Dark Transit

“The great lie at the heart of all states is that other people are not the same as us. It is the excuse for violence, the rationalization that makes it possible to wield a weapon in the first place: it’s okay to kill them, they would do the same to us, they’re different than us. It’s the foundation of every atrocity small or large throughout history. The lie that the others are different. And once that lie is used to justify violence, it can’t be relinquished. The ends become the means, and violence must be called down not just for the reason of the lie, but in defense of the lie.”

“Violence and the Lie”

by Steven Lloyd Wilson

burningviolin.com, January 2013

“So let us not be blind to our differences, but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s futures. And we are all mortal.”

President John F. Kennedy

Address at the American University in Washington D. C., June 10, 1963

“Anyone who clings to the historically untrue — and thoroughly immoral — doctrine that ‘violence never solves anything’ I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.”

Robert Heinlein

“The spectrum of conflict today is neither linear nor predictable. We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option.”

US Strategic Command (@US_Stratcom) April 20, 2021

“The recent tragic loss of the Argentine submarine San Juan, the fire raging amongst moored Russian Kilo-class submarines at Vladivostok (a drill, Moscow claims), and the fortunately nonfatal but highly expensive flooding of the Indian nuclear powered submarine Arihant highlight that despite being arguably the most fearsome weapon system on the planet, submarines remain dangerous to operate even when not engaged in a war. Even brief breakdowns in crew discipline or mechanical reliability can rapidly turn the stealthy underwater marauders into watery coffins.”

“No More Air: How An Entire Chinese Submarine Crew Died a Tragic Death in 2003”

by Sebastien Roblin

The National Interest, November 2019

“Unlike other warships a submarine has no peacetime role. She cannot ‘show the flag’ or be used to entertain foreign dignitaries. She is unsuitable for the pomp and ceremony for which war vessels of all nations are in such great demand and she is hardly the ideal vehicle for carrying a Head of State on official visits. She has no facilities or surplus space available to enable her to provide aid when natural disasters such as earthquakes, flood and volcanic eruptions occur in remote areas; and she can only offer limited assistance in a rescue situation. The submarine, unlike her surface sisters, is solely a vessel of war. Thus, by definition, her Commanding Officer is, in Winston Churchill’s stirring phrase, ‘a Captain of War.’

Edwyn Gray

“Captains of War: They Fought Beneath the Sea”

“The shipbuilders of Electric Boat are proud to deliver Vermont to our Navy, an extraordinarily capable ship. I am pleased to report that the Vermont has received some of the highest quality ratings in the history of the Virginia program. We wish Vermont and her crew a long and distinguished career in defense of our nation.”

Kevin Graney, President, General Dynamics Electric Boat,

April, 2020

This black hull with all its weapons

is my home. It belongs to me.

And to all of her officers and crew

May they be strong and forever free.

Let us live to protect her stealth

And look with pride upon her sonar dome.

They say home is where the heart is

This black hull is my home.

This black hull is my home.

USS Vermont official song

(corrupted from the State of Vermont’s official state song)

“It never happened — we were never there.”

Battle cry of the USS Vermont

“In the name of the United States, I christen thee ‘Vermont.’ May God bless her and all who sail in her.”

Gloria Valdez, ship sponsor, October 20, 2018,General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut