La Moure County (LST 1194) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 64 of the 1978 volume:

1978 - A FULL Y USS LaMoure County - LST 1194 - -rt - Commander Schneider graduated from Towson State Col- lege, Towson, Maryland in 1959 and was commissioned as an Ensign (USNR) after completing the Reserve Officer Candidate program. His first fleet orders took him to USS Pocono ( AGC 1 6 ) for three years as combat information center and air control officer. Promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) in April 1962, Commander Schneider was reassigned to the staff of Commander Amphibious Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet as readiness training officer for weapons. Upon promotion to lieutenant in 1963, Commander Schneider was selected to the Regular Navy and transferred to USS Forest Sherman (DD 931) where he served as weapons officer from April 1964 to April 1966. Upon completion of his tour in Forest Sherman , Commander Schneider volunteered for the River Patrol Force and after training was assigned as Officer in Charge, River Patrol Section 512 in the waterways of the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. In November 1967 he was transferred to the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet as conventional weapons logistics officer. Edward L. Schneider COMMANDER U.S. NAVY COMMANDIND OFFICER Commander Schneider was promoted to lieutenant com- mander in May 1968. In October 1970 he has reassigned as Operations Officer, Commander Amphibious Squadron TWO. Following that duty he served as Executive Officer, USS Fort Snelling (LSD 30) from June 1972 until December 1973. He was then reassigned as technical intelligence officer for NATO on the staff of the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic where he was promoted to his present rank. Commander Schneider ' s personal decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat V, the Navy Achievement Medal , Joint Service Commen- dation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Citation, Combat Action Ribbon and Civil Action Ribbon (a Vietnamese award) . Campaign medals include the National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Commander and Mrs. Schneider, the former Miss Judith Green of Salisbury, Maryland currently resi de in Virginia Beach with their three children: Leslie, Susan and Jeffrey. Michael J. Nicholson LCDR USN EXECUTIVE OFFICER LT. D.J. CURRAN Operations Department LT. J.M. ODELL Engineering Department LT. S.E. DONLON Deck Department LTJG. W.H. CROW Supply Department The Officers A Jk First Division = . Second Division «— ?S m 1 J ««! Weapons Division tyu Ol-OX Divisions M Division B Division R Division m dfc -G- R Division Cant £Lon Cant. A Division S-1 Division S-2 Division HEADING NORTH.. IT TOOK HOURS OF PREPARATION w • 7 we ' re ready so are we ST JOHN ' S, NEWFOUNDLAND Shelter From The Storm IPSKsrt v- REYKJAVIK, ICELAND First American Warship In 12 Years Icelanders have a closer look THE MISSION A k ' f . Hello Zak Is he still there A little help from our friends THE ORDER OF THE BLUE NOSE In The Realm Of Boreas Rex RETURNING HOME TO — Hello daddy, did you have fun? What a warm ff welcome . Thank you wive ' s club and Kim Delat-t . A JOB WELL DONE The Captain receives the Legion of Merit from VADM Engen. The shop and many of her crew- were decorated. AND WE CELEBRATED ■  J r- ■ i in : 5p;w : 52 h  ■■a wi ' ■■fcf tf - m . w . USS LAMOURE COUNTY LST 1194 USS LA MOURE COUNTY (LST 1194) COMMAND HISTORY FOR CALENDAR YEAR 1978 January 1978 found the USS LA MOURE COUNTY ' inport Little Creek training her Rochester Reserve Unit from 6-20 January while preparing for a role not common to LSTs; an intelligence gathering mission. Operation UNCOVER AMBUSH began on 2 February with the ship sailing south to the Caribbean where she limbered up for the major part of the assignment yet to come. She returned to Little Creek on 25 February to prepare for the journey to points north. UNCOVER AMBUSH PHASE II started on 10 March, but bad weather along the track forced LA MOURE into St. John ' s, Newfoundland from 14- 19 March. She next had the privilege of being the first U.S. Navy warship in 12 years to visit Reykjavik, Iceland. During her visit over the Easter Weekend an open house was held with some 2400 visitors touring the ship. On 26 March she set course northward to join the ' ' Order of the Blue Nose ' ' by crossing the Arctic Circle on 29 March. She stayed at sea observing foreign Navy ' s operations until entering Tromso, Norway on 28 April for a brief fuel stop. It was during this visit that she received her new Executive Officer, LCDRM. J. ' ' Nick ' ' Nicholson. Remaining only hours she continued down the Norwegian coast for a visit to Bergen from 30 April to 3 May. LA MOURE returned from UNCOVER AMBUSH on 17 May being welcomed by Deputy CINCLANTFLT Vice Admiral Donald D. Engen, COMNAVSURFLANT Vice Admiral William L. Read, COMPHIBRON SIX, Commodore Paul J. Mulloy, the CINCLANT Band reporters, families and friends. The big welcome was in recognition of her work during the just completed special surveillance operation . Her work was of such quality that the Secretary of the Navy awarded the ship and crew the Na vy Unit Commendation . Additionally, many of her officers and men received individual awards. From 7 May till 4 June LA MOURE was in a stand down status for a much deserved rest . On 5 June the Training Readiness Evaluation (TRE) phase of Amphibious Refresher training (PHIBREFTRA) was conducted concurrently with the 1st week of an Inter- mediate Maintenance Availability- (IMAV) with S1MA Little Creek. The I MAY lasted through 23 June and a concurrent Restricted Availability for main engine and bow ramp repairs extended through Independence Day. On 15 June the two staff members of the House Armed Services Committee, Counsel George Norris and Professional Staff Member Louis Rriser arrived for a close look at LST ' s. The much needed perio d of underway PHIBREFTRA extended from 5 to 14 July. From 15-20 July LA MOURE pre- pared with other Amphibious Squadron Eight units to enter the Atlantic Fleet Amphi- bious Ready Group. August found LA MOURE still working through inspections with a Combat Systems Readiness Review and Food Service Management Team Visiting from 31 July through 1 1 August and Diesel Engineering Readiness Assist Team from 7- 18 August along with a Supply Management Inspection 8-9 August. The inspections ended just in time for LA MOURE to leave on Exercise Northern Wedding 21 August 1978. LA MOURE picked up her Marines and their equipment at Morehead City, N. C. on 22 August and got underway that same day. Serving as part of a Marine Amphibious Brigade size unit the ship crossed the North Atlantic and landed her Marines on the Shet- land Islands 8 September. Departing the Shetland area on 12 September she road out hurricane Elsie and arrived at Esbjerg, Denmark to offload all Marines on 16 September. On 17 September LA MOURE set sail for Kiel, West Germany via the Skaggerak and Kattegat arriving on the 19th. With the ending of Northern Wedding and the beginning of her port visits, she stayed in Kiel until setting sail on 28 September with all of her embarked Marines for an overnight transit to Kristiansand , Norway. She arrived in Kristiansand in time to host a V.I. P. luncheon with Norwegian Commodore Almrost and the Honorable Thv Kvinlaug , Mayor of the city of Kristiansand . Leaving Kristiansand on 4 October LA MOURE steamed overnight to arrive in Cux- haven, West Germany for another V.I. P. luncheon with guests including Captain Flentge , the Garrison Officer of Cuxhaven and Lieutenant Sohnchen, Commanding Of- ficer of Tank Battalion 74. While in Cuxhaven she had the added pleasure of havin g 2898 visitors during an open house on the 7th and 8th of October. On 9 October LA MOURE got underway for another overnight passage , this time to the largest sea port in the world , Rotterdam , The Netherlands . She had a pleasant but short visit getting underway on 12 October for Scotland. On 13 October LA MOURE arrived inRos-yth, Scotland and enjoyed a V.I. P. visit from the Lord Mayor of Dumfernline , Scotland and his family. This would be her last port visit for 1978 and her crew treated it as such. LA MOURE set course for home on 16 October transitting the English Channel to ren- dezvous with task force units steaming in formation to arrive in Morehead City , N . C . on 30 October. Once the Marines were put ashore , LA MOURE fought heavy seas through- out the night and was the first NORTHERN WEDDING ship to get home to Little Crrek on 31 October. November brought a stand down period until the 9th when LA MOURE went to Nor- folk for an intermediate maintenance availability. This availability lasted until 29 November and on her return home she gave her dependents a chance to see her in action with a Dependent ' s Cruise. On 4 December LA MOURE got underway for the last time this year to participate in Amphibious Readiness Exercise 1-79. Returning to port on 8 December with the year ' s work completed , the crew went into the holiday season able to spend time with family and friends. Her festive spirit was in full bloom when on 18 December Santa visited over 50 of LA MOURE ' s children at a party on board. 1978 A VERY FULL YEAR PICNICS, PARTIES . . . AND SLACK TIME SHIPBOARD LIFE ttta-MP si experimenting ? ' • The Inevitable Inspections NORTHERN WEDDING Underway Welcome To The Marines Can ya show me how to drive ? JM . ML Condition 1A M ' ll KIEL, WEST GERMANY ( Good beer at the right price 1 1 KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY CUXHAVEN WEST GERMANY iiliiif ' •-: ii§ir«u i a ROTTERDAM, METHERLANDS EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND HOMEWARD BOUND AGAIN ' ■  Ji ' ' a I ■ ' A OFFLOAD AT MOREHEAD CITY. It ' s been fun %. Home At Last . . . USS LAMOURE COUNTY ' S CREW OFFICERS CDR SCHNEIDER LCDR NICHOLSON LT CURRAN IT O ' DELL LT DONLON LTJG GREGOR LTJG AKER LTJG SISCO ENS ETTERMAN ENS RICKEL ENS TRUEBLOOD ENS BIEGEL ENS BYERS ENS RICHMOND ENS HARMS X DIVISION YNCS DE LAET YN3 WELCHER YNSN GAINER PN1 NICHOLS PN2 GAUTHIER PN3 STEFANIK QMC GREGOIRE QM3 CRAWFORD QM3 SUBILIA QMSN LEMBERC QMSN MEINHOLD HMC MCAL1STER HM2 SCOTT SN HARRINGTON PC3 BROSMER SN LABBE MAI ARMBRUSTER OI DIVISION OS1 JAWORSK1 OS3 BISHOP OS 3 COULSON OSSN G . DAVIS OSSN WOODARD OSSN R . DAVIS OSSN HALSTEAD PC DIVISION SMC BLOW SM2 DEVANE SM3 HORTON SM3 LEMOINE SMSN HAMMARGREN SMSA NIXON ETN2 KLOBUCHAR ETN2 KELLNER ETN2 BARTLETT ETN3 O ' NEIL ETNSA TAYLOR RMC CZECK RM1 SNYDER PC CONT ' D RM1 STUBBS RM2 FIFER RM3 NEWCOMER RMSN PRITZ RMSN NARDE RMSN WOLYNETZ RMSN ROBERTS 1ST DIVISION BMCS DODSON BM1 P ' TOOLE BM1 WESTMAN BM3 H1GGINS BM3 TRUDEAU BM3 ROSEBORO SN CARRERE SN COLEMAN SN GROTE SN HEATHMAN SN TESS1ER SA S . HARPER SA EDGECOMB SAD. JONES SA MILLER SA WILLIAMS SN WHISMAN SR HAWK SR TYSON SR JOHNSON SR DAWSON FA HAMMONS SN SMITH SN DRAPER SR BERGER SR MONTNEY SR MCBEE SR BROGLIN SR READER SR PUJOL SR NELSON SR ESTRADA 2ND DIVISION BMC POWELL BM1 MILLER BM1 TAYLOR BM2 SILVERDAHL BM3 FABIANA BMSN GIRFFIN SN DRUMMOND SN ROX SN SZALMA SA GRADY SN GRAVES SN SUGGS SAW. JONES SA L . HARPER SA GILMORE 2ND CONT ' D SAT. NELSON SA CHAPMAN SA TONEY SA WHITEMAN SR MILLS FR HANSON FA BOEHNLE1N SA BR1GANDI SR SCHIM SR RAINWATER SR EDWARDS SR LOPEZ SR MCWHITE SR W1LHELM WEAPONS GMG1 BARRUS GMG1 CALDWELL GMG3 FEM1AK GMG3 SCHULTZ GMGSNG. JONES GMGSN CREEKMORE GMGSN HUBBLE GMGSN BEAMENDERFER GMGSN H . JONES GMGSN LINDERMYER S-l DIVISION SKCS HALL SKI HAIGLER SK2 BOSWELL SK2 WEAVER SKSN NELSON SKSN HAWK SKSA RIMA DK1 MEJIA DK3 FARMER SN HARRIS SHI CRIAG SHI LEE SH2 BROWN SH3 CUMM1NGS SH3 LUEDERS SH3 MCCARTER SH3 BENNETT SHSN FULTON S-2 DIVISION MSC CUEVAS MSI ANGELS MSI BERGMANN MS2 V1CTA MS3 CAL1FANO MSSN ERTEL MSSN LACY MSSN TERRADO MSSA MCLAUGHLIN UNITED STATES MARINE AND SEABEE RIDERS A -GANG EN1 DUNNING EN2 RICHERT EN3 WAHRER EN3 KENDRICK EN3 MELLEY ENFNFETZNER ENFNO ' DONNELL ENFN W1LHELM ENFA FRICKER ENFA RAAF FN HILDEBRANDT FA CHEATHAM FA P. SMITH FA P. DAVIS EN2 SPENCER ENFN REHNBERG M B DIVISION ENC SA ' AGE EN1 GOLPHIN EN1 HUEBNER EN1 STANLEY EN1 CARPENTER EN2 SHAW EN3 HENRY EN3 MCG1VNEY EN3 T. MARTIN ENFN MOYER ENFN POSELY ENFNHARNED ENFN VANSICKLE FN BEKEMEIR FN CORTESE FN REAR FN WILSON FN DIAZ ENFA KARLSEN ENFA SIMONEAU ENFA SILK ENFA ASHER ENFR GOLDSMITH FA BELL FA CHR1STESEN FA HO YE FAK. MARTIN FA RODRIGUEZ ENFN BENTLEY BT1 DELGROL1CE BT3 GALLO BT3 MATEO BTFN CLEMENTS FA LANDRUM R DIVISION HT1 P1TTENGER R-CON ' T HT2 BOLTON HT3 REEDY HT3 KILMON HTFN GEOUGE HTFN VERNEY HTFN KELLY HTFA WOOD HTFA HAWTHORNE FA BRENNER FA VANDEWATER FR WILCOX FA WOOLSEY FA PARKER EMC MACNAUGHT EMI STOWELL EM2 ASARO EM3 ANTONIO EM3 HARDEN EM3 MANALO EM3 K. MUMMA EM3 T. MUMMA EM3 WHORTON EM3 ZAITZ EM3 AUGUSEWICZ EMFN SOBCZYK EMFN ZAYAS FN BAKER FR ECKEL IC1 CABLE IC2 WEAVER 1CFN CHRISTY SR CANTRELL COMM CO 8TH COMM BN SGT GARBER CPL SOLLARS CPL WHITE CPL WOMACK PFC SOTO PFC JIMINEZ LCPL VANTIN SGT ANDREWS LCPL HUNTING LCPL PECINOWSKI LCPL RAMSEY LCPL RANDALL LCPL SAENZ LCPL HAYNES PFC McClNNIS LCPL GOOCH PFC DURST PFC FORSHEY MASS 1 1st LT Gambone MASS 1-CON ' T SSGT Chicoue CPL Carsten LCPL Giraud LCPL Harbich LCPL Holan LCPL DeVore PFC Croft PFC Sonell PHIBCBTWO LTJG Kane BMC Stringfield EOCN Martin BM2 Mateer BM2 Pattern SW2 Cazeault E03 Atteridge E03 Wittenauer E03 Huggel SWSN Leyba SN Johnson KILO 1 10 1ST LT FLETCHER SSGT KLINK CPL McCLARY LCPL BRADLEY LCPL CHAPMAN LCPL EDWARDS LCPL GABBERT LCPL LOWE LCPL WHEELER LCPL TODD LCPL GASKINS PFC VITAIOLI PFC MARSHALL PFC LUNSFORD PFC FRASER PFC GIBBS PFC GOMEZ PFC JOCOBIA PFC KELLY PFC LOPEZ PFC ALONZO PFC ARMSTRONG PFC AXE PFC BROWN PFC COOPER PFC PAINTER PVTBYRD PVT CAPUTO PVT DALEY PVT LA VOCE PVT NAGEY PVT WALDEN HNRATHMAN 2ND RADBT ■v i . ; I KILO 1 10 COMM CO 8TH COMM BN MACS - 5 DET A MWCS - 28 DET H + HS - 28 TADC -— MASS - 1 PHIBCB TWO CHRISTMAS It was nice being home for the holidays. « «JM We celebrated i DEPENDENTS CRUISE Looking forward to holi- day pleasures and a ne year . . . ]L .fag .- i i 1 The Editors: ENS J.E. Etterman SM3 F. Horton Photo contributions : ETN2 Bartlett YNSN Gainer SN Tessier