Many years ago I was in the United States Navy, a junior officer on the deck of a small ship homeported in Japan.

These memories never leave you and have been in my mind now with the recent naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

I can almost guarantee you that enforcing blockades was not a skill taught at Navy Officers Candidate School. Attacking, shelling, ship-to-ship warfare, amphibious landings–yes. Blockade enforcement?–I cannot recall that having ever been taught.

Yet, I am not greatly concerned. I found during my 3 ½ years on active duty, including Vietnam, that Navy people are resilient. They adapt. Things happen that are not normal or expected. I believe that Americans, especially, are good at adapting in warfare.

I think my greater concern for those on active duty with the Navy today is with their deployment schedules. We do not have as many sailors as we used to have. The ones now on active duty need a break from time-to-time. Yet, aircraft carriers and other navy ships have been on almost continual deployments.

One article that I read recently said that the aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, had set a new record by being on continuous deployment for 297 days. Just think of how you would feel after 297 days at sea.

Yet, there they are now , off the coast of Iran, not Venezuela, in full combat readiness with many nights, I am sure, at General Quarters–combat mode in the Navy.

It is also interesting to note, though we are now into the third decade of the 21st century, that we are still constrained and limited by the seas and the continents that border them. All of our Navy ships, from what we know, are out in the open sea–outside the Strait of Hormuz.

It would be suicide to send them through the Strait and become trapped along with the 300 oil tankers and cargo ships that have been anchored there for two months waiting for the war to end.

I guess the lesson is that geography and mother nature still dictate the direction and outcome of wars. Ships can still be sunk, narrow straits can be blocked. (Think of the French Navy keeping the British Navy from entering the mouth of Chesapeake Bay during our Revolutionary War thus enabling General Washington and his troops to defeat the British at Yorktown.)

History is a great teacher, but it doesn’t mean that we learn from it.

And, to those now serving in the U.S. Navy off the coast of Iran–thanks for stepping up and doing your job. We hope that it all works out, and that you return safely to the USA for some needed time with your families and to have your ships repaired, restored and made ready for their next deployment.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident and a former U.S.Naval Officer