Denver (LPD 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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Preparing for Deployment Through months of preparations and long hours the men of DENVER painted, scraped, and painted again this hulk of aluminum and steel. Training and drills were an important part of the rigorous routine for REFTRA, PHIBREFTRA, OPPE, and other shipboard departments qualifying to certify the ship and her crew ready for deployment. All of her commitments were met and completed on time, DENVER and her crew were ready for deployment. 10

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M E. Moffat, CDR, USN Commander Michael E. Moffat graduated from the University of Arizona in 1967 and received his commission at Pensacola, Fla., in February 1968. His first tour of duty was aboard the USS NAVARRO (LPA-215), where he served as Administrative Officer and later as Boat Group Commander. After the NAVARRO was decommissioned in 1969, Commander Moffat was assigned to the VSSHOEL (DDG-13) as Damage Control Assistant. In July 1971 he was assigned to Coastal River Squadron ONE as Officer- in-Charge of PTF-20. During this tour, he was assigned to deploy to Vietnam, where he served as Officer-in-Charge, Mobile Support Team ONE, Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam. Returning to San Diego in May 1972, he was assigned as Officer- in-Charge of PTF-26, where he served until his assignment to Naval Destroyer School in September 1972. Upon gradua- tion in May 1973, Commander Moffat was ordered to the USS HOLLISTER (DD-788) for duty as Weapons Officer In 1975 he was assigned to the United States Naval Academy as an instructor in Seamanship and Tactics and later as Eleventh Company Officer. Returning to sea in September 1978, Commander Moffat served as Operations Officer aboard the USS DUBUQUE (LPD-8). On 11 November 1980, Commander Moffat assumed his present duties as Executive Officer, USS DENVER (LPD-9). A two-time winner of the CINC- PACFLT Shiphandling Award, Com- mander Moffat ' s decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Humanitarian Ser- vice Medal, in addition to various campaign awards. Commander Moffat is married to the former Patricia R. Reichardt of Sierra Madre, Calif. They have two sons, Michael and Paul.

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USS DENVER ' S 1981 deployment to the Western Pacific began about noon on a bright warm day. For most of the crew and for the dependents and friends on the pier, it wasn ' t as cheery as it was sunny. For as the giant Amphibious Transport (Dock) pulled away from its berth at the Naval Station, San Diego, the realization of the forthcoming separation scheduled for some six months pervaded almost everyone ' s thinking. Her brilliant white number 9 reflecting on the surrounding harbor waters, she turned ponderously into mid-channel, point- ing her bow toward the center span of the blue arch of the Coronado Bay Bridge. Last waves of loved ones came from the end of pier 6, and then her 22,000-horsepower engines beat the dirty water under her stern into a white froth, she moved off to the duty that called her in the Western Pacific and points beyond. For some of the crew with families in the Phillippines, this was the beginning of a long journey home. DENVER ' S departure came 22 months since she had returned home from her previous deployment in 1979. In the intervening months there had been new marriages, events that in many ways add yet another member to the crew, because as surely as the men of DENVER are called upon to do their duty, the wives also serve their country ' s needs. The departure left things undone — the hinge on the car hood that broke the evening of the 23rd when the oil was changed for a final time by the man of the house, or the fence unpainted. It left other things done — the vows of lasting love, the promises of a December morning to be kept as DENVER and her men return to San Diego, the knowledge that she and her men would ably meet the forthcoming challenges. DENVER and her men would be gone over the summer and fall seasons, missing many of the yearly activities and sporting events. Muc h of the news about current events would be received through the mail. In most hearts aboard the purposeful grey ship there were hollow spots, existing for a reason. They were there to harbor the nighttime dreams and the daytime thoughts and memories. They were there to hold and love that which was out of reach for the coming months. 24 JUNE 1981