Aylwin (FF 1081) - Naval Cruise Book

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CAPTAIN ' S INTRODUCTION l SHIPS HISTORY 3 COMMANDING OFFICER 4 EXECUTIVE OFFICER 5 COMMAND MASTER AND SENIOR CHIEFS NAVIGATION ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT A-DIVISION B-DIVISION E-DIVISION .if M-DIVISION R-DIVISION OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT OC-DIVISION OE-DIVISION OI-DIVISIQN. SUPPLY DEPARTMENT WEAPONS DEP ARTMENT AS-DIVISION G-DIVISION 1ST-DIVISION AIR DEPARTMENT COLUMBIA PANAMA CROSSING THE LINE ECUADOR PERU CHILE ARGENTINA URUGUAY SPORTS BRAZIL VENEZUELA . ESWS SWO STATISTICS . . §jfeRT( RlCO MCIAL EVEN r HOMECOMING WELCOME ABOARD - A TEAM IN ACTION RUISE BOOK STAFF 6 7 c

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CAPTAIN ' S INTRODUCTION I hope you enjoy looking through this cruise book as much as we in AYLWIN enjoyed living the life at sea and abroad that it depicts. This book marks a special time in the life of AYLWIN. She turned twenty years old on 18 September 1991, almost in the middle of our 165 day long UNITAS XXXII deployment. I dare say that the AYLWIN of today operates better than the one commissioned in 1971, but that could be pride speaking; pride in my crew and pride in my ship. Also, AYLWIN will be decommissioned sometime in 1992, but during this, her ninth and final deployment, she performed magnificently. UNITAS is an annual deployment conducted by a task force of U.S. Navy ships specifically designed to operate and train with our South American friends. AYLWIN, with an embarked helicopter and Air Department officers and personnel from HSL-32 Detachment Four, departed her homeport, Newport, Rhode Island, on 01 July 1991 and proceeded to the deployment start point in the Puerto Rican operating areas. During the deployment, AYLWIN operated with Naval Forces of, and made numerous port visits in, the following countries: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela. Additionally, AYLWIN visited Puerto Rico and Panama. Every type of at sea operation was conducted with each Navy from each South American country. Helo flight operations often went 10 hours a day and the pace at sea wore out the 24 hour clock. Through it all AYLWIN and her crew were superb. AYLWIN The Battle Frigate ; Doing it All — Doing it Right. The men in this book are special people. Nearly three hundred strong, they left home in a 4,000 ton steel warship and steamed her south through the Atlantic Ocean, across the Caribbean Sea, transited the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean, crossed the Equator, braved the Straights of Magellan at the tip of South America and then steamed north again to return to Newport. An incredible journey that covered over 28,000 miles. They navigated in unfamiliar waters, entered and anchored in strange harbors, refueled alongside oilers at sea in the middle of a moonless night, operated our helo under trying conditions, fixed everything that broke and took every curve ball mother nature could throw. They never faltered; they always met the challenge head on and did their job right everytime. These men are the epitome of the motto of AYLWIN Courage Conquers the Impossible. EUGENE F. URICOLI Commander, U.S. Navy Commanding Officer

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USS AYLWIN WAS CONSTRUCTRED AND ORIGINALLY DESIG- NATED AS A DESTROYER ESCORT (DE-1081) AT THE AVONDALE SHIPYARDS IN WESTWEGO, LOUISIANA BEFORE STEAMING TO BOSTON FOR HER COMMISSIONING ON 18 SEPTEMBER 1971. IN JUNE 1974, AYLWIN DEPARTED HER HOMEPORT OF NOR- FOLK, VIRGINIA ON HER INITIAL DEPLOYMENT TO THE INDIAN OCEAN AND MIDDLE EAST. UPON RETURN SHE WAS AWARDED HER FIRST BATTLE E FOR OVERALL OUTSTANDING PERFOR- MANCE. AFTER A MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE ON OCTOBER 1975 AND A TWELVE MONTH OVERHAUL, AYLWIN CHANGED HOMEPORTS TO CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. AYLWIN JOINED THE SIXTH FLEET IN THE MEDITERRANEAN FOR A DEPLOYMENT THAT TOOK HER TO ISRAEL AND EGYPT RETURNING TO CHARLESTON IN OCTOBER 1978. AYLWIN RETURNED TO THE INDIAN OCEAN, WHERE SHE WAS THE FIRST USN SHIP TO ARRIVE FOR THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS. SHE WAS EXTENDED THROUGH CHRISTMAS AND RETURNED TO CHARLESTON ON 7 JANUARY 1980. ON 8 JUNE 1982, AYLWIN DEPLOYED TO THE MEDITERRANEAN. SHE PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE EVACUATION OF PLO FORCES FROM BEIRUT AND SUPPORTING THE MULTINATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCE EFFORTS IN LEBANON. LATE SPRING 1983 FOUND AYLWIN UNDERWAY AGAIN AND HEADED FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC. AFTER VISITING COUN- TRIES IN THE NORTH, THE SHIP SPENT THE REST OF THE YEAR IN THE CARIBBEAN AS THE CARIBBEAN READY SHIP. AT THIS TIME, SHE WAS AWARDED HER SECOND BATTLE E FOR OVER- ALL OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE. ON 2 APRIL 1984, AYLWIN STARTED HER SIXTH MAJOR DE- PLOYMENT, BACK TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THE SHIP PAR- TICIPATED IN LOCAL AND SIXTH FLEET CONTINGENCY OPERA- TIONS AND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD WAR TWO LIBERA- TION OF FRANCE. THE SUMMER OF 1985 WAS SPENT DOING LOCAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS, FOLLOWED BY A THREE MONTH NORTH ATLANTIC- BALTIC CRUISE. ON 10 MARCH 1986, AYLWIN STARTED HER SEVENTH MAJOR DEPLOYMENT, AGAIN TO THE MEDITERRA- NEAN SEA. ON 10 SEPTEMBER 1986, AYLWIN RETURNED TO CHARLESTON AND CONCLUDED AND EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL SIX MONTH DEPLOYMENT. IN OCTOBER 1987, AYLWIN STARTED A NINE MONTH OVER- HAUL CHANGING HOMEPORTS TO NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. UPON COMPLETION OF THE OVERHAUL IN JUNE 1988, SHE MOVED NORTH TO NEWPORT RHODE ISLAND. SETTLED IN NEWPORT, AYLWIN BEGAN A SERIES OF EXER- CISES AND INTENSIVE TRAINING TO HELP HER PREPARE FOR AN UPCOMING DEPLOYMENT. SHE SPENT EIGHT WEEKS IN GUANTA- NAMO BAY, CUBA GOING THROUGH REFRESHER TRAINING BE- FORE PARTICIPATING IN U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS WITH THE U.S. COAST GUARD IN NOVEMBER 1988. ON 31 MAY 1989, AYLWIN STARTED HER EIGHTH MAJOR DE- PLOYMENT AND PARTICIPATED IN EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL OBJEC- TIVES. DURING THIS PERIOD AYLWIN WAS NOMINATED FOR THE NAVY EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL. IN JANUARY 1990 AYLWIN ARRIVED IN BOSTON FOR A FOUR MONTH REPAIR PERIOD. AFTER FIVE WEEKS OF REFRESHER TRAINING AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS, AYLWIN WAS READY FOR HER NINTH AND FINAL DEPLOYMENT. ON 1 JULY 1991, AYLWIN DEPARTED FOR UNITAS XXXII UNDER THE COMMAND OF USCOMSOLANT CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT. WHILE TRAVELING THROUGH- OUT SOUTH AMERICA, AYLWIN VISITED NINE COUNTRIES, CROSSED THE EQUATOR AND TRANSITED THE STRAIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. AYLWIN RETURNED HOME TO NEWPORT ON 13 DE- CEMBER 1991 AND WILL DECOMMISSION IN MAY 1992.