Albany (CA 123) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 124 text:

GUANTANAMO BAY FEB. 2, 1957 - MAR. 29, 1957 -. , - i The Yard Period over, we departed Boston for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and two months of what is known as Refresher Training . This was the beginning of our year afloat which termi- nated on 26 February 1958 with 10 months and twenty days behind us away from Boston. A happy but rusty and mostly untrained crew made its way to sun and toil in the Caribbean. Each morning about sunrise, we headed out from the bay to flex our potential muscle and each eve- ning we headed back in to enjoy liberty at the various clubs ashore where we applied a bit of oil to our tired joints. Endless drills, GQ ' s and firing somehow did not deaden us but rather awakened our interest in becoming the best cruiser afloat, a goal which we have since X + V

Page 126 text:

CULEBRA MAR. 11, 1957 i i In GTMO, our guns had done everything but fire an actual shore bombardment. The Island of Culebra, to the northeast of Puerto Rico, was our destination for the firing. We anchored off the island and sent in our spotting party. Our Marines, designated the target to us by radio and gave us spots (measurements to put us on target). With both 5 and 8 , we blasted away for two days, racking up an excellent score for our competitive year. At night, the 5 bat- tery provided illumination and it was in this ex- ercise that we scored 100 per cent. On the way back to GTMO, we stopped one night in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a well-de- served liberty. From our Refresher Training, we headed back to Boston. 6a 54 68 78 53 68 75 P ose autnonzea oy the Secretary of the Navy, shall be ivigited In or above the area within the three-mile limit.