Ashland (LSD 48) - Naval Cruise Book

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ASHLAND ' S mission accom- plished, the new and old Shellback Sail- ors and Marines of ASHLAND set their sights on Egypt as ASHLAND headed north. After a trans it of the Suez Canal, ASHLAND will be taking part in Operation Bright Star 94. training exer- cises with the Egyptian military. 14 November: USS ASHLAND (LSD 48) lowered its sterngate and launched it ' s Marines into the seas. First went the Amphibious Assault Vehicles, (AAV ' s), their diesels snorting as they drove off the sterngate and plunged into the waters of the Mediterranean, bobbing to the surface and plowing through the waves towards the distant shore. As more water poured into the well deck of ASHLAND, four-wheeled LARC ' s (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo) carrying the desert-camouflage-clad sailors of Beachmaster Unit Two, plowed through the deepening waters on their balloon tires, plunging out the stem gate. Finally, the landing craft within ASHLAND began to float as the well deck became a harbor, complete with linehandlers casting off the mooring lines of the landing craft. ECU 1663. of Little Creek, Virginia ' s Assault Craft Unit Two, was the last amphibious craft into the water. Under the watchful eyes of safety boats launched from ASHLAND, the amphibious vehicles proceeded in formation to shore. The land of the Pharaohs and pyramids received new visitors this week, as the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22 MEU), embarked on the Atlantic Fleet ' s premier Gator, USS ASHLAND (LSD 48), departed ASHLAND ' s well deck and swam their landing craft and AAV ' s ashore to take part in Operation Bright Star 94, a joint exercise by U.S. and Egyptian sea, air, and land forces. ASHLAND is taking part in Bright Star 94 after four weeks of standing by off the coast of Somalia as part of the reserve in support of Operation Restore Hope. ASHLAND departed the Somali coast at the beginning of the week as part of the GUADALCANAL Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group. During it ' s transit north, ASHLAND engaged in fueling at sea with the USNS JOHN LENTHALL and made it ' s second tran- sit of the Suez Canal in one month. The Canal ' s a real experience, said LCPL Robert Dionne, a BET 1 8 Alfa Company Marine infantryman on his first deployment. On one side you could see houses and orchards and vegetation. On the other side, it would be desert. It made a big impression on me. During the transit. Sailors and embarked Marines took part in a run for fun , as representatives from each division on ASHLAND and the embarked Marine and Naval support element units ran laps around ASHLAND ' s tlight deck continuously. There was also a divisional and unit basketball competition held in ASHLAND ' s 440-foot long well deck. Just before the transit of the Canal. ASHLAND hosted a more formal ceremony, as the embarked Marines aboard ASHLAND celebrated the 2 1 8th birthday of the Marine Corps. A forma- tion of Marines and Sailors on ASHLAND ' s tlight deck was addressed by Commanding Officer of Troops Marine Captain A. X. King Dixon, and ASHLAND Commanding Officer Captain D. W. Keith, on the long history of the U.S. Marine Corps, and it ' s tradition in working with the Amphibi ous Navy. A birthday cake made for the celebration, was cut by Captain Dixon with the aid of the vount ' ost and oldest Marines on board. The senior Marine on board stood bye during the ceremony because he was a Sailor. ASHLAND ' s own SHI Paul Munoz served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1968. before joining the Navy and received his own slice of the birthday cake, having been a Marine before some of those present had even been born. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Supporting Marines landed ashore. ASHLAND closed the week anchored off the coast of Egypt, and served ice cream sundaes on Sunday on the ship ' s mess decks. Yet the Marines ashore, going through combat maneuvers on the same desert sands that Rommel once battled, are not forgotten on ASHLAND. Before, when we were off Mogadishu. I really worried, says SN Melvin D. Mitchell, of ASHLAND ' s dental depart- ment. We knew if we sent the Marines ashore, some of them might not be com- ing back. Now, we can send them ashore with no worries, and we know they ' re comins back. 28 November: Major Dad landed in Toulon. France, to visit the Sailors and embarked Marines of USS ASHLAND (LSD 48) this Thanksgiving. Television stai Gerald McRaney visited the Atlantic Fleet ' s premier amphibious warfare ship w hile ASHLAND spent Thanksgiving Day at the French port city. I ' d like to thank Vice Admiral Lope i ' ov extending this invitation to me. I ' d also like to tiiank liiose who were responsible for planning (ihis lour) for leaving the best for last. said Mr. McRaney. who is isiting Si ih Fleet units. The star ol the Iclcvision series Major Dad shook IuiikIs w uh W SMmmn mm ' « ' ' a™

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In the finest naval tiaditii)n, this scene was played out on ASHLAND as she crossed the equator for the first time on October 25th. The rest of the days saw ASHLAND crewmenibers who claimed to be Shellbacks frantically searching forproof of their crossing into the realm of Davy Jones, and the Wogs pondering their fate. Even in today ' s hi-tech Navy, time is set aside to partici- pate in this ancient seafaring tradition. The actual initiation ceremony had to be postponed until ASHLAND completes her tour on the line off Somalia. Shipboard routine, flight quarters, engineering drills, and other operations went on as usual aboard ASHLAND, as part of days to day operations aboard a ship designed to function as a floating base of operations during amphibious landings. Really, it ' s no different from our normal training. said SK3 Fred Winer. We do all of these operations continuously, wherever we are. But it ' s strange to be doing this when we can look off the flight deck and see Mogadishu in the distance. When we came here, we were told we needed our weapons. said ET2 David J. S. Jones, of Little Creek ' s own special Boat Unit 20. In their thirty-foot rib boats, the desert-camouflage-clad sailors of SBU 20 have sailed within 500 feet of the Somali coast during normal operations. We were told it was a hostile coast, but the army had all the areas we saw under control. It ' s been pretty quiet for us, which is good, because this isn ' t Hollywood. The bad guys don ' t always miss. We just stay ready. Sometimes it ' s nice to be bored. As ASHLAND ' S third week off Somalia came to a close, ASHLAND Sailors and Marines celebrated Hallow- een with a steel beach picnic, bingo, and ice cream sundaes on the mess decks. Thoughts of children in costumes trick or treating on chilly October nights were brought to mind in the heat of the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, this Halloween wasn ' t lull of tricks or treats for the Sail- ors and Marines of ASHLAND, but realizing the importance of our mission makes our sacrifices and those of our fellow servicemen and women ashore worthwhiie. 07 November: Davy Jones and King Neptune mled aboard USS ASHLAND (LSD 48) on November Fifth, as the Shellbacks of ASHLAND initiated the Pollywogs among ASHLAND ' s crew and embarked Marines into their ancient order. The Slimly Wogs had to crawl from stem to stern of the 609-foot-long ship as the Trusty Shellbacks sprayed them with fire hoses, sent them crawling through water hazards, and challenged them with the other rituals of the shellback. Their trials done, the (exhausted, wet and de-slimed) former wogs were presented to King Neptune and his Royal Court, having proved by their endurance that they were fit to be inducted into the Royal order of the Shellback . It was all harmless fun, part of a naval tradition known as Crossing the Line , a ritual celebrated whenever a ship crosses the equator. Those aboard the ship who have crossed the equator are known as Trusty Shellbacks , and are true seafarers. Those who have not crossed the equator, regardless of rank or years of service, are Pollywogs or Slimy Wogs . The ritual began with a Wog Revolt where the Pollywogs played pranks and practical jokes on the Shellbacks , who quickly suppressed this mutiny despite being outnumbered nearly 10 to 1. The shellbacks chose a King Neptune , Davy Jones and a full royal court from their number, then made up elaborate costumes and difficult (but safe) tests for the initiation. In a ceremony that lasted for hours, the Pollywogs proved their worthiness to be shellbacks . They were quick studies in Wog swimming, and turned out to be very musical. said OS 1 Michael Foraker, a Crusty Shellback who went through his own initiation aboard USS Coral Sea (CV 43) in 1980. They learned new lyrics to old tunes, such as replacing Jingle Bells with Wog Wog Wog , while being spayed with water. Participation is voluntary for ail hands, and those who choose not to be a part conduct normal shipboard routine. Rank made no difference during the ceremony, with the senior Pollywog . ASHLAND Executive officer LCDR J. C. Legg, enduring the same trials as newly arrived seaman recruits. The event had a special meaning for LCDR Legg. My wife ' s father became a shellback during World War Two, recalls LCDR Legg. He was on board an amphibious assault ship als o. I never met him, but my wife has always had his Shellback certificate hanging from our w all. It made me feel closer to him. to go through the same ceremony. Two days earlier, in more con en- tional operations. ASHLAND turned routine maintenance into a training opportunity. ECU 1663 of ACU Two required underway maintenance and Beachmaster Unit Two LARC ' s needed to complete man overboard drills. Both events were incorporated into a welldeck launch from ASHLAND ' s 440 foot long well deck. Maiine Amphibious Armored Vehicles (AAV ' s) embarked on ASHLAND maneuvered in landing formations in sight of the Somali coast, where ASHLAND has spent the last month as part of a reserve of U.S. troops offshore.

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Sailors and embarked Marines, and signed autographs on photos or. in one case, on a sailors cowboy hat. The visit was the climax of a Thanksgiving day on which the Sailors and embarked Marines of ASHLAND were treated to a full Thanksgiving meal with turkey, cranberry sauce and all the trimmings. This traditional American meal, served far from home, was a reminder of home after two months of service in Operation Restore Hope off Somalia and recently concluded exercise off Egypt. ASHLAND began this week by holding a Celebrity Mess Cook Night , a charity event in which crewmembers, by donating to the Combined Federal Campaign (CEC), can hire their favor- ite officer or chief to work in the ship ' s galley for a night. The winner of the competition was ETC(SW) Boucher, who spent the night cleaning pans and bowls in the galley deep sink, alongside the Executive officer. Good-natured fun for a good cause, Celebrity Mess Cook Night raised nearly $2,000 pledged to USO through CEC. The following day, ASHLAND en- tered port at Toulon, France. ASHLAND off-loaded the landing craft and Amphibi- ous Assault Vehicles ( AAV ' s) carried in the well deck. The AAV ' s landed at Ar- senal, Toulon, a French naval base, in preparation for an exercise with the French Army planned for next week. Exercises at Camp De Canjuers will give the men of Marine Expeditionary Unit 22 practice in mountain and winter warfare in the nearby Maures Mountains. After 48 consecutive days at sea, ASHLAND Sailors and embarked Marines were eager to see Toulon and the surrounding southern French countryside. Sailors and Marines enjoyed USO-sponsored tours of the Provence area, Paris, the Alps and nearby Monte Carlo. Many sampled local dishes and wines in the sidewalk cafes, or competed in a variety of amateur sporting events with other U.S. ships, French military teams, and teams from local schools. ASHLAND ' S first stop in France, it was also the first visit to France for many of the Sailors and embarked Marines, a welcomed stop on ASHLAND ' s first deployment. 19 December: Six bells are not nonnally rung for a visiting chaplain, but the chaplain visit- ing USS ASHLAND (LSD 48) wasn ' t just any chaplain. Rear Admiral (Upper Half) David White, the Navy ' s Chief of Chaplains, visited ASHLAND on the week before Christmas, while it was moored in Barcelona, Spain. ASHLAND Commanding Officer Captain D. W. Keith gave RADM White a tour of ASHLAND, last of the Whidbey Island class of Landing Ship Docks. I ' ve been in the Gator Navy before, said RADM White. I had a squadron of LST ' s at Guam, years ago. The LST ' s were designed to be used once and left on the beaches. They were never intended to be used for a long time, so habitability wasn ' t a real concern. The difference between tho.se ships and ASHLAND are night and day. This ship is quite a different configuration from anything else in the fleet. Our thought in being out here is to let the people in the fleet know that what they do is appreciated. They are not forgotten, said RADM White, a 26-year Navy veteran. There are a lot of people back home who care about the folks out here. I try to get that message out as much as I can. We visited four ships today, we ' re visiting another one tomorrow, and then we fly off to the next group of ships on our C- 12. I spend about five months out of the year on the road, making sure the word gets out to the fieet. ASHLAND was moored at Barcelona for four days, during which ASHLAND Sailors and embarked Marines toured this historic Spanish city, riding the cable car that passes high over the city, visiting the .stadium and athletic sites used for the 1992 Summer Olympics and touring the famous Monastery of the Holy Grail at Montserrat. A one-day ski trip to An- dorra in the nearby Pyrenees Mountains also drew many participants. A more solemn event drew many participants also, as Quartermaster Senior Chief (SW)Revin Thayer retired from the Navy on December 14. after 20 years of service. An ASHLAND plankowner, QMCS(SW) Thayer is the first person to retire from ASHLAND and leaves behind a Navigation Depart- ment that he trained and organized from scratch. He taught us everything, said QM2 Sean Beeman. who served under QMCS(SW) Thayer from ASHLAND ' S precommissioning detachment, through the challenging process of commission- ing, to ASHLAND ' s first Mediterranean deployment. We ' re all happy for him, and we wish him the best of luck, but we will miss him. As always, training continued throughout the port call, with ASHLAND achieving another first December 17 when, with the ship ' s officers standing by. Captain D. W. Keith placed the coveted Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) pin on LT Sean P. Higgins. An ASHLAND Plankowner. LT Higgins is the first officer to qualify for SWO on ASHLAND. The qualifica- tion was awarded after an exacting process of training, watchstanding and boards which all ASHLAND officers are pursuing during ASHLAND ' s busy operational schedule. With training continuing, ASHLAND proceeded west to Naples,