Dwight Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 16 text:

Captain Robert C. Klosterman H r ' aw k MiXik j is H i KIH3t ! i M ■-- -i:- , 1 vO 1 J i J Hn 1 L .1 ' 3 S 1 1 f Vwr— i 1 1 b lr 12

Page 15 text:

Commander Carrier Air Wing Seven ri ' John M. Luecke assumed command of ■ iTier Air Wing SEVEN in April 1989. A native of t ' cport. 111., he received his commission from the ' Caval Academy in June 1965, and was desig- i naval aviator in April 1967. T Luecke ' s first operational tour was with f) from 1968 to 1970, and included deploy- 111 s to the Western Pacific in USS Constellation ' 64) and USS Ranger (CV 6 1) and more than 1 80 mbat missions in the A-6 Intruder. During this ur, he was selected as VA- 128 Replacement Pilot the Year. CAPT Luecke served his department ad tour with VA-75 from 1974 to 1976. and made o Mediterranean Sea deployments in USS Sara- ua (CV 60). . Early shore assignments included duty at the ; ' al Air Test Center from 1970 to 1973 as Project Pilot and subsequent attendance at the Armed s Staff College. From 1976 to 1978, CAPT Kc served as flight instructor at the Empire i ' ilot School, RAF Boscombe Down, England, ccame the first American to be assigned as pal Fixed -Wing Tutor. K.t PY Luecke reported to VA-35 in July 1979. As ecutive Officer, he deployed to the Mediterra- an Sea, Indian Ocean and North Atlantic on ;a rd USS Nimitz (CVN 68) . He assumed command bruary 1981 and made the first deployment of 6E TP?AM to the Sixth Fleet. During CAPT Luecke ' s command tour, VA-35 was awarded the Battle E, a Meritorious Unit Commendation and was selected runner up for the McCluskey Award. CAPT Luecke received the Carrier Air Wing EIGHT Individual Top Tailhook Award for three consecu- tive deployments and is the first Naval Aviator to have made over 1,000 A-6 arrested landings. From 1982 to 1983, CAPT Luecke served as Air Boss in IKE. He commanded VA- 142 from Septem- ber 1983 to January 1985, during which time the squadron was awarded the CNO Safety S. CAPT Luecke served as Executive Officer of USS America (CV 66) from April 1985 to June 1986. Op- erations included the first aircraft carrier in a Nor- wegian Fjord, and participation in the Eldorado Canyon retaliatory strikes against Libya. He served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff at SHAPE, Belgium, from 1986 to 1988. CAPT Luecke has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, 15 Air Medals, three navy Commendation Medals with Combat V and numerous other unit and campaign awards. He has more than 5,000 flight hours in 65 different aircraft and has made more than 1,200 arrested landings. CAPT Luecke is married to the former Margaret Anne Bassett. He and his wife and two of their four children, John and Jim, reside in Virginia Beach, Va.

Page 17 text:

Executive Officer USS DWIGHT D, EISENHOWER (CVN 69) CAPT Klosterman was bom Nov. 20, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio. After attending Ohio State Uni- versity for one year, he received an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy and graduated with the class of 1969. CAPT Klosterman was designated a naval avia- tor in October 1970 at NAS Kingsville, Texas. Transitioning to helicopters, he spent April 1971 through March 1972 with Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 flying UH-IB gunships in Vietnam, accumulating more than 440 combat missions. CAPT Klosterman returned as a flight instructor with VT-9 at Meridian, Miss., and served as Director of Flight Training and Operations Officer through 1975. Reporting to Attack Squadron 174 in June 1 975, CAPT Klosterman completed A-7E Replace- ment Pilot training and was assigned to Attack Squadron 86. He completed two Mediterranean deployments aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) while scnang as Avionics Armament Division Officer and NWTO Weapons Training Officer. Returning to VA-174 as an instructor pilot in August 1978, CAPT Klosterman served as Qual- ity Assurance Officer, Assistant Operations Offi- cer and Maintenance Officer. In August 198 1 , he returned to VA-86 and completed two Mediterra- nean deployments aboard Nimitz. During this tour, he was Operations Officer and Maintenance Officer and became the first aviator to achieve 600 arrested landings aboard Nimitz. Following this tour, CAPT Klosterman returned to VA- 1 74 prior to joining the Clansman of Attack Squadron 46 as Executive Officer in June 1984. He took command of VA-46 in January 1986. During this tour, the Clansman participated in Sixth Fleet combat operations from USS America (CV 66) , com- pleted IOC of the HARM weapons system and were awarded the 1986 COMNAVAIRLANT Battle E and CNO Safety Award. CAPT Klosterman has accumulated more than 5,500 flight hours, 1,000 carrier arrested landings and more than 3,500 flight hours in the A-7E air- craft. His decorations include the Meritorious Serv- ice Medal, 15 Air Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, two Navy Achievement Medals, the Combat Action Ribbon and various other campaign ribbons and awards. He was the recipient of the 1986 COMLATWING ONE Pat Anderson Award for weap- ons delivery excellence. CAPT Klosterman is married to the former Re- becca Coffield of Virginia Beach, Va. They and their son, Todd, reside in Norfolk, Va.