John King (DDG 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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Commander Thomas H. Smith Commander Thomas H. Smith, born 12 April 1943, is a native of Becket, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brown University in 1966 and received his commission via OCS in December 1966. His first tour was Gunnery AssistantfFirst Lieutenant on the USS MYLES C. FOX CDD-8295. In 1968 he began a two year tour as Flag Lieutenant for Commander South Atlantic Force where he participated in UNITAS X and XI exercises with South American navies. Following Destroyer School he was the Weapons Officer on the USS ENGLAND CCG-225 and in August 1975 he assumed command of the USS MATACO KATF-865. Commander Smith served ashore in OPNAV COP-OD and attended the Armed Forces Staff College before returning to sea in 1980 as the Executive Officer onboard the USS PREBLE CDDG-465. He then served as Assistant Chief of Staff of Readiness and Training on the staff of Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Commander Smith then assumed Command of the USS JOHN KING in June of 1985. Commander Smith's personnel awards include the Navy Commendation and the Navy Achievement Medals. He is married to the former Eleanor Bradshaw of Norfolk, VA and has a daughter Erica and a son Andrew.

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2-7 MMODORE KAISER f . C0 fDE RON 20

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SS JOH KI G DDG-35 The First ship to bear the name, JOHN KING, is the second of Adam Class Guided Missile Destroyers to be constructed by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. JOHN KING was commissioned on 4 February 1961, at Boston Naval Shipyard. On 6 Septem- ber 1961, she arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, her homeport. Since commissioning, the ship has had twelve periods of extended operations with the U.S. Sixth in the Mediterranean. The first deployment was in November 1961. The twelfth Sixth Fleet deployment was completed in February 1985. In addition, JOHN KING has operated extensively in Northern European waters, having made seven cruises there in support of NATO commitments. JOHN KING represented the U.S. Navy at Germany's Kiel Festivaln in June 1983. The ship participated in the Cuban blockade Operations in October 1962, and was among the first units to respond to the Cuban Missile Crisis. JOHN KING was part of Project: Hand Clasp, visiting Limon, Costa Rica in June 1984. JOHN KING represented the United States in Halifax, Nova Scotia, having conduct- ed operations with Canadian Naval Forces in April 1984. A The guided missile destroyer deployed to the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific, and conducted Naval Gunfire Operations off the coast of Vietnam from Decem- ber 1972 to June 197 3. The ship operated as part of the Seventh in Northern Arabian Seaflndian Ocean waters from November 1984 to January 1985, having celebrated the New Year in Singapore. JOHN KING is currently a member of Destroyer Squadron Two, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.