While the young men and women who sign on to become sailors in the United States Navy receive extensive indoctrination and training, their parents do not. This book is both a translation manual and a cultural guide to their son's or daughter's chosen new world.

THOMAS J. CUTLER is a U.S. Navy retired lieutenant commander and former gunner's mate second class who served in patrol craft, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. He is the founder and former Director of the Walbrook Maritime Academy in Baltimore. Currently he is Fleet Professor of Strategy and Policy with the Naval War College and is the Gordon England Chair of Professional Naval Literature at the U.S. Naval Institute.