El Paso (LKA 117) - Naval Cruise Book

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s iV PASO 4 A. ft 25 Feb uo it J9gJ To At£ Handi, Tke J 980 - 9SJ U dltQAaman CxuAj e, o{) the USS EL PASO -ci ' tega tdec in thXi boofe. A4 a inembe- o he ilSS EL ?ASO Team t oa hoaJid fitoid iX, loitk pfiidz cu It fizcoftd6 a peJiZod o youA lif z Mh2.n tkfLoagh peA onaZ 6acn.a{jA,c and pAo{jZ 6-Lonat maXvJvitij yoa made, a i iQYii( lcant contA-ihadon to tka. d tn6 o( yoa coanhiy. VtxfvLng tk-U pznJjod tkz USS EL PASO and htn. cAW ilitabtUhtd an outstanding AzputatUxin both as Navy and MaAAjit pHo LSSix}nati in conducting amphib ui opzfiations and as n.(ipAUQ.ntatbjQJ o tho. United Statoj) o Am Atca tn { ofiQA.gn tAavzti . Each 0 you thAough de.dJjcatA.on, hoAd MoAk and se.1 disc-i- ptino. have covitAibutzd to youA counfvcu utabZJj he.d Ae.puX.atA.on 0 pAoieJiSlonaZ e.xceJUie.nce. at se.a. On a de.ptoyme.nt which took you Aom ne.aA the KAtJjc Ctficte., to the. Equate A thAough the. Ue.dl- teAAane.an, the Indian Ocean, NoAth Se.a and Atljantlc Oce.an, you havz made, a peASonal contAtbution to the. { ize.dom o youA countAy o{ which you can be. justifiably pAoud. It Is my slncejie. hope, that In the. utuAz yzau whzn glancing thAough theAe pageA you will pAoudtvi AccalL this pe.Alod o se.h.vlcz to the Unlte.d StateJ , the Mavy, the. HaAlne. CoAps and the. USS EL PASO. UJe.ll Vom.

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COMMAND HISTORY USS EL PASO (LKA-II7) is assigned to Amphibious Squadron Eight, United States Aitantic Fleet. An LKA, Amphibious Cargo Ship, is designed to transport and land combat equipment and material, with attendant personnel, in an amphibious assault. Armed with 1 1 assault boats and improved cargo handling systems, the 576-foot, 20 knot EL PASO possesses a powerful capability for supporting amphibious assaults that is beyond the reach of previous LKA-type ships. Her four Mike-8 boats, capable of landing 60-ton tanks, are the largest landing craft hoisted aboard a Navy ship. Her imporved cargo handling system includes special elevators, an enlarged helicopter platform, and 12 booms (of which two are capable of handling loads up to 70 tons). The engine room can be operated by only five or six men because of her automated engineering system, as well as a main engine which can be controlled from the bridge. EL PASO was constructed by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, and launched on May 17, 1968. The ship is named for the city and county of El Paso, Texas, and is the second ship to bear the name, the first being a patrol frigate (PF-41), commissioned in 1943, which saw action in the Pacific during World War II. essio AND W PROUD OF IT . ! « i . ! 1 ' ASO V Since her commissioning on January 17, 1970 EL PASO ' s schedule has been a busy one. She has participated in a number of Caribbean exercises and has visited Europe, Central and South America, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. EL PASO has undergone two major overhauls, one commencing in July 1974 and the second in September 1978. Each overhaul involves extensive refurbishing of the ship from keel to mast, and is performed at intervals of three to four years. EL PASO has earned numerous awards during her history. She has won two Battle Efficiency Awards from PHIBRON SIX, once in 1971 and again in 1978. In winning the 1978 Award, EL PASO won every Departmental Award for which she competed: the Damage Control DC (2nd consecutive award), the Amphibious Assault Award (2nd); the Communications C (2nd); the Engineering E which was won for the seventh straight year in 1978. She also won the Arleigh Burke Trophy for ships showing the greatest inprovement in Battle Efficiency, the NEY Award for food preparation, and the Golden Anchor Award, which honors ships for excellence in Career Motivation and. Retention Programs.