Featured Book-Holding Fast in Heavy Seas
Leadership for Turbulent Times Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, PhD, US Navy (Ret.)
Published July 7, 2026 | Koehler Books | Available now on Amazon
There are voices in the UAP disclosure movement who come with credentials, and then there are those who come with character. Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet brings both — and his extraordinary new book, Holding Fast in Heavy Seas: Leadership for Turbulent Times, is the proof.
To the UAP Ireland community, Admiral Gallaudet needs little introduction. As one of the most credentialed and courageous voices in the global disclosure movement, he has spoken with unflinching clarity — stating publicly that he has zero doubt that non-human intelligence exists and interacts with humanity, and that the ocean may be the most important and least understood frontier in UAP investigation. He has stood before cameras, before lawmakers, and before the public, and said what others in his position have not dared to say. That takes a particular kind of courage — the kind that is forged over decades of service, loss, and principled decision-making.
Holding Fast in Heavy Seas is the story of where that courage comes from.
Drawing on 32 years of service in the Navy — sailing to every corner of the globe, from hydrographic surveys and combat strike operations to the highest levels of federal management — Gallaudet has lived a life that spans the full breadth of American public service. After three decades as a naval oceanographer, he was appointed to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), America's premier ocean, weather, climate, and environmental agency — a role he held through some of the most turbulent years in modern American political life.
What makes this book extraordinary is not merely the biography of a distinguished officer, but the honesty with which Gallaudet confronts the moments that tested him most. Personal events shaped him as profoundly as his service — including the destruction of his family home during Hurricane Katrina, the loss of his brother to addiction, and his daughter's struggle with her mental health. From these depths, he forged a leadership philosophy rooted not in rank or authority, but in empathy, humility, and the stubborn refusal to abandon the people in his care.
At each juncture where he might have walked away — considering resignation at several points, surrounded by political turbulence — he chose to stay, because he believed that continuing to serve was the right course of action. In hindsight, that decision proved profoundly meaningful: under his leadership, NOAA's employee workplace satisfaction scores rose to record levels, with notable gains in empowerment, leadership confidence, and workforce recognition.
The endorsements alone speak to the stature of this work. Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, praised the book's powerful leadership lessons and its illustration of how scientific and technical partnerships can bring navies and nations together. General John Kelly, former Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff, called it a field guide for those who want to remain true to their principles when the pressure to do otherwise is at its peak. Stanford Professor Dr. Garry Nolan — himself a key figure in UAP science — described it as that rarest of memoirs, one that does not confuse proximity to power with wisdom.
For the UAP Ireland community, Holding Fast in Heavy Seas carries a significance beyond its leadership lessons. Admiral Gallaudet is one of the most senior and credentialed public figures to have stepped forward in the disclosure era — a man who understands the ocean, the sky, the machinery of government, and the cost of speaking truth in the face of institutional resistance. His voice matters. His story matters. And this book is the fullest account yet of the man behind that voice.
UAP Ireland is proud and honoured to feature Holding Fast in Heavy Seas and to support Admiral Gallaudet's work. We encourage every member of our community — whether your interest is UAP, leadership, ocean science, or the courage it takes to hold a principled line when the tide runs against you — to read this book.
It is, in every sense of the word, the real thing.