKinney when he was a squadron commander in the Mediterranean, and was also his next-door neighbor in Hawaii when he was Commander Submarine Force Pacific. He was a terrific mentor and a great neighbor. He and his wife Mary were always gracious and a joy to be around. I mention this because it allows me to testify not simply to the authenticity of Admiral McKinney's experiences, but to the character that comes through in this narrative. RADM McKinney's career was an exceptionally successful one, to be sure, but the experiences he relates could have been any of us. Although he mentions his rise to flag rank in passing, his tale really covers his career until his relief as Commanding Officer of USS Seahorse.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in serving in submarines, has served in submarines, or is simply interested in learning what a career in submarines might involve. It is a delight!

4 people found this helpful

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John

Best Executive Officer and talented Naval officer

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

Hank McKinney is telling the story of his military life in a down-to-earth style and is easily related to the military experiences of veterans. I find it refreshing with his subtle way of giving credit for his success to those who supported and worked for him during his military career. Personally, I knew and worked with Hank. He was the best Executive Officer I encountered during my 22-year Navy career and I learned even more about him from his book. Good read and some lessons for us all.

Helpful

John T Repp

From NROTC Midshipman to Rear Admiral

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2010

Verified Purchase

As a fellow NROTC Regular, I was able to relate and enjoy a look back at similar situations as a Midshipman and the 3 summer cruises that we participted in. I was a year behind RADM McKinney but the cruises were the same adventure as he discribed. We both received our first orders to Destroyers and enjoyed learning the basics of becoming a Naval Officer.

All folks in the Naval Service have a plethora of sea stories to retell to those who are willing to listen. RADM McKinney has done us all proud with his ability to remember the early days as a Naval Officer and retell those important and some amusing incidents in his storied career as a Submariner leading to Command of the Submarine Force in the Pacific Fleet. Bravo Zulu Mike McKinney!

I have highly recommended his book to my fellow NROTC classmates.

2 people found this helpful

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Shark

Sea Stories Told Well

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2012

Verified Purchase

Hank McKinney is a contemporary of mine and has saved me the trouble of trying to explain to my friends in retirement what I did during my working life. Of course, I have lots of sea stories of my own, but Hank has done a good job of explaining in layman terms what nuclear submarine officers do. I am passing my copy of this book around, and am encouraging my shipmates to get a copy for their wives and kids to read because we never told them much about what we did when we were gone for months at a time. This is a good read.

Helpful

Paul Luther

Got to relive some of my experience serving under the Captain.

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was there. Great read. LT Paul Luther

Helpful

kris fullington.

Assume read

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

Accurate and entertaining at the same time. Being a former crew member during part of the time described I enjoyed it very much!

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Boring

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Not much about the submarine service during the Cold War; the time that much of his book covers. While many of us were slogging it out in the mud and blood of Vietnam ( to which he devotes one sentence) McKinny gives himself acclaimations for his education, training and what seems like cushy, clean, well fed, and rather short tours of sea duty. He spends much ink describing the wining and dining and perks of Naval officer corps along with plenty of name dropping. I thought most of the book was rather boring.

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