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Navy captain’s yelling and public “humiliation” of her officers and crew was so severe and frequent — once for the mistake of pointing out dolphins swimming nearby the ship’s bridge — that sailors were afraid to bring bad news to her attention. That “fear culture” aboard the USS Lake Erie, a scathing Navy investigation found, could have created “a higher risk of having a safety or operational mishap” and an “unsafe command environment where sailors do not … exercise sound judgment.”… As the commander of the Lake Erie, the report found, DeFant grabbed or struck her officers while they were...

If President Trump doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office. Last week I attended two memorable events that reminded me why we care so very much about this nation and also why our future may be in peril. The first was a change of command ceremony for a storied Army unit in which one general officer passed authority to another. The second event was an annual gala for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) Society that recognizes past and present members of the intelligence and Special Operations community...

Divers in Madagascar have found a silver bar weighing about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) that they believe was part of the treasure of pirate Captain Kidd. The bar was presented to Madagascar's president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, in a ceremony Thursday on the island of Sainte Marie, near the country's northeast coast. The bar was found in a bay off the island, the diving team said. The team was led by Barry Clifford, an American undersea explorer who has been searching for pirate treasure for many decades. Clifford believes there could be more treasure on the bay floor where he found the...

Underwater explorers in Madagascar say they have found what is thought to be the treasure of notorious Scottish pirate William Kidd. Soldiers on Sainte Marie island have been guarding the 50kg silver bar after divers brought it to shore. Madagascar's president as well as UK and US diplomats received the suspected treasure at a ceremony on the island. Capt Kidd was executed in 1701 for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean.

A NATO destroyer has sunk a pirate mothership in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast after allowing the crew to leave, the alliance said Monday. Shona Lowe, an anti-piracy spokeswoman, said the HDMS Absalon — the Danish flagship of the three-vessel NATO flotilla in the region — disrupted a pirate operation by "scuttling" one of the large boats used by Somali gangs to transport attack teams to piracy hunting areas far off the coast. The mothership was fired on and sunk after its crew members were transferred to a smaller boat in tow, which was allowed to return to...

What are these knuckleheads saying? (or thinking?) these days..?

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2006 – Pirates are not a thing of the past. They are alive and well, and roaming the seas in search of booty. And U.S. Navy and Coast Guard officials are determined to stop them from threatening Americans and American interests. When average Americans think of pirates, they probably conjure up an image of a snarling, rum-drinking, eye-patch wearing, 18th century drunkard with a parrot perched on his shoulder. This perception is in need of an update. Following a century of decline, piracy is increasingly on the rise. "Although piracy has existed almost as long as shipping...

One candidate for student body president at North Carolina State University is rocking the boat. A student is on the ballot, not under a real name, but as The Pirate Captain. He even has a platform or "plank." It includes "expanding the bus lines to haul thar peopled cargo to and fro from ACC bouts at the yonder RBC Center." Also, "holding meetin's open to all yae landlubbers.">snip<"Voting for someone who wants to rid the campus of scurvy dogs is not really an effective way of having student government," sophomore Christopher Sanchez said. The Pirate Captain was able to get...

The bride’s uncle pulled a pistol on the groom and best man, who were role-playing as pirates during a wedding reception at the Bounty Lounge late Saturday night, police said. Gerard Moccia, 55, of Medford, Mass., was arrested about 45 minutes later on two felony counts of criminal threatening, Detective Sgt. Andrew Lavoie said. Moccia was a guest at the wedding, which was followed by a pirate-themed reception at the Bounty Lounge at the Holiday Inn on Northeastern Boulevard, Lavoie said. As part of the reception, the groom and best man were to burst into the lounge and “take over”...