Bowen (FF 1079) - Naval Cruise Book

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BTl Dick Moravec, above, aligns Mo. 2 fire pump to its motor. The alignment process, which is per- formed whenever major repairs are made to a pump or motor, can take from 2-20 hours to complete. BM2 Garry Tines, far left, splices one of the ships mooring lines us- ing a marlinspike. Boatswains have used marlinspikes to splice lines for hundreds of years. Left, Bowen sailors move stores from the ship s flight deck to the mess decks while anchored off the coast of Augusta Bay, Sicily. The supplies were lowered to the flight deck by a CH46 helicopter. Bowen Life X9

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Life at sea is hard to describe Life at sea is, to say the least, difficult to de- scribe. The pages that follow document something LBowenLif L of the regiment of a six month deployment. The history of deploy- ments made by BOWEM be- fore the 1987 Mediterranean cruise is chronicled on pages 20-21, followed on the next two pages by photos from the April 29 depen- dent ' s cruise which pre- ceded the deployment by about a month. On pages 24-25, CDR Rich- ard A. Robbins relieves CDR Robert D. Moser as Com- manding Officer of BOWEri, just eight days before the de- ployment began. RADM Boorda ' s visit to BOWEN during the Atlantic transit back to Charleston at the end of the deployment is described on pages 26-27, followed on the next two pages by photos and a story on BOWEM ' S ESWS pro- gram. The flight quarters routine is documented on pages SC- SI. EMS Mohamed Aouam, LT Pasquale Prezioso and EMS Larry Lott, three tempo- rary shipmates, are intro- duced on pages 32-33. Underway replenish- ments, one of the most dan- gerous and exciting ship- board evolutions, are fea- tured on pages 34-35. Photos of a stores onload and members of First Divi- sion painting the hull of the ship appear on pages 36-39. The Supply Department is at work on pages 40-41, feed- ing the crew, while boat- swain ' s mates, splicing the ship ' s mooring lines, are the topic of pages 42-43. Prior to a photo essay on both BOWEN ' S departure from and return to Charies- ton on pages 46-47, boiler technicians rigging out a fire pump are featured on pages 44-45. Right, Bowen sailors observe USS Saratoga (CV-60) and other battle group ships from the signal bridge. The ships were in close formation around the aircraft carrier for a photo exercise. Bowens station was 200 yards off of the carrier ' s starboard quarter. Auxiliaries Division, below, was the only division on the ship to achieve 100 percent Enlisted Surface War- fare Specialist qualification of all el- igible petty officers. I %lh f 11 18 BowenLife

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Above, USS Bowen during the tran- sit of the Atlantic Ocean at the be- ginning of the Mediterranean cruise. The ships in the battle group took station on the flagship, USS Saratoga (CV-60), while a pho- tographer snapped pictures of the 12 ships from a helicopter. owen ' s 17 years nclude many cruises When USS BOWEN de- ployed to the Medi- terranean Sea on June 6, 1987, it was the most recent in the ship ' s 17 year history of deployments throughout the world. BOWEN has deployed to various theaters of opera- tion, including the Indian Ocean in 1977 and South America in 1978. In the sum- mer of 1974, the ship assist- ed in the evacuation of civi- lians from Cyprus during an invasion by Turkey. The in- vasion was designed to head off the annexation of Cyprus by Greece. Following operations im- mediately adjacent to the Iran-Iraq war zone during a 1983 deployment to the Per- sian Gulf, the ship was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. Later in the same deployment, on September 8, 1985, BOWEN made international head- lines as the first U.S. Navy ship to conduct gunfire sup- port in the Mediterranean Sea since Worid War 11. BOW- EN received the Navy Unit Commendation and the Navy Expeditionary Medal for completing gunfire mis- sions against batteries shel- ling Marine positions at the Beirut International Airport. The Marines were attached to the United Nations Multi- National PeaceKcepin Ig Poicc. In the winter of 1984, BOWEN coinplcted a de- manding cruise to th North Atlantic, participat- ing in two major NATO; combined exercises. During the 1985 Mediter- ranean deployment, BOW- EN represented the U.S. in the 50th annual Naval-On- Call Forces Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED) ex- ercises, a major, multi-iia tion operation. Following NAVOCFORMED, BOWEM made numerous diplomat-, ic calls, including a port visit to Reijeka, Yugosla- via. The ship was cited foi excellence in anti-subma- rine warfare during the 1985 and 1982 cruises, | winning a total of three Hook Em awards. 20 BowenLife