iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Trent Hone

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026

I have absolutely wondered about this. Amazing.

Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This was one of five speaking events (counting two lectures at the Command and Staff College at Marine Corps University) in four weeks. I enjoyed them all, but it was a challenge preparing and delivering them all (and keeping them all straight in my head) in such a narrow window.

static.klipy.com

Man's Heartfelt Laugh

Alt: Denzel Washington showing signs of relief and a heartfelt laugh.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

But honestly, I feel like narrowing the Pacific down to one book is like trying to comprehend the Christian Bible from just one of its books. No matter the choice, it will be inadequate.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This makes finding all the relevant action reports (unless you get lucky) an exploratory exercise involving multiple pulls from different areas all across ol' venerable RG 38.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

US Navy action reports can be filed virtually anywhere up and down the command chain: individual ship, Task Unit, Task Group, Task Force, Fleet, etc... You cannot expect that it will all be neatly contained under the "unit" that fought a particular action.

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Heather M. Haley @heatherhaleyphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

⚓️It’s publication day!📕 Feeling deeply humbled that my research appears in Ed Marolda’s edited volume with John Hattendorf, Richard Mobley, and Norman Friedman—scholars whose work shaped my understanding of Navy history and strategy. Grateful for the chance to contribute to a field built by giants.

Book cover for COLD WAR STORM: the u.S. NAVY AT TGE FALL OF VIETNAM AND THE LOOMING SOVIET THREAT. The background features a dramatic, dark toned scene with USS Kirk (DE 1087) under heavy clouds. The overall design uses red tones to convey urgency and the geopolitical stakes.

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Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I don't know how to say this but we may have just recorded the best episode in the history of this podcast as @colincolbourn.bsky.social @honer.bsky.social and I talked about the deeply historical film that is BATTLESHIP.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’m sure there are more recent works that offer a better treatment, but I’ve enjoyed Streng’s “Emptiness” and his treatment of the subject. He provides a translation of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā in an appendix.

A picture of a book inside cover. The book is “Emptiness: A Study in Religious Meaning” by Frederick J. Streng.

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Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

We can simulate fish schools or ants in ways that solve complex problems (gradient detection, bridge building, nest selection) but no one would create this weird soul/no-soul dichotomy to argue they these that multi-agent swarms of extremely simple rules are “thinking”.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I’ll have you know that ship is the height of seriousness. Nothing but business that one. 🤣

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Mary Lewis @profmarylewis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Excellent oped in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social by my @harvard.edu colleague Jill Lepore. www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

But of course, the machine conversation is not free. It comes at the cost of our common life together as teachers, learners, and researchers, colleagues, mentors, and friends. Not to mention, supervising student researchers is our job.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Yes, it was lovely to see you!

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Many thanks to Al Murray, James Holland, and the event organizers for including me and the other sessions that addressed the naval war and the campaign in the Pacific.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I was thrilled to join We Have Ways Fest this year, to see all the kit, attend lovely talks, and present on Admiral Nimitz’s leadership in the Pacific War. It was standing room only in the Arsenal Tent, and I was overjoyed with the positive feedback I received afterward from the attendees.

Trent Hone pictured in front of the “Arsenal” tent next to the placard indicating his talk is the next up at 1500, “Master and Commander: Nimitz and Victory on the Far Side of the World.”

A nearly bald man with glasses and a blue collared shirt standing in the turret of a World War II Humber armored car. He has a joyful grin on his face.

Trent Hone at the end of his talk on Admiral Nimitz, before a slide highlighting three of his books: Learning War, Mastering the Art of Command, and Seizing the Offensive.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It is an excellent talk. Highly recommended.

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Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This week Historians At The Movies looks at the history of tabletop gaming and very vivid imaginations. Join us on Netflix this Sunday, September 6 at 8pm eastern for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES. Keep #HATM rolling a nat 20 by sharing and we'll see you soon!

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

No doubt! If I review something and believe an important source ought to be consulted I will provide a full reference. Help the author and the overall field grow. Make connections. Share knowledge. That’s the point!

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Thank you! I am pleased with how it has evolved.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Details of the book here. bsky.app/profile/hone...

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Getting into the page proofs!

A printout of the forthcoming book, “Seizing the Offensive: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Naval Strategy that Won World War II” by Trent Hone, published by the Naval Institute Press.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Ah, Tynemouth. I have great memories of a visit there. Thank you for sharing.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The youngest and I saw a few snapping turtles in the local pond today. The water level is low, so they were near the surface and quite curious.

A snapping turtle in shallow muddy water with its head positioned above the surface. Its eyes appear to be looking directly at the camera.

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Dr Emma Salisbury @salisbot.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I'm speaking at the opening conference of SMM in Hamburg on Tuesday - "No Shipping, No Shopping" is the theme. Come say moin if you're there! www.smm-hamburg.com/programme/co...

smm-hamburg.com

SMM | Complete programme

A high number of high-profile conferences, dialogue sessions, workshops, and presentations take place during SMM. Don't miss out!

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Rebecca Brückmann @historleans.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#JOB ALERT: Carleton College is hiring a TT Assistant Professor in African History. The deadline for applications is September 1, 2026; start date for the job will be September 1, 2027. More information here ⬇️. 🗃️ #EduSky #HigherEd #Blackademics

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SMH Historians @smh-historians.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The Board of Trustees of the Society for Military History has approved the following statement of protest regarding the recent closure of public access to the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Johnston and Buxton have a lovey book about the yards that built British battleships. Recommend for those who are interested in the confluence of naval power and industry in the industrial era. www.usni.org/press/books/...

usni.org

The Battleship Builders

The U.S. Naval Institute provides an independent forum for those who seek to advance and strengthen the naval profession.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The treaties also had a negative impact on British naval shipbuilding. If you don’t build a battleship for over a generation, the ability to do so atrophies. Funny that.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I’d add that the naval limitation treaties introduced in Washington in 1922 had a major impact on ship design and force structure, especially for the Royal Navy because it was prevented from building the cruiser force that it recognized it needed.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This is a tragic development. There is a wealth of material on DTIC that is valuable to the public.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Regardless of their position on the political spectrum, they tend to comment on the competition, not the system. They take the system for granted. Consequently, the current administration’s harm to the system—the health of which is necessary for politics to “work”—goes largely unseen.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Tuner’s “Feeding Victory” is a good one.

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David Morgan-Owen @dmorganowen.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Had some wonderful news yesterday - the WW1 Historical Association awarded Framing the First World War the Norman B. Tomlinson Prize for 2025! Very grateful to our wonderful contributors and their hard work, series editor Bill Allison and the team at @univpressofkansas.bsky.social -

Book cover for 'Framing the First World War', adapted from Christopher Nevinson painting 'Return to the Trenches'. Published by university press of Kansas

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I have always loved this story. Great day to be alive.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

They weren't the same ships, and that's an important point. At Philippine Sea, Spruance's Fifth Fleet had the amphibious assault forces and fire support groups. Halsey's Third Fleet at Leyte Gulf did not. I think that's part of the reason he so easily slid into essentially becoming TF38's commander.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

If I bowed to you every time you displayed superior knowledge, I’d never stand up straight.

static.klipy.com

Bruce Lee: Bow Like

Alt: Bruce Lee in a blue top, bowing respectfully.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I think the most effective thing Spruance could have done was to remain in the role of a fleet commander and not overstep into Mitscher’s purview. But that would have required Spruance to trust Mitscher and after the flight to nowhere at Midway that wasn’t going to happen.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

How to rank these three—Fletcher, Spruance, and Halsey—given all that? I’m not sure. But I do think it says a great deal about Nimitz that more often than not the “right” officer was in command at the right time.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I don’t think Halsey was wrong to try to destroy Ozawa’s force. He was wrong to not divide the Third Fleet and destroy Ozawa and Kurita simultaneously. He had the means to do so. His subordinates suggested it. His staff (which is ultimately down to Halsey) failed him.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Regardless, the failure to destroy the Combined Fleet led to new instructions that if the opportunity arose again, it was to be seized. Those instructions guided Halsey at Leyte.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Did Spruance handle the battle well? I’ve looked at it closely and I’m not so sure. My assessment is that he did not display sufficient aggressiveness given the information available.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Indeed, the air battles over Formosa in October destroyed a comparable number of Japanese aircraft. They could and did reconstitute their air arm. Carriers could not be built so quickly.

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Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Winning a major victory over the Japanese Fleet was one of the major objectives of Nimitz’s campaign plan because it would allow offensive operations to accelerate and thereby shorten the war. The Fifth Fleet destroyed a lot of aircraft at Philippine Sea, but not the enemy fleet.

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