Biddle (CG 34) - Naval Cruise Book

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- 4. a 4 .4 Everyone knew it was coming. But through long days of NTU testing and Refresher Training, it was seldom on the minds of the crew. Occasionally someone would mention it, but the thoughts would soon be overcome by current events. After Fleet-ex and the deperming, the crew went on leave and the total focus was on the deployment. POM checklists became the driving documents which set the agenda for the month of July. Finally at precisely 0730 on 2 August 1988, the mooring lines were taken in and the ship was underway for the Mediterranean. The early days of the cruise were difficult, frustrating, and often discour- aging as everyone learned his role in the greater part known as a warship. Old veterans cleared the cobwebs ffrom their memories and new, young E 1 1 f .1 -t . H 1 4 sailors tried their best to learn what was expected of them. As the ships steamed in an impres- sive column through the dark, foggy Straits of Gibraltar, a sign of relief seemed to come from the crew and from the ship herself. BIDDLE was back. international tensions were extreme- ly low as the Med 3-88 battlegroup maintained its vigil in the Mediterra- nean Sea. The apparent calm allowed sailors to spend much more of their time in port, spreading American friendship. Exercises with ships of the battle- group and those of other countries kept everyone's skills polished. Wheth- er off the coast of Morocco or in the Black Sea, BIDDLE showed that she was ready for any threat. As the new year started, thoughts of home became an obsession with wwf . ,, ew ft' fs.. many. The USS LEYTE GULF was a welcome sight in mid-January as the ships steamed side-by-side for turn- over. The crew walked around saying, We had it - they got it. The sun, sinking below the horizon, brightly illuminated the rock of Gibral- tar as the battlegroup steamed through with BIDDLE at the head of the column. Again sighs could be heard when the ship passed this sym- bolic landmark. All that remained was a trip across the Atlantic. The ocean transit was a difficult one with heavy seas and high winds. The days wore on but no one really seemed to care as the Quartermasters updated the ship's position daily on the mess- deck's chart. The weather finally improved off the coast of Virginia. On the morning of 1 February, with the crew gladly man- ning the rail in their best uniforms, the ship steamed into Norfolk six months and 27,158 nautical miles later. The cruise was over. The feeling of pride and the memories of shipboard comeraderie would diminish - but never completely fade.

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DEPLOYIVIENT SCHEDULE 2 Aug 14 Aug 18-19 Aug 22 Aug-2 Sep 4-20 Sep 21 Sep-11 Oct 10 Oct 11-24 Oct 28 Oct-4 Nov 6-11 Nov 15-17 Nov 23-29 Nov 29 Nov-11 Dec 12-21 Dec 23 Dec-2 Jan 5-12 Jan 15-16 Jan 20 Jan 1 Feb Depart Norfolk lnchop to Sixth Fleet National Week Exercise lnport Toulon, France lnport Naples, ltaly Exercise Display Determination Change of Command nport Alexandria, Egypt nport Villefranche, France nport Augusta Bay, Sicily Black Sea Operations nport Monaco Exercise African Eagle lnport Palma, Spain lnport Naples, Italy lnport Toulon, France National Week Exercise Outcnop to Second Fleet Return to Norfolk 16

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