Arkansas (CGN 41) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 24 of the 1987 volume:

The USS Arkansas departed from Alameda, California on April 27, 1987 for operations in the Northern Pacific. Following a brief port visit in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, we got underway on May 8 for Operation Kennel Freelance.THE COMMANDING OFFICER Captain C. Robert TwardyArkansas approached the coast of the Soviet Kamchatka Peninsula at 0400 Sunday morning, May 17, undetected. The volcanic terrain was frozen and formidable. MOMA AGI Soviet intelligence gathering shipIt wasn't long before the Soviets responded. Within hours their submarines, ships and planes were shadowing us. KGB T58 MinesweeperOne of the objectives of Operation Kennel Freelance was a freedom of navigation exercise. The line the Soviets had drawn and claimed as internal waters was not recognized by the United States government. Only hours after arriving on station Arkansas crossed the line. A Krivak closes on the port beam. Captain Twardy makes a call.Four days later Arkansas received orders to cross the line again. The Soviets were waiting and Arkansas was in the news. Keep a sharp watch! A Krivak gets close.Commander Brown, executive officer, makes an urgent call. Krivak II "Reskiy''Krivak III "Dzernskiy" BE-12 Mail looks us over.Arkansas signals the Soviets.The Gray Ghost of the Kamchatka coastTwo BE-12 Mails and Soviet Krivak Arkansas approaches "Sevastopol.i Officers of Sevastopol take our picture. KUnBHmHB Arkansas leaves Sevastopol astern. Grisha IIINot your typical mess cooks! These officers and chiefs were voted in for the day at a dollar a vote for Navy Relief. In a hotly contested finish Chief Popejoy beat the odds on favorite Engineer by only one dollar. It was all in good fun for a good cause. Chief Dulce was quite popular, too.Let's get that fly out of the salad. LTJG Harris cleans up the pots and pans.Arkansas left Kamchatka behind on 8 June and headed for Adak, Alaska. The crew had been through some tense moments and had gone for over four weeks without a mail call, but Operation Kennel Freelance was successfully completed. We're number one!