Old Sailors' Almanac

2014 ARCHIVES



McRaven to Grads: To Change the World, Start by Making Your Bed

McRaven to Grads: To Change the World, Start by Making Your Bed Texas Exes

Because we can’t improve upon perfection, and because it’s silly to try and summarize a speech that should be read in full, we present the full copy of Admiral William McRaven’s May 2014 Commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin. McRaven, BJ ’77, Life Member and Distinguished Alumnus, is the commander of U.S. Special Operations and led Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted to the killing of Osama bin Laden.Texas Exes video


Vietnam: The loss of American innocence?

Vietnam: The loss of American innocence? Stars and Stripes

The “troubled vet” stereotype, while rooted in truth, shadowed that silent majority of returning troops as they again donned civilian clothes. The stubborn perception colored how others treated them and complicated their recovery from psychic wounds that, if not so severe as to push them to homelessness or suicide, still needed to mend. Stars and Stripes