Larry Bond is 75 and lives with his wife Jeanne in Virginia, outside Washington DC. After co-authoring Red Storm Rising with Tom Clancy, he has teamed with several different authors to write eighteen novels: Five with Pat Larkin, starting with Red Phoenix, eight with Jim deFelice, The First Team and Red Dragon Rising series, and five with Chris Carlson, including the Jerry Mitchell series, and his latest book, Lash-Up. Five have been New York Times bestsellers.

He has also co-designed the Admiralty Trilogy series games, which include Harpoon, Command at Sea, and Fear God & Dread Nought. All three have won industry awards.

Larry's only nonfiction work is The Mighty Fallen, in collaboration with the photographer f-stop Fitzgerald. A photographic visit to military memorials in the United States and Canada, Larry's introduction and text accompany f-stop's stunning photographs of monuments honoring the service and sacrifices made by America's veterans.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Larry was a Surface Warfare officer before leaving the Navy in 1982. He then worked as a naval analyst for defense consulting firms in the Washington, DC area. He now writes and designs games full-time.

Larry is an avid wargamer and modeler.

Visit Larry's Facebook page for up to date information on his latest projects. He also has an entry on Wikipedia.

Christopher Carlson is a Minnesota native. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. After graduation, he completed the nuclear power and basic submarine officer training curriculum and reported aboard USS Lafayette (SSBN 616 Blue). He then spent three years at the Defense Intelligence Agency as an undersea warfare analyst before resigning his active commission in 1990. He affiliated with the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program where he served in a number of units and staff positions, including two assignments as a unit commanding officer and as a regional intelligence area chief staff officer. He retired from the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2008 with the rank of Captain.

Chris was formerly employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a senior naval systems and warfare analyst providing technical intelligence products and presentations to national decision makers and the acquisition community. He retired from the Department of Defense in 2010 after serving as the Senior Intelligence Officer and acting Division Chief of the Acquisition Support Division, Defense Warning Office.

Being an avid wargamer from an early age, Chris is one of the co-designers of the Admiralty Trilogy tactical naval wargame series: Harpoon⁴, Command at Sea, and Fear God & Dread Nought. All three have won numerous industry awards, and have expanded to include numerous supplements and stand alone games. Often dubbed as Larry's "science officer," Chris has also authored many articles in the Naval SITREP on modeling and technical naval issues.

Chris has teamed up with Larry Bond and co-authored a short story, Burial at Sea, in the Tombs anthology, as well as four full-length novels, Dangerous Ground, Cold Choices, Exit Plan, Shattered Trident, and Lash-up.

Michael W. Harris grew up in Minnesota, graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1983 with Bachelors of Art in Political Science and History, and received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. After graduation, he completed Surface Warfare Officer school and served aboard USS Iowa (BB 61), USNS Waccamaw (T-AO 109) and USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7). He had one tour ashore at Readiness Support Group Atlantic. His most exciting tour was as Turret Officer onboard Battleship Iowa where he could feel the touch of the past in every 16-inch round he shot down range. As he comments on the experience, "It was a real blast".

Mike spent a number of years as defense contractor supporting Navy maintenance programs before become a Navy civilian employee. He is currently serving at Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic and is responsible for scheduling U.S. Atlantic fleet surface ship depot maintenance periods and is the program manager for U.S. Atlantic fleet surface ship material condition assessments.

Being an avid wargamer from an early age, Mike is one of the co-designers of the Admiralty Trilogy tactical naval wargames: Command at Sea, and Fear God & Dread Nought. Both games have won numerous industry awards, and have expanded to include numerous supplements and stand alone games.

Noted as a highly prolific scenario developer, Mike has built most of the scenarios the Admiralty Trilogy team has run at the HMGS Cold Wars and Historicon conventions over the past two decades These convention combats have ranged from historical or near-historical such as Goeben/Breslau meeting the Austrians to fight the French, to the world of Hollywood with the Battle of Pala Passage from the movie "In Harm's Way". There have also been scenarios that challenge the realm of reality, such as when the World War I armored cruiser Blücher rose from the depths to aid an outnumbered NATO squadron against a massive Soviet flotilla. Although an unusual scenario, the ship miniature itself, bedecked in mottled colors with seaweed strewn about, drew as much attention. Mike always makes the scenarios interesting, often highlighting a unique historical situation or a tactical nuance that gives each engagement its own appeal. Most all of these scenarios can be found in the Naval SITREPs along with a guide on how to build your own tactical naval combat scenarios.

Ed Kettler has been part of the Admiralty Trilogy crew since 1987 when he contacted Larry Bond to get some updates done for Resolution 502, and ended up designing South Atlantic War as a complete module for the Harpoon. The next big effort was the initial work on backdating Harpoon to World War II and early development of the gun and armor model to form Command at Sea. Continuing his scenario development work, he was the lead designer on the Rising Sun scenarios for the first half of the Pacific war, High Seas Fleet for Fear God & Dread Nought and Steel Typhoon for CaS to wrap up the Pacific campaign. He has worked on most of the Admiralty Trilogy projects as a reviewer and contributor, and is currently working on the development of the land combat system, which will lead to a series of products related to amphibious warfare over the next several years.

Ed has been a gamer since the age of 10, and finds miniature gaming a great combination of modeling and gaming. An aviation enthusiast from childhood, he holds a private pilot rating and has volunteered at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison Texas since 1998 where he gets to interact with the historic planes and the great folks who flew them. Some of the planes he has flown in with the museum include Stearman, Texan, S2F Tracker, Avenger, Skyraider and C-47. When he is not hanging out with the full scale planes, Ed enjoys radio control aircraft and runs one of the large warbird events, Warbirds Over Texas.

Ed has worked in the IT industry for over thirty years, and lives in Fort Worth with his wife Mercy. They have two grown children. He started out as a history major, then discovered business then computers, and hasn't looked back. Gaming, game design and volunteering fulfill his history needs. He holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University

Just before Christmas 2017, we received the crushing news that Bob Eldridge had passed away from heart-related complications. Bob was a gifted game designer who formally joined the ATG team in 2012. He wrote Bywater's War, an interwar period supplement for Command at Sea, in 2013 and coauthored Monroe's Legacy (for Dawn of the Battleship) with Michael Harris, published in 2016.

Bob and Mike were drafting the next pre-dreadnought era supplement, In Mahan's Wake, when the heart problems that Bob had been contending with for so many years finally caught up with him.

Bob was commissioned into the U.S. Army in 1970 through the ROTC program at Rutgers University. He was trained as a field artillery officer, or a "certified cannon cocker" as he would proudly confess. Second Lieutenant Eldridge also tied the knot in 1970, marrying the love of his life, Doris.

Bob was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany in the early 1970s and enjoyed visiting many countries-and no doubt numerous battlefields-while in Europe. He also served as an artillery battery commander in South Korea. Other postings included Fort Hood (Texas), Fort Sill (Oklahoma), and Fort Bragg (North Carolina) before he left the Army in 1982. And while he worked as a systems engineer for General Electric and Glaxo Smith Kline until his retirement, Bob's real passion was military history.

Bob was a fanatical student of military history, embracing all eras and disciplines. And because of his training as a field artillery officer, he understood first-hand the impact of geography, weather, and the confusion that the "fog of war" could bring to the battlefield. But as dedicated as he was to the armies of old, Bob also had a thirst for naval battles as well, and he was one of the very first players to volunteer in July 1994 to playtest our WW II naval game Command at Sea. The rest is, well, history.

Robert's passing leaves many hearts with a very large hole in them. He was a kind, fun, and generous soul who epitomized the ideal of the soldier-scholar - as willing to learn something new, as he was to pass on the considerable knowledge he already possessed. He will be sorely missed by all of us.

Bob is survived by his wife Doris, daughter Paula Ragsdale, her husband Sean, and grandchildren Nora and Max Ragsdale.

Everyone at ATG is saddened by the death of one of its designers, John Gresham, who passed away on July 2nd after a long illness. John was co-author of Supermarina, Volumes I and II with Mike Markowitz, as well as contributing many articles and book reviews to the Naval SITREP. His most recent piece was an update on the Littoral Combat Ship program, which appeared in Naval SITREP issue 49 (Oct 2015).

John was an excellent interviewer and researcher, and had a near-photographic memory. He combined the skills of a journalist and photographer, researcher, military historian, and writer. He covered all aspects of the U.S. military, but had lately written for Defense Media Network's Year in Special Operations. John worked with many prominent authors, including Tom Clancy for his non-fiction military reference series. DEFCON 2, co-written with Norman Polmar in 2006, is the best one-volume treatment of the Cuban Missile Crisis. His most recent book, Beyond Hell and Back (2007, with Dwight Jon Zimmerman), described seven key U.S. special operations missions.

He was also active in audiovisual media, with a weekly Internet audio show, Military Mondays, and collaborated on scripts for many different television shows, including the History, Military, New York Times, Discovery, and National Geographic channels.

He was generous with his time, sharing information and research materials with colleagues. I was introduced to him while I was working on Red Phoenix back in 1988. John found and photocopied many useful articles on the F-16 from Fighter Weapons Review for me. He also managed to find his way into the story as Tony Christopher's wingman, "Hooter" Gresham.

John is survived by his mother, Colleen Gresham and his sister, Diana Gresham-Corpus.

He was 58 years old, and the man never took care of his health. He left us too soon.

Terry Sofian passed away suddenly at his home at the age of 57 on Saturday, August 29. Everyone at ATG is shocked at his unexpected loss.

Terry was the designer of No Sailor But a Fool, a supplement for ATG’s Command at Sea, covering naval attacks on shore installations. He drew on his extensive knowledge of such operations from his membership in the Coast Defense Study Group.

Terry was not just a naval gamer; he was active in many different gaming communities, such as Victorian science fiction, where he designed “Hive, Queen, and Country.” He helped support and organize conventions and online activities. As a first responder, he volunteered to be in charge of Security and First Aid for both the local science fiction convention, Archon, and for the St. Louis Renaissance Festival for many years.

Terry was a veteran, having served in both Army National Guard/Reserves and the Navy Reserve as a Non-Commissioned Officer. He was both a volunteer Fire Fighter for St. Charles Central County Fire Rescue and a member of the St. Charles County Search and Rescue.

And you know he was a good person, because he really liked cats.

Memorial contributions in Terry’s name may be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation for veterans and first responders.

Terry lived in St. Peters, Missouri. He is survived by his beloved wife, Lucy Sofian; his daughter, Kelly Sofian; his sister, Gerri Ambuchad; and his many, many friends.

Charlie Spiegel was our editor at Clash of Arms for many years. We began our association in 1992 and it lasted until he left CoA in 2009. He oversaw over a dozen different products, including Command at Sea, Fear God & Dread Nought, Harpoon 4th edition, and supplements for all three games. He was always working to give the players the best value for their money, to the point of inaugurating an “update” policy, where players would mail in the cover of a game and receive a discount on the new edition.

Charlie grew up in Cherry Hill, where he attended Cherry Hill High School East (Class of 1970). He attended the University of Delaware (Class of 1974), majoring in history. Charlie then went to work at his father’s company, Penn Screw and Machine, before transitioning to work at Clash of Arms. He was living in Pipersville, PA.

His interests included travel, wargaming, contract bridge, live action role playing, and chess. He was especially skilled in chess and had a very high player rating.

He is survived by his wife, Tina, his ex-wife Carol, son Jacob (Jake), his two sisters,Terry and Susan, and many friends.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dave Schueler after a long illness.

Dave was a long-time colleague and author, publishing Harpoon-related articles and supplements starting in 1990, when Harpoon was still published by Game Designer’s Workshop. Under their imprint, he authored the Harpoon Naval Review in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2009. These collections of articles, scenarios, and annex data were very popular. The last two, despite their age, are still in print and in demand. He was also a co-author of the WW II small craft scenario supplement Mighty Midgets.

In addition to designing many ATG products, Dave served as one of the reviewers for everything we published. He consistently found typos, errors and other problems that everyone else missed.
Dave was a Navy veteran, a plank owner on USS Nevada (SSBN-733). He left the Navy in 1989, the same year that he married Lynn, and he settled in the Pacific Northwest, working as a technical writer.

He was active as a volunteer and blogger, with many interests. His work with naval history and gaming brought him in contact with a large circle of authors and game designers, who all came to respect his work through Dave’s blog, Naval Gazing.

His DANG (Dave’s Annual Naval Game) was a major event, and became a tradition that lasted twenty years.

Even after his disease was diagnosed, Dave continue to work, go out with his family and friends, and enjoy life.

His health began to deteriorate late in 2022, and after a two-year battle with prostate cancer, Dave passed away peacefully on January 1, 2023 at age 58, in the company of Lynn Schueler, his loving wife and partner in life of 34 years. In addition to Lynn, Dave is survived by his siblings: Daniel, Darrel, Deanne, Doris, Darlene, Denise, and Doug, as well as his many nieces and nephews, many of whom he bonded with in life over everything from books, baseball, Doctor Who, writing, board and computer games, and other mutual hobbies.

On Sunday, January 21, 2024, the wargaming community suddenly lost a legend.

Peter had several gifts, including a towering intellect and the ability to write clearly and thoughtfully.

I met him in 1980 when I was stationed at the Center for Naval Analysis, a dedicated Navy think tank outside Washington, DC. Aside from being the smartest guy in a place full of smart people, he was a great boss, and a pleasure to work for.

Peter’s doctorate was in statistics, and he used it to study and answer complex national security questions. I watched him take an problem we were wrestling with and quickly write a few elegant formulas on a whiteboard, describing it mathematically.

Most folks who know his name learned it though his seminal book, The Art of Wargaming, first published in 1990, and then a second edition in 2012. It is mandatory reading for any professional, and recommended for anyone who wants to design a good game.

Peter had over 45 years of experience as a naval analyst, supporting the Navy and our nation’s security. He was widely recognized as one of the Navy’s leading experts on wargaming and its use in defense analysis.

He was also active in the hobby community, designing boardgames in multiple eras as well as writing articles and being an active player. He was kind enough to write a foreword to our Command at Sea.
Peter was also a “foodie,” passionate about soccer, and deeply religious. If he had any flaws, he hid them well.

Peter is survived by his wife of 48 years, Joann, and his children Steven and Sara.

Early on 8 July we were stunned to learn that a long-time colleague, Brooks Rowlett, had passed away. It’s extremely hard to do a man like Brooks justice with such a brief note. He was wicked smart, had an encyclopedic knowledge on all matters naval, both historical and technical, and he was exceedingly gracious with his knowledge and time.

Brooks played many roles within the Admiralty Trilogy Group design family. He authored numerous articles and book reviews, published in the Naval SITREP, and he was a demanding reviewer. Brooks literally dissected the documents we sent to him, so much so that Larry Bond once referred to him as Brooks "The Knife" Rowlett.

Brooks was also a key player in assisting us with revising the ATG damage point system, initially published as the 2006 Standard, and he provided numerous insightful suggestions during draft review of the 2012 Standard that is in force today.

Later Brooks became a moderator for several online chat groups and provided administrative support to both the ATG Yahoo and io groups. If Brooks wasn’t completely satisfied that a player’s question was addressed properly in the chat group, he would flag the issue for the designers to deal with. Having a knowledgeable gate keeper like Brooks looking out for our online presence was priceless.

Brooks is survived by his wife of 15 years, Melody, and his son, Alan.

During the Historicon 2026 convention, as our first game got underway, we immediately noticed that Evan was not in attendance; this was extremely unusual. Evan had participated in our games during the Cold Wars 2026 convention in February, but he’d looked more tired than in the recent past and I suspected that his cancer had returned. With growing concern, another longtime player did a quick Internet search and confirmed that Evan had passed away on March 25, 2026.

Evan was a big fan of historical naval games in general, but he had a special fondness for the Admiralty Trilogy series and had been attending our convention events since Cold Wars 1995 – our second convention. In short, Evan was a fixture, a member of a very loyal group of players who awaited a convention’s Preliminary Events List with anticipation. He was always at the gaming table early, quietly waiting with tape measure, dice, and pencil; and his modus operandi didn't change. Well, that is until his late wife Rosalie came on the scene. Then the two of them would be sitting at the gaming table and while Evan played, Rosalie would sit off to the side and read. Her loss in 2016 was felt by all of our loyal cadre.

Evan Duncan was also a fanatic of all things Scottish, and he enjoyed the traditional country dancing, Highland Games, and the Scottish Walk in Alexandria, Virginia, Evan was also an accomplished baker. Every convention, without fail, he showed up with a tin or two of his famous shortbread. There he would quietly pander his wares to a bunch of wargamers, a group that is well known for having absolutely no willpower when it comes to tasty baked goods – and his shortbread was incredibly good.

Evan's passing leaves yet another empty chair and he will be sorely missed at future conventions. His quiet demeanor was always accompanied by an infectious smile, and he was eager to help others learn how our games were played or to debate naval history. Fair winds and following seas, shipmate.

by Chris Carlson

For 25 years, Dave Baker edited Combat Fleets of the World and served as a consultant on many other naval reference and history books. He was well-known and sought-after for his detailed ship illustrations as well as encyclopedic knowledge of the ships of the world and naval history.

He wrote a regular column on naval affairs in the Naval Institute’s Proceedings from 1985 to 2004; wrote the "Historic Fleets" column in Naval History from 1993 to 2007; and was a contributing editor to Warship International. He published widely on subjects dealing with maritime history and technology and illustrated books on naval ship design.

Anyone who was interested in modern naval affairs knew Dave through Combat Fleets. It was one of the three naval reference books worth anything: the other two were Jane's Fighting Ships and Weyer's Warships.

It was always my go-to when I was first working on Harpoon, and I was thrilled when I met Dave at a Navy League show in the 1980s. He was helpful and generous with his time, helping me with my own research, and we became good friends. We shared interests in both ships (of course) and modeling. He collected 1/1200 ship models, and also was a master draftsman, illustrating both his own work and many other publications.

Dave died Aug 26, 2026. He was 85.

Dave graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard in 1962. His senior thesis was about early aircraft-operating ships.

He spent six years on active naval service on a radar picket destroyer (DER), part of Operation Market Time off Vietnam.

After leaving the Navy in 1966 Dave went to the new ONI Scientific and Technical Intelligence Center (STIC) at Suitland, Maryland. He loved warships, worked on improving the fleet handbooks STIC was producing. These were Navy publications that listed and described the world’s warships. He was personally responsible for transforming them from recognition manuals with very limited data into books containing extensive descriptions of ships, including their electronic systems – until that time very under-described in the handbooks (not to mention the published unclassified ones). Certainly, his impact was evident by 1968 or 1969, in the classified volumes covering different parts of the world, such as the Soviet bloc, Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, East Asia, and the Americas (excluding the United States). They were wonderful, not just for his attention to major warships, but for his obviously affectionate attention to minor warships which were often passed over in the usual unclassified books. This affection was manifest in editions of Combat Fleets.

While at STIC, Dave received official approval to compile an unclassified handbook of the world’s navies, initially as a translation of the French Flottes de Combat, with new illustrations. Combat Fleets of the World first appeared in 1976 as a Naval Institute publication. Later Dave was able to make it considerably more sophisticated, much as he had improved the classified fleet handbook. By the 1980s Combat Fleets was by far the best unclassified naval reference in the world. Dave was justly proud of it, to the point where he bought vanity plates inscribed "CFleets."

His work on Combat Fleets brought him into contact with numerous foreign enthusiasts, who enabled him to describe all the world's navies with great completeness. That of course included feeding his fascination with minor combatants.

Most of his naval career was not spent at sea, but he had more influence and gained more respect than many admirals. Dave was generally considered the foremost official American expert on the world's warships, of course beginning with the Soviets.

From 1981 to 1987, Dave was on the staff of Secretary of the Navy John Lehman and served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy for Intelligence and Historical Matters.

In that position, he oversaw the selection of names for over 200 ships, liaised with ship sponsors and launch and commissioning ceremonies.

Dave's deep knowledge of other navies led him to advocate for improvements in U.S. ships then under design, most notably the stern wedge in the Arleigh Burke class and his insistence that these ships be armed with a 5-inch gun.

He served on the staff of President Reagan's Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense and then as the senior analyst on the staff of the Director of Naval Intelligence.

He was awarded the Department of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Department of the Navy's Meritorious Civilian Service Award (twice), and the U.S. Naval Institute's Author of Merit Award (twice).

Dave retired as a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service in 1997 after 31 years of civilian service with the Department of the Navy.

In retirement, Dave was an active and enthusiastic volunteer at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA.

He is survived by his much-beloved dog Callie; daughter Alexandra Shrake (Richard) and grandson Phineas of South Burlington, VT; sister-in-law Susan Higham Baker; nieces Lindsay Agne, Cary Baker, and Wendy Schmidt; nephew Glenn Baker; and cousin Diane Straus.

In honor of Dave, please consider a donation to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA, or plant a tree in his memory

[Ed note: Parts of this obituary were taken from one that first appeared on www.legacy.com. Dr. Norman Friedman also was generous with his recollections.]
Larry Bond

Werner Globke was born on March 27, 1942. He died on May 21, 2026, leaving behind his wife Elisabeth and two children.

Globke served as a career soldier in the German Air Force and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was temporarily deployed to the USA as a NATO liaison officer.

After his active military service, he worked as a business manager in industry.

Although Werner Globke was an active soldier in the Air Force, he achieved enormous renown in the military and professional world over decades as a top-class naval expert and specialist in international naval forces. From childhood, he was interested in all things maritime. Throughout his life Werner Globke acquired extensive maritime knowledge, built up a vast archive, and maintained an international network of contacts with numerous maritime experts, historians, and writers.

This expertise is based on his journalistic work:
Werner Globke was for many years the editor responsible for Weyer's Flottentaschenbuch, internationally known as Warships of the World Fleet Handbook.

Published by Bernard & Graefe, "das Weyer" was a global standard and reference work on navies, existing since 1900. It meticulously listed all fleet inventories, ship classes, technical data, and sketches of all naval powers in the world.

His work on this handbook – which he oversaw from 1994 well into old age including editions extending well into the 2000s and 2020s – made him a leading authority on maritime armaments, ship technology and strategic fleet comparisons beyond the borders of Germany.

Weyer’s Fleet Handbook looks back on a turbulent history spanning over 120 years and was considered the ultimate reference work on naval forces in German-speaking countries. Like almost no other medium, it documents the evolution of global naval history from the German Empire to the modern era.

The handbook was launched in 1899 under the original name Weyer's Pocketbook of Naval Fleets. Its first author and namesake was the retired German Lieutenant Commander Bruno Weyer. It was initially published by the historically significant J.F. Lehmann publishing house.

In its early decades, the book reflected the immense public and strategic interest in the global naval arms race. Until the end of World War II (the last wartime edition was published in 1944), it was the central reference work for German naval officers to quickly identify foreign ship classes visually and technically.

After a war-related hiatus, the series was continued in the 1950s.

From 1979 onwards, the renowned Bernard & Graefe publishing house took over the publication of the series. Under their umbrella, the handbook was modernized, internationalized, and received its current name, Weyer’s Flottentaschenbuch (Weyer’s Fleet Handbook).

Werner Globke took over as editor of Weyer’s in 1994.

The handbook was traditionally characterized by a compact, packed format. Instead of lengthy texts, the “Weyer” relies on a highly efficient system of scale ship sketches for visual identification, flag charts, and extremely detailed technical data sheets listing dimensions, propulsion, and armament.

For this reason, the book was found on the bridges of many naval ships and is also a sought-after collector's item for historians, model makers and military enthusiasts.

The last issue of Weyer’s was published in 2020, and the series unfortunately had to be discontinued due to the publisher's economic difficulties and Mr. Globke's health problems.

by Manfred Meyer