Bowen (FF 1079) - Naval Cruise Book

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i. During iSoorda ' isfol ' iawdny, Enji- ffc. ff : ?£ ' .V - W hen an Admiral calls , irigWiaiHltt % On riovember 14, 1987, Rear Admiral Mike Boorda, Com- mander, Cruiser Destroyer Group Eight, flew from his flagship, USS SARATOGA {CV-60), to BOWEN to ad- dress the crew. BOWEM was under the op- erational command of RADM jjBoorda for the duration of |the Mediterranean cruise. IIKADM Boorda ' s visit came iduring the battle group ' s iljliransit of the Atlantic Ocean ;[3ack to the East coast of the ipnited States. i| In addition to joining the ship ' s officers for lunch in he wardroom and speaking o the CPO mess, RADM 3oorda gave a lively, spirited Jddress to BOWEN crew Tiembers assembled on the ship ' s mess decks. Me dis- cussed the accomplish- ments of the battle group during the previous six months. You ' ve got the best pro- gram of anyone in this battle- group, he said of BOWEN ' S Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification pro- gram. ESWS qualification, he said, makes you feel good about yourself, your ship, and your riavy. As a way o f demonstrating his commitment to the ESWS program, RADM Boorda advanced BTEFi James Wallace to third class petty officer in recognition of the fact that Wallace was the only fireman on the ship who had completed the ESWS qualification process. Why are you out of uni- form? he asked BTEPi Wal- lace immediately before ad- vancing him to the higher pay grade. While onboard, RADM Boorda also awarded ESWS qualification pins to QM3 Terry Schmeiser, STQ2 Theodore Hullsiek and ET3 Bobby Ford, all of whom had recently completed the qual- ification process. The brief ceremony took place on the port side of the antenna deck. Several hours after he ar- rived, RADM Boorda ' s heli- copter returned to fly him back to the SARATOGA and the center of battlegroup op- erations. Above, RADM Boorda addresses crew m ' embers on the antenna deck after awarding several Enlisted Sur- face Warfare Specialist pins. You ve got the best program of anyone in this battle group, he said later on the ship s mess decks. Bowenlife 27

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RADM Boorda addresses the crew on the ship s mess decks. During his remarks, RADM Boorda discussed battle group operations and Bowen ' s role in the deployment. Rear Admiral BOORDA, =Arriving Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group Eight Visits Bowen Above, RADM Boorda meets MMl As he exits the console booth in Billy Bob Cannon in Auxiliary Ma- the fireroom, RADM Boorda is fol- chinery Room 1. lowed by LT Joe Zavodny, Engi- neering Officer. Above, RADM Boorda jokes with BT3 Robby rregia (far right) and FA Russell Starkey as CDR Robbins and LT Zavodny look on. 26 ISowcnli e iOi MMCM Robert Mclvin listens as RADM Boorda cKldrcsscs the CI ' O Mess during his visit.

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TM3 Larry K. Scott. Jr., top right, about to receive his Enlisted Sur- face Warfare Specialist pin from CDR Robbins. BOWEM ' S Commanding Officer, right, pins an ESWS pin on HM3 Bruce Benton in the ship ' s office. A gang scores with perfect record o Auxiliaries Division, above, was the only divi sion to achieve 100 percent qualification of all eligible personnel. Kneeling: MR3 (SW) J nehls. MM3 (SWI M. lannelli. MM2 (SW) D. Da vis, En3 (SW) T. Beard. NM3 (SW) .1. WalK er. rirst row, standing: MMCM (SW) MM I (SW) D. Bain. MM2 (SW) .1 llii MM2(SW) r. I.ohncs. KHI (SW) N I ond row. standing: EnfTI .1 K.i.is.l Swarm. IM .J. I ' olcii, MMC (SW) (i ne division on the ship set a perfect record for ESWS qualifi- cation during the Mediterra- nean Cruise. That division was Auxilia- ries, or A gang . Led by MMCM (SW) Robert Melvin and MMC (SW) Gary Wolf, A gang fin- ished the cruise with all eligible petty of- liccrs wearing ESWS pins. A plaque testi- fying to that fact was quickly affl.xed to the door of the filter shop, which also serves as A gang s office. As mcnibcrs o( A division wcie quicK to point out. no othci division on the ship could match their ESWS qualifica tion record. w k 28 Bowenlite