Kalamazoo (AOR 6) - Naval Cruise Book

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Length .... 659 feet 96 fe Beam ...... -- e t Draft ................ ' -' 3 6 feet 37 000t Displacement ,..... ' 1 Ons 72 Officers Crew - 398 Enlisted t Armament: Nato Sea Sparrow Missle Dual System, Single Launcer, AFT Close-in Weapons System MK Mod 6, Two Mounts forward' E r Engineering Propulsion 20 Knots Sustained Speed v it Each 20.5 feet in Diameter Screws ............,.... Bollers llil l.'.' .... ' . .. .........,............................. .. 23 ,A Each with Automatic Combustion l Rudders: 2 each 23 feet high Electrical Output: 8,000 Kilowatts Fresh Water Production: 40,000 gal '- Liquid cargo: 7.2 Cargo: Enough f Weapons: 1,000 vrge- - ? 45 ' . -wa-xt 1- ft' fl' ..- iff A .L , l,,q-af nil fb' .vmgf . -Jr!! Y .QQ friwi., . , tw, k-dlp t , -91.3 r',-F Y , ' tsffhff A it Q ff - 1 .. ,lsr-Rnd? 1 S5 i ed C ,as ' llczir the nil thf0Ugh0uKAl USS Mgflllm Thf U launch of the 7. Laz0 Bw' lf' Q. N Q 0 Z, eggdjgg, is-1,1 . ., V v-alt '. .., i,a,t. J , G . '11-.. 5, ,yi 1 , jifwf , - Q5 L r-fh.,,t .rrp-'Q .' ' ' 3 '. A . .pat vig, . , it its .. ., , ' i. , . 1, Z- 4 1.55 ,i . 1 I- N -1. : 5 '-fair, i 1 .V -'n ,,, I ,V I 1 - . , ,V 1.1, 5 ' K V' 'M 3 - ' 4 4 -fe., '. a. f , f , 4 . . . . . . , t . ,W H -an V t wget, - V ' -- fl 'P 4 A l' ' 'F' - X -i J nf ' . 1' .- t- ' . -. . , - 1 - ., , . -:mi Q .- - M' I W I ,f .,,,F1 , aw ,J . -2 t fi f A ' 5 'r t F .U fi iv. ,fr 'V V A i I ,- mr -I H: .- , ..f Q, Wi 1 if - V 31' ? ..' I ,,::h-.g,3,5U,,3,L: .Q Av, i. i uk 1, K -4 4'-1' 4 'T 't' .- Jil. -1. S '- 6 -,fi 7 i Q. !E,:.'tfteff -' mm ' H ll il ' my l il Ship 5 gba!-actcl-'sues 1. j,1.A,, 45, ,ilu tg .Jil 'J .,f, !:,i.,,.l mat 4 lt M: g . . . ,V 7 . . TA iw at M t 'S ' . Q ' ..,41e i'3. 42? gs e at .V , 1.4 i- A 4 , I V .. 'r ' L, - , ,, ,..,, ,Q ' ' i ' A ' J t vt ' ' V -Q a. V 71:9 -Jil' X-'5:,:'m7' l l .rffii '--5 f ' ' 'Q - ' ' Y f l - H' ' ' A' i J . l NL ' . , ,. . 'L , ,. 'T l K' -'T

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INTRO TO DEPLQYMENT gg: . 5 f . a- December I4, l988 started like a normal day for the men of - USS KALAIVIAZOO. Little did they know that this would be the ,,,lL1, beginning of The Unexpected Cruise . The crew came on board prepared fora 2 day underway period , in the VA Capes, but instead they were instructed to muster with , their respective divisions. STAND BY FOR A MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN When the announcement came there was a great mixture of feelings among the crew. Captain Mobley explained that the ship would not be getting underway today. This left many elated, until the other shoe dropped. The USS DETROIT was experiencing - 3 I . a major engineering casualty, therefore KALAIVIAZOO was on 3 stand by to cover her up coming Mediterranean Deployment. For the next 2 days KALAMAZOO's crew went home very anxious. They did not know what the next day would bring. The decision had not yet come down from above. Q, lg' DING DING, DING DING, DING DING. SURFLANT ARRIVING. The Admiral was only on board KALAMAZOO for about I5 minutes, but that was long enough to drop the egg. UNDERWAY, SHIFT COLORS. MED l-89. With only I6 days notice the men of KALAMAZOO got it together. Clnformed their families, grabbed every supply on naval base that wasn't nailed down, topped off with fuel. said our goodbyes and were gone.J 30 December found us pulling out from Norfolk heading for the Med. The transit to the Med was extremely busy. Almost 40 unreps, many hours of flight quarters. New Year's Eve found us on the road. LIBERTY CALL, LIBERTY CALL The KZOO was 30 days into the Med Cruise before she saw her first port. She pulled into Naples. Italy on 27 JAN. The crew was very impressed by the tours to Rome and Pompeii. Jan 31 found KALAIVIAZOO underway again. The ship made the transit from Naples, to Marseilles. France. The KZOO arrived in Marseilles on February 3rd and stayed until February l5. It was nice spending Valentines day in the land of love. From Marseilles KALAMAZOO headed to the birthplace of man, the Middle East. We arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on February 24th and stayed until the 26th. Getting to see the Sphinx and pyramids gave the ZOO crew a real feel for history. From Alexandria it was off to Marseilles again with a short stop in Souda Bay. Crete for fuel. KALAIVIAZOO arrived back in Marseilles on ST Patrick's Day. There was a scramble for green food coloring so that the day could be celebrated in with green beer. Underway again on March 30th so that hump day lApril lj was celebrated underway. Then arriving in San Remo, Italy tpart of the Italian Rivieral on the 4th of April. The first few days there saw the crew stuck on board due to rough seas preventing the liberty boats from carrying them to the beach and back safely. Once the weather cleared it was agreed that San Remo had been worth the wait. May 5th found KALAMAZOO pulling into Souda Bay, Crete once again after 25 days underway. This time liberty was granted. Crete tone of the Greek lslandsl turned out to be a real hidden treasure. The people, the food, and the shopping were about the best of the cruise. From Souda Bay it was off to Golcuk. Turkey. Golcuk offered gold, leather, tea. and some interesting alcohol and liqueur. It was a time for some needed repairs looking ahead to the fast approaching outchop OPPE tOperational Propulsion Plant Evaluationj. From Golcuk we pointed our nose west and never looked back. One last stop in Augusta Bay, Sicily for fuel and supplies. A blue water turn over with USS IVIONONGAHELA and KALAMAZOO was ready to pass through the straits ofGibralter. Next stop for KALAMA- ZOO was Rota, Spain. KALAMAZOO's one day stay in Rota was spent very much with OPPE on the mind. Unfortunately, Mr. Murphy and the gremlin's decided to double team the faithful crew. GENERAL QUARTERS. GENERAL QUARTERS, THIS IS NOT A DRILL The ship was called to General Quarters early in the morning. There was an actual casualty in the engine room. A section of pipe carrying oil had ruptured releasing a large quantity of combustible liquid into the main space and this was on the very day OPPE was to come on board. The result was a postponement of the OPPE until the day before we pulled into Norfolk. Reflecting back it was a wonderful time for growing for many of the crew. For all it was a time to learn more about our world and just how small it is. 3

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,,,,,,a ,sw- 96 fee! QfflcCfS 22 398 Enlisted Junts forward The USS KALAMAZOO was built by General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division. Her keel was laid October 28, 1970. She was launched on November 11, 1972 and then commissioned on August ll. 1973 USS KALAMAZO0 AOR-6 is the second ship to h me Kalamazoo The first ship AOG-30 was built in 1944. She served as a tanker in the Pacific. During 1945 she travelled beart e na 1 1 . . - hout the Southern Phillipines transporting cargo and fuel from Borneo and Morotai to ports in Mindanao. throug - - USS KALAMAZOO AOC-30 was decommissioned at New Orleans May 18, 1946. ln 1947 she was turned over to the custody 'f - ' ' ' ' B ls de of the Maritime Commission for disposal and was transferred to the Government of Columbia. She still serves that nation as a Lazo BT-62. 20 Km ..........,.. m'2 : .................. Q3 ith. Automatic 'fn' 3 , I ustton Conlrol E A 9 . ,V 1 I 4 - -H . . 1 4 ff- 2 5 e -qt me - .. pf, sp-f 31 523'-'7 14 -53' iff? T er ., Q-nfl - , ef '92 V - -5Q'.,keil life -,.. .5 -, - , ' 1 , , 13 , ' 7? .g ' 3 1 ,F E., 45.14. V ix' sera, 1' ,, W' ,S 'r 45 -- . ,. 'I : 1 at ' ,JM , i,.A,5.. sv, , ti 5.4 4 Wsiffiii g it .1 . 33.1. . im 4' ci . ij, al 1 1 t 1 , 'F ' ..k,.- .AL ,i if 'se V nr , t 5 : grill 1.1, ', U :fps-I ' - , . Qt A L: I in X , LW was mini' ' - X 'X xx , WM. n 4 I S3 1 F 45, 55 -w--.ns-P . . . fr m , if Q I ,gf I WfiS g'7Q?Y'- 5 al li? cf. 'FZ 1 . i A ' ,U -' ug in 41' 44 , -eff P' xy 1 V.. W , 1 L . ip : Y:,5H.1:1'4. 'H , i , ,- , ' if , 4 . g. A 1 ,1 if g,..,s,,, mfs, 'L , r I -,, r..-df' if' 'uw V, . ' '-. '5'1-is . ff+'f '1'?'ZL 1- --sv . ,W .W fe. 't' ship's history 5 ' - -1: u 4'?.qu1f9, 5. ,n ,fr gg F Q Q,