Nassau (LHA 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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JULY 1987 1-5 6-8 8-9 10 14-19 27-31 AUGUST 1987 5 10-13 15 17-27 29 SEPTEMBER 1987 20 21-24 30 OCTOBER 1987 1 -11 14-16 20 21 -23 24-25 30 NOVEMBER 1987 4- 5 6-8 10 11-20 12-19 18 19 23 29 30 Training Highlights Verona Loop 1913. SOC and live-fire training. All at- tachments onboard. ' Crew-served Weapons Evaluation. n BLT Staff participated in 22d MAU TWSEAS exercise. 40km MCCRES -forced march. Field Exercise at Camp Lejeune. Embarked aboard shipping and subsequent MCCRES evaluation. Staff Exercise at CAST Trainer with BLT SNCO's fill- ing key billets. Crew-served Weapons Competition. Family Day aboard USS Nassau. Embarked aboard Amphibious Squadron 2 for Blue- Green Water work-up. Predeployment leave began. Predeployment leave ended. Anti-Terrorism training and final embarkation prepara- tions. Embarked aboard Amphibious Squadron 2 at More- head City. Sailed for the Mediterranean Sea. TransLant. Conducted SACCEX Training. Turn-over in Augusta Bay, Sicily. Surface assault at Pian de Spille and heliborne assault at Monte Romano, Italy. Small unit and live-fire training at Monte Romano and Pian de Spille. Conducted 26km hike from Monte Romano to Pian de Spille and backloaded. Conducted NCO School ashore at Piano Monaco, Sici- ly. Attached 70 French Infantry Lt's and conducted am- phibious assault in Sete, France with cross training. Arrived Toulon, France for port visit. Established Camps at De Garrigues and Brignoles, France. BLT participated in Armistice Day. Company-level training at De Garrigues and Brignoles, France. Tank Platoon trained with 1st Saphis Regiment. Static display and airshow at French School of Infantry, Montpellier, France. Company F cross trained with French Foreign Legion Company. Departed Toulon, France. Attached Spanish Naval Infantry Rifle Company for cross training. Company E conducted pre-assault rubber boat raid at Sierra de Retin, Spain. ...di Q.-X,,Qa hs .A

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.L Second Section, Third Platoon, A-T QTOWD Company, 2D Tank BA Talion Back Row: LCpl Snow, LCpl Conner, Cpl Gallagher, LCpl Gizowski, Cpl Fraser, Sgt Alexander 3rd Row: LCpl Perser, Cpl Hubbart, LCpl Wilkes, LCpl Darnell, SSgt Mulkey, LCpl Kalloch 2nd Row: LCpl Vernon, Cpl Varela, LCpl Plurien, Cpl Collins, Cpl Samples Front Row: LCpl Pardo, LCpl Spence, Cpl Barrios, LCpl Hinson A -A -e Et T.O.W. . . . That elite band of brothers, forceful yet dynamic, whose soul purpose in life is to put metal-on- metal. The long range of the T.O.W. provides new meaning to Ma Bell's phrase, Reach out and touch someone. What is a T.O.W.? Could it be as our fellow Marines refer to us as Tired of Walkingn? No, actually it is an Anti-Tank section comprised of a rogue gallery of Marines. As we look over the Section, our eyes are drawn to the central figures. The Section Leader, SSgt Mulk Monster Mulkey, that irrepressible man set on developing pain with his death runs while the growing rumble of regurgitated breakfast echos in our minds. To help in his relentless pursuit, he has his henchmen, the Squad Leaders, Sgt Big Al Alexander with 1st Squad, Highcenter Crew , notorious for finding every hole where a HUMMV can get stuck. Sgt Coop the Scoop Cooper with 2d Squad, The Searchers , a map and compass in hand, riding off into the sunset, never actually knowing where they will turn up. Sgt Bust Ass Batchelor with the 3d Squad, The Schemers , always ready with their Zulu Mikes and other fast moves. Finally, Cpl Bum Scoop Barrios with the 4th Squad, famed for flying the friendly skies yet forced to eat someone else's dust. This is T.O.W. Section, the leading edge of death and destruction that is guaranteed to blow your mind . . . 1 3 I i Ti SSgt Mulkey

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I r I F l 'D' ' DECEMBER 1987 1-3 3 4-5 5-9 10 12 13-14 14-17 15 16 17-21 21-31 JANUARY 1988 3-8 8-27 28 FEBRUARY 1988 2 2-21 22-26 27 MARC 4-6 6-11 13-16 16-27 28 ll 1988 Training Highlights Combined surface and heliborne assault with force-on- force, free-play with Spanish at Sierra de Retin, Spain. Battery E and Weapons Company conducted live-fire training and BLT conducted 15km hike. Backloaded aboard shipping. Arrived Tangier, Morocco for port visit and joint plan- ning with Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. Attached Royal Moroccan Naval Infantry Company. Conducted rehearsal landing 25km East of A1 Hoceima, Morocco. Surface assault by Company E and Moroccan Naval Infantry Company 40km East of Al Hoceima in support of African Eagle 88. General offload of BLT 25km East of Al Hoceima and conducted small unit training, live-fire and cross train- ing. Battery E conducted artillery raid at Al Hoceima Air- field for Moroccan VIPs. Company G conducted heliborne destruction raid vi- cinity of base camp. Backloaced aboard shipping. Port visits in Palma de Mallorca and Valencia, Spain. Departed ports of call and proceeded to Haifa, Israel Training ashore 15km East of Tel Aviv, 15km hike and Physical Readiness Training. Departed Haifa, Israel. Arrived Marseilles, France. Conducted offload and proceeded to Camp de la Cour- tine, France for live-fire training. Backloaded aboard shipping. Arrived Lisbon, Portugal and staged equipment for Desnailing in preparation for TransLant. Departed Lisbon and proceeded to operating area for Galera 88. Combined surface and heliborne assault with the Por- tugese Infantry and conducted cross-training in sup- port of Galera 88. Turnover in Rota, Spain and completed preparations for TransLant. Outchopped from Rota and TransLant. Disembarked from Amphibious Squadron 2 at More- head City. WE'RE HOME!