El Paso (LKA 117) - Naval Cruise Book

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C0MM iNDIMG Captain James K. Pernini, of Chicago, Illinois received his commission in June 1964. He then reported to USS SOLEY ;dD-707) for his first sea duty as CIC and Operations Officer. After attending Destroyer School, he served as Weapons Offi- cer in USS JOHN A. BOLE (DD-755). His subsequent sea duty billets have been with Amphibious Warfare Forces as Opera- Dions Officer on USS FRANCIS A. MARION (LPA-249); Executive Officer of USS FORT SNELLENG (LSD-30); Commanding Dfficer of USS SUMTER (LST-1181); and as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans for Commander, Amphibious 3roup TWO. Captain Pernini assumed command of USS EL PASO on 01 March 1991. He reported onboard from the United States l aval War College, where he served on the faculty of the Joint Maritime Operations Department and as the Military bhair holder of the Admiral R.K. Turner Chair of Amphibious Warfare. His other shore duty assignments include a tour Lvith the U.S. Forces Caribbean Command in Key West, Florida; service in Vietnam as U.S. Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Adjutant General; Aide de Camp to the Commandant, Twelfth Naval District; student at the Air Command and Staff Col- lege, Maxwell Air Force Base; and Commanding Officer of the Military Sealift Command Office in Okinawa. Captain Pernini ' s personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Merito- rious Service Medal with gold star. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern, a Master of Science degree if rem Troy State University, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. j Captain Pernini is married to the former Keren Elaine Ott of Cincinnati. They have two children, David Pernini and JKathy Rouleau; and are the proud grandparents of Alexander James.

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James K. Pernini, Captain, USN Commanding Officer, USS EL PASO (LKA-1 17)

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During the period of June 20 through December 20 1991 USS EL PASO was forward deploy ed to the European Theater of Operations as part of Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 2-91 (MARG 2-91). Other ships in MARG 2-91 were USS WASP (LHD-i), USS PONCE (LPD-15), and USS SUMTER (LST-1181), all under the command of Commander, Amphibious Squadron Four. Embarked in the MARG ships were the U.S. Marines assigned to Two Six Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), or 26 MEU (SOC). The mission of an Amphibious Ready Group is to be forward deployed fully ready to respond to any contingency. For instance, it was the MARG that initially provided aid to Kur- dish refugees being persecuted by Iraq as part of Operation Provide Comfort. When not responding to contingencies the MARG trains with Marines and Navies from Mediterranean littoral countries and supports the U.S. military presence mission by conducting port visits. This book contains a visual presentation of EL PASO ' s participation in MARG 2-91; I hope that you will enjoy i t! The deployment started before it began. That is, the crew worked long hard hours for months before leaving Norfolk, Virginia to ensure the ship was ready for sustained operations an ocean away from its primary logistic support base. The hard work paid off handsomely as the ship entered the Mediterranean fully trained and free of any mission degrading equipment casualties. We were well trained and eager to take our turn relieving the ships that served in the Med during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Upon entering the Mediterranean, EL PASO and other MARG ships were dispatched to Italian ports to support the U.S. Ambassador ' s pro- gram for American 4th of July celebrations in Italy. We visited Genoa, Italy where our sailors and Marines helped co-host an American-style cook-out for over 400 dignitaries. Genoa was the first of what turned out to be a wide variety of exciting port visits. During our months in the Mediterranean we visited Haifa, Israel; Benidorm, Spain; and Almeria and Cartagena, Spain. I am tremendously proud to relate that EL PASO sailors and Marines were outstanding Ambassadors-at-large for the United States. Wherever they went they made good friends and positive impressions earning accolades of praise from local U.S. Consulates for their performance ashore. Of course, we also had much fun acting as our country ' s ambassadors of good will which the photos in this book clearly portray. Having the luxury of a crisis-free deployment, our schedule was well balanced between operational events and port visits. Operationally, after our stop in Genoa we were immediately sent to Turkey to assume a support role for Operation Provide Comfort. We executed our support func- tions to the Kurdish refugee operations for the first five weeks of the deployment before being released for follow-on tasking. Upon being released we immediately headed for Tunisia to conduct an amphibious trai ning exercise with the Tunisian military. Other operational tasking included: bilateral training exercises with the French Marines in Camp de Canjuers; participation in the major NATO exercise for the Southern Region in Europe called Display Determination; combined sea-control exercise with Spanish, Greek, and United Kingdom Navy units (we acted as Commander of the opposition forces, which was a great experience for the EL PASO); and bilateral amphibious exercise with Spanish forces in Camp Soto Mayer. We have tried to capture some of the flavor of our many operational experiences in these pages but I must tell you that the photos do not begin to show the hard work and superb professional performance of the young men who serve their country on board EL PASO. I ' ve watched them perform their demanding duties under arduous conditions and have been humbled by the example they set in their selfless devotion to duty in service of their country. As you can undoubtedly tell, I am tremendously proud of the sailors and Marines of EL PASO and of their many noteworthy accomplish- ments. Throughout this deployment they positively represented the very best our country has to offer. As you page through this chronicle of our journey I ' m sure you will see why I consider myself lucky to be their Commanding Officer.