Dr. Tyler Pitrof - Educating the Bluejackets

In this episode of Preble Hall, Dr. Stephen Phillips welcomes Major Thomas Rychlik, USMC-Ret, to discuss the torpedo bomber squadrons in the Battle of Midway and his effort to have their commanding officers recognized with the Medal of Honor. 

In this episode of Preble Hall, Dr. Stephen Phillips welcomes Dr. Brian Ellison, to discuss his recently published work, Quiet Wars: U.S. Naval Human Intelligence Operations during Crisis with China, 1931-1965, published by the Naval Institute Press. 

In this episode of Preble Hall author Rod Andrew Jr. discusses his book The Marines' Fight for Survival War, Politics, and Institutional Crisis, 1945–1952 with Sondra Duplantis, the U. S. Naval Academy Museum's Education Specialist. Rod Andrew Jr. is professor of history and Alumni Master Teacher at Clemson University. The author of six books, he is a retired colonel in the US Marine Corps Reserve and former officer-in-charge, Field History Branch, US Marine Corps History Division.

In this episode of Preble Hall, Dr. David Smith, Teaching Professor of History in American History at Baylor University and a fleet professor in the U.S. Naval War College’s College of Distance Education, discusses his recently published work, Alfred Thayer Mahan: The Life of Maritime Strategy's Greatest Revolutionary, published by the Naval Institute Press.Dr. Stephen Phillips Shifley Lecture on the Naval Academy's move to Newport during the Civil War can be found here: Shifley Oct 2020

In this episode of Preble Hall, author Paul Magid discusses his book Pursuing the Leviathan: The Heroic Life of New England Whaling Captain Benjamin Clough with Sondra Duplantis, the U. S. Naval Academy Museum's Education Specialist. Set in the golden age of whaling in the nineteenth century, this book brings to life the adventures of Benjamin Clough, best known for single-handedly rescuing the ship Sharon from mutineers in 1842. Clough's heroism earned him a whaling command, which led to a whaling career that for a quarter-century took him into the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. 

The United States Naval Academy Museum's Curator of Ship Models, Don Preul, and Education Specialist Sondra Duplantis discuss the museum's ship model collection, model shop volunteers, and a beloved colleague. 

Captain James B. Bryant, USN (Ret.) and his Volunteer Research Team discuss Bryant's upcoming book Rush to Disaster: The Loss of USS Thresher with USNA Museum's Education Specialist, Sondra Duplantis. Rush to Disaster reexamines the 1963 loss of USS Thresher—the deadliest nuclear submarine disaster in history—using thousands of pages of newly declassified Naval Court of Inquiry (NCOI) records released through a landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. Written by a former nuclear commander, the book reveals how Cold War urgency, flawed assumptions, and institutional pressure combined to produce a catastrophe that reshaped submarine safety.  

In this episode of Preble Hall, United States Naval Academy Museum's Education Specialist, Sondra Duplantis and MU1 Tyler Tolles of the United States Naval Academy Band celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Musician (MU) rating. Since the first "Master of the Band" was appointed in 1826, Navy Music has projected a positive image at home and abroad, preserving the nation's musical heritage and inspiring the next generation of Sailors.

In Preble Hall Episode 262 LCDR Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret.) discusses his book Give Me a Fast Ship: The Heroic Actions of Ernest Evans and the Crew of USS Johnston with Sondra Duplantis, U. S. Naval Academy Museum's Education Specialist. LCDR Cutler is a retired lieutenant commander and former gunner’s mate second class who served in patrol craft, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. Cutler is the winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature, the U.S. Naval Institute Press Author of the Year, and the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award.

In this episode, Preble Hall's Educational Specialist, Sondra Duplantis, discusses with Dr. Tyler Pitrof  his most recent book, Educating the Bluejackets: U.S Navy Enlisted Policy 1940-2024.