Albany (CA 123) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 108 text:

Now, of course, you ' ve got to realize that we ' re in fine hands as a unit, and even though we ' re the best ship afloat, we belong to a bigger group yet. Sure, we belong to the Navy, the Atlantic Fleet and Cruiser Force Atlantic but we belong in a Cruiser Division also. Commander Cruiser Division Four has been almost exclusively embarked in the AL- BAN i ' except for the Midshipman Cruise when he rode the MACON, our sister ship in the Division. He brings with him all the personnel that he needs to operate; but I ' ve mentioned them before: the Flag Division, remember ' Just before we were scheduled to leave the Mediterranean, the Flag left us for good, transferring to the U.S.S. Canberra in Pollensa Bay, Mallorca on 5 January 1958. 104

Page 107 text:

Our present Commanding Officer, Captain John S. McCain, Jr. came aboard in Suda Bay, Crete where he relieved Captain Sieglaff. From there, he carried on and added to the proud ALBANY tra- dition of being the top cruiser in the Mediterranean. Our operating schedule was rigorous and our tour of the Eastern Med kept much of the crew away from ports they had planned on seeing. Captain Mc- Cain somehow managed to keep pride and desire high on the part of ship ' s company while deployed in that area. Also a veteran of many years ' association with submarines, Captain McCain spent his first two years after graduation from the Naval Academy in 1 931 attached t o the USS Oklahoma after which he served on board three submarines and was Commanding Officer of three more up through 1945. Before his first command in the Surface Navy, the USS MONROVIA in July 1954, Captain McCain had various duties among which were, Commander Sub- marine Division SEVENTY-ONE, Head of Research and Development Branch of Un- dersea Warfare and Commander Subma- rine Squadron SIX. Captain McCain is one of the experts in the field of submarine habitability and has done a great amount of work on the subject. But we know him as an expert on cruiser habitability. He has made us so proud of our ship that living on her for ex- tended periods away from home has been no hardship. In fact, it has been a pleasure. CAPTAIN JOHN S. McCAIN, JR -yk

Page 109 text:

) I I Top row: Lt. J. R. Morgan, USN, Flog Secretary; Lt. W. O. McDaniel, USN, Staff Gunnery Officer; Ltjg. E. B. Bossort, USN, Flag Lieutenant. Seated: Lcdr. J. E. Ross, USN, Staff Legal Officer; Capt. J. W. Darrock, Chief of Staff; R. Adm. C. L. Melson, USN, Commander Cruiser Division 4; Lcdr. D. Fisher, USN, Stoff Operations Officer; Lcdr. P. Boland, Staff Communication Officer. The Staff of Cruiser Division 4 first joined us in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during our refresher training and provided thereafter a great deal of stimulus for both officers and crew members. Since the Admiral needs to know so much in order to function effectively as Division Com- mander, his staff must be well equipped — both from the standpoint of experience and knowledge — to provide the necessary data and criteria for his final decisions. We always had to be on our toes to keep up with them. 105