Cleveland (LPD 7 CL 55) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS CLEVELAND HISTORY USS CLEVELAND (LPD 7) was commissioned April 21 , 1 967 in Norfoll . Virginia. CLEVELAND is the third ship to be named after the city of Cleveland. Ohio, the others being a protected cruiser (C-19. from 1903-1929) and a light cruiser (CL-55. from 1942-1947). After commissioning, CLEVELAND changed homeport to San Diego. California to become a member of the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Forces. CLEVELAND has divided her time between operatio ns in the Eastern Pacific and extended deployments to the Western Pacific. CLEVELAND is normally assigned as part of an Amphibious Readi- ness Group and. with her embarked marines and other forces, has performed a wide variety of missions. CLEVELAND first saw action during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1967. After the Vietnam cease-fire in January 1973. CLEVELAND joined Task Force 78 in the mine clearing effort of Haiphong Harbor and Operation End Sweep. CLEVELAND then began a senes of seven Western Pacific deployments between 1974 and 1985. Assigned duties as THIRD FLEET flagship from January through November 1988. CLEVELAND once again demonstrated the flexibility and professionalism that have become her hallmark. CLEVELAND then briefly shifted focus to environmental protection when she deployed to Pnnce William Sound. Alaska in support of oil spill cleanup efforts associated with the Exxon Valdez disaster The ship ' s next two deployments, in 1 990 and 1 991 . were in support of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. In October 1992 and March 1993. CLEVELAND deployed on short notice to Central Amenca in support of Law Enforcement Operations, where she was the first LPD to embark an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter. During the March 1993 deployment Cleveland played a key role in what was the largest maritime cocaine seizure to date involving the motor vessel Sea Chariot . These two deployments included four transits of the Panama Canal and steaming over 20.000 miles. While deployed to the Western Pacific in 1994. CLEVELAND participated in United Nations relief efforts in Rwanda and the relocation of the United States Liaison office from Mogadishu, Somalia to Nairobi, Kenya concluding Opera- tion RESTORE HOPE. Following the relocation efforts. CLEVELAND was ordered to steam into the North Arabian Gulf to assist in deterring Iraq ' s massing of troops on the Kuwaiti border as part of Operation VIGILANT WARRIOR. Her next inter-deployment cycle was highlighted by Exercise RIMPAC 96. which included the first ever multi-lateral exercise involving US and Russian forces in US waters. The trip to Hawaii for the exercise culminated in a parade of ships for the 50- ' anniversary celebration to commemorate the end of the war in the Pacific. CLEVELAND returned to the North Arabian Gulf during her deployment in 1996-97. participating in coalition and bilateral exercises and achieving yet another milestone as the first Amphibious Warship to actively participate in Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of United Nations Sanctions against Iraq. In the summer of 1998. CLEVELAND once again participated in the bi-annual RIMPAC exercise. CLEVELAND then began her sixteenth major deployment in December 1 998, embarking elements of the 1 3 ' Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). Navy SEALS, and a detachment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), During this deployment CLEVELAND stood off the Horn of Africa, inserting a military liaison team into Eritrea and remaining ready to conduct a non-combatant evacuation operation. CLEVELAND then returned to the Arabian Gulf to conduct MIO where she served as flagship for the commander of all MIO forces in the gulf. During this penod. an embarked UAV discovered an Iraqi surface-to-surface missile site that was threatening coalition forces. Aircraft from the USS ENTERPRISE subsequently destroyed this missile while the UAV transmitted live imagery back to the CLEVELAND. CLEVELAND was once again called upon to perform outside her normal realm of operations while participating in recovery and salvage efforts of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 in February of 2000, receiving the Coast Guard Commen- dation Ribbon with Operational Distinguishing Device. Following a Fleet Week visit to San Francisco, Cleveland completed her training cycle and deployed for the seventeenth time in March 2001. During WESTPAC 2001 . The Steamin ' Cleve had port visits in Pearl Harbor HI twice. Darwin Australia. Singapore. Phuket Thailand twice. Bahrain. Kuwait. Jebel All. UAE where she had a Change of Command ceremony, and Guam. She participated in Force Protection exercises. Humanitarian assistance in East Timor, Operation Eager Mace, Maritime Intradiction Operations, Operation Red Reef, and Operation Infinite Moonlight. After returning from WESTPAC 2001 on 14 September 2001. 3 days after the attacks of September 11th. the CLEVELAND started focusing on the next time she would be called to deploy. She was the test platform for Army helicopters and pilots flying on Naval Vessels. She made two trips to Seal Beach. CA to change out ammunition: had port visits in Puerta Vallerta Mexico. Redondo Beach. CA. and Santa Barbara. CA: had an extensive two month maintance yard penod: and she participated and passed with flying colors various evaluations and assesments to complete her training cycle. She was ready if called upon. In December 2002. she got that call. She was to Deploy in January 2003 in what was the largest amphibous force ever formed, Amphibous Task Force West (ATF) 2003,

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THE SHIP ' S CREST The CLEVELAND ' S insignia emphasizes the global capability of the United States Naval Am- phibious Forces as represented by the alligator symbol of the amphibious forces, encircling the earth. The ship ' s contribution to this capability is depicted by the number 7 overshadowing this central theme. The three stars, the heraldic symbol for the third son. represent the three ships to bear the name CLEVELAND: Protected Cruiser (C 19) (1903 - 1929) Light Cruiser (CL 55) (1942- 1947) Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD 7) (1967 - Present) The ship ' s motto, appearing on the lower scroll, PROMPTUS ET PARATLIS . signifies the primary objective and final goal of the crew and their ship to be in readiness and prepared to carry out any assigned mission. Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. ' ' President John F. Kennedy

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ATF WEST ATF WEST consisted of many hardships. It started off as kind of a surprise departure for everyone, leaving on JAN 17 2003. ha ing planned to depart some time in June later on this year. The CLEVELAND gathered up the Sailors and Marines and headed to the Arabian Gulf The Marine Units we embarked on board were: HMLA-267. CSSC-111. ACU-1 DET CHARLIE, and BMU-1 DETS ALPHA DELTA. Having to get to the Arabian Gulf as quick as possible. CLEVELAND, and other ships in our group, made a non-stop trip to the Arabian Gulf Once we arrived, we commenced the offload of all the embarked Marines. With the trained crew, we finished the offload faster than most ships and spent the remaining days helping out in any way we could. We then headed towards the Gulf Of Oman (GOO). There we were scheduled to do several Operations, but like most plans, they changed. We had now been gi en orders to transit the Suez Canal, leading into the Mediterranean Sea. For the CLEVELAND, this was a task never before seen, but as usual the Crew accomplished it with determination and enthusiasm. The other part of our mission, after transiting the Suez Canal, was to support the Mine Sweeping Operations being conducted on the northern approaches of the Suez Canal. We acted as the Mine Counter Measure Command Ship. Pulling into Augusta Bay, Sicily, we embarked the MCMRON. which included HM-15. That also being our first Liberty port, the sailors got a chance to unwind and have some liberty time. During the Operation, we also did Astern refueling, refueling the Minesweeper ships: yet another task given to us not seen by most of the crew but still yet accomplished. After completing this mission we were uncertain of what lied ahead for us. There were many choices at hand: one of the choices was to return home westward accompany, ing the Mine Sweepers and bringing HM-15 back to their home in Corpus Christi, Texas. The other was to transit the Suez Canal yet again and return to the Arabian Gulf to embark Marines and then continue our journey home. With a decision not being made, the CLEVELAND decided their crew needed some well-deserved liberty, choosing Split. Croatia as our 2 ' ' liberty port. After departing Croatia, a decision was made and our next mission was chosen. The mission was to transit the Suez Canal and embark the UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS in the .Arabian Gulf On our way to the Suez Canal we conducted flight quarters to fly the embarked personnel off the ship to conclude our Mission in the Mediterranean Sea. Making our way through the Suez Canal once again afid finally reaching the Arabian Gulf we embarked 556 Marines. The Marine Units we embarked were: DET MSSG-11. DET 3 ' ' AA BN, DET CSSB-19. ACU-1 DET CHARLIE. BMU- 1 DET. DELTA, that making our ship at full capacity. After our fellow Marines embarked the ship, we began our transit home. Our transit home consisted of a stop at 2 ports in Australia: Sydney and Cairns, then off to Haw ah, anchor off the coast of Camp Pendleton to off load Marines, and then, of course, San Diego.