Pocono (AGC 16) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 22 of the 1968 volume:

': 3 E 1968 was a full and interesting year aboard POCONO, for this was the year of the shipyard. Of our eight months spent away from homeport, 6 of them were directly connected with this all-important phase of a Navy ship's career. All of the work done in the Boston Naval Shipyard was culminated in Refresher Training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and at Amphibious Operational Training at Little Creek, Virginia. During these periods long hours and hard work were the rule, not the excep- tion. By pulling together as a team the crew accomplished much in Boston and attained a high level of proficiency during both periods of training. - I ' But not all was hard work. There were times for fun and relaxation both in Boston and in the sunny Caribbean. In late January VADM L.M. MUSTIN and his staff embarked,and we sailed away from wintery Norfolk for five weeks of sun in such warm places as Key West, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. We had several ship's parties and were well represented at several higher command functions. Late in November, RADM D. F. WELCH, Commander Amphibious Group FOUR embarked in Norfolk and POCONO was once again a flagship. But all of the work, play, travel and friendships add up to one thing: memories of an -exciting year. The next few pages are an attempt to give you some idea of what a year this has been. Perhaps we can capture for you some of those memories, so come back with us to January and sail through the year. BON VOYAGE! CAPT P. H. BARKLEY, USN Com anding Officer CDR A. L. ZICHT, USN Executive Officer LTJG D. L. CARROLL, USN Public Affairs Officer Writer: LTJG Carroll .Photography: PH 2 C. Slater, PH 3 A. Boland, ,AN E. Merritt Printing: LI 1 C. Miller, LI 2 R.Irizarry, LI 3 T. Anthony, LI 3 M.Janis :fi 1 V, , , C Y Llgf' A , ., xx.k- . I xxx ff x 'pg C 0 N ff iff! ig M 68 Lfffllfff ,f - fm,-' '- . ,-wr , 2, '14M...... ...... ....-,.,...f.:,.- Early January found POCONO in Nor- folk at the end of the Christmas leave period. It was a cold winter in Virginia, and the news that we would embark COMPHIBLANT for a Caribbean cruise was welcome in- deed. VADM L.M. MUSTIN, Commander Amphibious Forces,Atlantic,embark- ed with his staff in late January, y land we sailed for more sunny wea- ther. First stop on our five week trip was Key West, Florida, where we were treated to four days in P the famous Florida su . We left Key West and pointed our bow toward the Virgin Islands. But our track carried us past Vieques, a small island southwest of Puerto Rico where various joint Navy-Mar- ine Corps exercises were being conducted. VADM Mustin's decision to go ashore and observe some of these maneuvers gave us the oppor- tunity to practice at flight quar- ters. It proved to be highly val- uable training'as there was little chance to work with a helicopter later on in the year. Our flight deck gives us the capability to p deploy with a helicopter detach- . ment if necessary. l We finally arrived in St. Croix in the evening, and berthed at the pier in Fredericksted, one of the two major towns on the .islind. Here we spent four days sight- seeing and relaxing in the sun. The local USO in Fredericksted is very active and proved to be a good starting point for any trips. Several of the large resort hotels gave free passes to the USO for distribution to arriving ships. The COMPHIBLANT band presented a concert the last night in port and the large turn-out was a measure of the hospitality we were shown in St. Croix. .agp , 4 I r 4 , I On to St. Thomas where we anchored out in the har- bor. Charlotte Amalie, the only town on St. Thomas, is a well known Nfree portn affording excellent shopping. The many shops are filled with all types of imported articles -china, watches, cameras, per- fume and crystal. While .here several groups of school children and Boy Scouts visited the ship for a tour.and refreshments. But we only stayed a short time here. Next stop on our journey was San Juan, capitol of Puerto Rico and one of the oldest cities in the western Hemisphere.p Its cosmopolitan pace was in direct contrast to the smaller quieter ports we previously visited. We spent four days touring in such interesting and historic places as Morro Castle and Old San Juan. We left San Juan early one morning and hopped down the coast to the Naval Sta- tion at Roosevelt Roads for a three day visit. The good weather was still with us, an the golf, fish- ing, and swimming were excellent. Our final port visit of the trip was to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It gave us a chance to see the place where we would later in the year spend three weeks in intensive training.. Our visit to Guantanamo Bay complete,we finally brought VADM Mustin's barge aboard and set our course for Norfolk. On the way back CAPT Barkley invited VADM Mustin to inspect the crew during personnel inspection. At the conclusion of the inspection, VADM Mustin said that he was as pleased with appearance as he had been with our performance during the entire trip. As we got further north the weather turned colder and colder, but when we finally arrived in Norfolk, the warm welcome of dependents on the pier took the nip and edge out of the wind. It was great to be hom p Mwmwws A AUIIIIUL OUI' e again. W isa p g4UY ,i NW A 3 swgipg .1 N, J. i 1 32, ,Q s g at E, , N. is r aye N' A 'f fi .g ., , I my , W'-,..,.,..,,,.,,,,,,n x ' , f uw t - .XS t W W,-mW,Mm,,45 pppp , fe o......,,,W ,,.,,g w - . ....w..,,..., ..,, , f my V .Q N., A , 5 ' ' f WV, Z , ,, H b ' ' Q4-.,.,,, , f 1 , 13. - ,,, - K .-,,,,,,, ,. ' W ,M35 W -'f 1557? ,J!'lYx' .ti K K Shortly after our return from the Carib- bean we had the first of our major graded training exercises, an Operation- al Readiness Inspection conducted in the Virginia Capes areagwe were gone for only two days but there was a great amount of preparative work to be done,earlier. The weather was bitter cold as we went through our paces, but the results showed that we had done an EXCELLENT job inspite of the weather. Prior to going to the shipyard,Navy ships spend a period of time called a Htender availabilityn-alongside a repair ship in homeport. 'We spent 3 weeks alongside the USS VULCAN, having some preliminary ship- yard work done. This was also a time for the crew to make final preparations for the yard. But we took time out for a ship's party, MC'd by a local disc jockey and enjoyed by everyone. .vi-1 Periodically all Navy ships must enter a Navy shipyard for overhaul and repair. During this time, the ship is torn apart and obsolete equipment is removed. Us- able equipment and materials are cleaned and repaired, new equipment is installed and alterations are made to the ship. POCONO entered such a yard period Iin April of this year. During the months from April to September,literally hun- dreds of jobs were completed by the Boston Naval Shipyard. Finally in early September the shipyard miracle ,took place. Out of the-steel scaffolding, the noise of chipping hammers, and the dirt of old paint and parts emerged POCONO, again a ship of the fleet. ' in the Spirit of maintaining good com- munity relations,POCONO men participated ln several local functions including the Flag Day and Fourth of July parades in Needham, Manchester, and Winthrop, Mass, 2 boat crews helped the city of 'Marble- head celebrate its 300th. year, Marble. head is considered the founding site of the U. S. Navy, for it was here that the first Navy vessel, the USS GLOVER, was presented to the Continental Congress. Later in the sum er boat crews provided transportation to underpriviliged school children in the Boston area to and from Gardner's Island, site of an amusement park in Boston Harbor. a ' Action in Boston Cstarting above, counterclockwisejz yard man welds while POCONO sailor stands fire watchg there was electrical gear to fixg and vent systems to re- pairg old paint had to come offg and boilers had to be reworked Ccenterl. Below: POCDNO enters drydock in early May. In May, while still in drydock, PCCONO was honored to host the annual meeting of the Southeast Council of Massachusetts, Navy .League of the United States. This organization does much to promote the image of the Navy to the civilian public,and has proved to be an influential force in Congress on legislative items of interest to the Navy. Guest speaker was RADN Hoy BENSON, Commandant of the First Naval District. RADM Benson spoke of some ,of his many interesting experiences in Southeast Asia. At the conclusion of his speech, HADM Benson was pre- sented a ship's plaque to commemorate the occasion. K 1 W l The long awaited day finally arrived. In late August we went to sea for one day and sea trials. Sea trials are a working inspection of the work done in the ylrd. All new and repaired equipment is rigor- ously tested under the most strenuous conditions. After sea trials we spent one more week in Boston and finally sailed for Norfolk. The trip down was routine, but the welcome - well, it was easy to tell we had.been gone for five months! But despite the longer working hours away from home, the crew found time for relaxation. Because the Boston Naval Shipyard is not POCONO's regularly as- signed shipyard CAPT Barkley was permit- ted to grant 96 hour weekends for the crew once each month, and every Thursday there was a small exodus to either the airport or the bus station. I , rm. 1'-1f.,.vev , .ffi72.i.E1.1'2 :Tiff w'NFV:: 'f .:.:jIZ7r:' f'WIT1:3155-5::::y:E95'A ,Lm,.1,,f, 1 ps?:g:,ai,a5.f.1: 141111, V We spent the next fou weeks in prepar- ation for Refresher Training at Guantan- amo Bay, Cuba. There were schools to attend and much last minute work to be done., In the middle of September, we learned that POCONO's letter designation had been changed from AGC to LCC,reflec- ting the idea that amphibious ships are not auxillary ships but major vessels participating directly in operations. So there were things to change, from the canvas cover on the brow to the ship's letterhead and seal. . In early October, POCONO once again set off for the Caribbean - this time for a period of refresher training to be con- ducted under the control of the Fleet Training Group, Guantanamo Bay,Cuba. The Fleet Training Group guided departments in POCONO through basic training man- euvers and exercises to help us in gain- ing a suitable state of readiness. But the Medical Department was tested on the trip down when appendicitis flared up during heavy seas. While CAPT Barkley maneuvered the ship to reduce wind and heavy sea effects, Dr. M. D. GILSON per- formed the midnight operation. Both pat- ient and doctor agreed that the Medical Department was ready for any emergency. Upon our arrival in Guantanamo Bay, the Fleet Training Group initially conducted a Material and Administrative Inspection to determine if our shipfs organization and battle preparation, and our material conditions were adequate to permit the training to be profitably pursued. Each day the variuos Nship ridersn from the Fleet Training Group came aboard to guide us in our training and to put us through our paces.j Underway operations involved exercises in ship control, gun control, engineering control, damage control, medical assistance in battle, and communications during battle, both visual and electronic. All day each crew member was .fully occupied learning and practicing the functions for which he was responsible. Out of this training POCONO quickly developed from a group of individuals into a tightly knit crew. Jilwf, 315.5 ' I For the first two weeks, we had walked through our drills for training. During the final week we performed these drills for score so the Fleet Training Group could evaluate our training. The week was culminated in our Battle Problem on Fri- day. Here the exercise book was thrown at us under simulated battle conditions. As we returned to port the ship riders hud- dled to grade the results, and in a final meeting, CAPT J.M. WEST, Commander Fleet Training Group, gave us the results. The final evaluation disclosed that POCON0 had made GOOD progress in her training, and although training must never stop, we had developed a solid foundation on which to build. And so the complete metamorphosis has taken place. The Boston Naval Shipyard has helped us overhaul and repair our material, and we, together with the Fleet Training Group, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have Hoverhauledn our talents and skills. Our twenty-three year old lady is now ready for operations with her trained crew. f There was time for relaxation in Guan- tanamo, however, and we had two ship's parties and a talent CYD show. CAPT Barkley helped the Marines take time out to' celebrate their 193rd. birthday, and of course a man could lways find a quiet comfortable spot on eck to sleep during lunch. Our trip back to Norfolk was uneventful until we reached the coast of Florida. Radar first picked up the storm, and we were soon right in the middle of it. The high winds,up to 70 knots at times, whip- ped the seas up to 30 feet, and CAPT Barkley found little choice but to head into the wind and wait the storm out, After two days of constant rolling .and pitching, the storm finally broke and we set our course for Norfolk once again. Damage to POCONO was negligible, and the ship passed a test that could be likened to the one the crew passed at Guantanamo. 'T?1'Tff?l! ' F +5 Q 1 U: ?r E Q F Q H Because of the storm we returned one day late,and the concern of everyone waiting on the pier that cold November morning was evident. But as we got closer and closer to the pier the anxiety dis- appeared and was replaced by smiles, knowing that all were safe and that we would be in the Norfolk area for the rest of the year. The next week was spent in our final phase of formal training - Amphibious Operational Training-conducted at Little Creek. Here we practiced the techniques of the amphibious landing, the final stage of the most complex of all mili- tary maneuvers,the amphibious operation. Some of the many areas covered were boat control, small boat ' handling ,d ebarkation control, ,and amphibious communications. As at Guantanamo, everything led up to a final battle problem for which our over- all training achievements were consid- ered GOOD. Upon completion of training, we returned to the Naval Station and made preparations to receive guests. Late in November, POCONO once again re- sumed her role as a flagship when RADM D. F. WELCH, Commander Amphibious Grou Four,and his staff embarked at the Naval Station for an extended stay. Captain Paul H Barkley entered the Navy in 1939 after attending Trinity University in Texas. In his long and varied career, he has served in many capacities and has commissioned five ships. 'Capt- ain BARKLEY has served as a faculty member at the Navy Postgraduate School, Monterey, and with the Military Assistance Advisory Group in the Federal Republic of Germany at Bonn. Several of his many commands include the Uss LEARY CDD-8795 and the USS OBSERVER CMSO-14.615, both of which he comm- issioned. Captain BARKLEY reported to POCONO from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations where he served as the Head,Warships Branch of the Ships Material Readiness Division. In January he will return to Washington for duty with the Strategic Plans Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Capt- ain BARKLEY is married to the former Miss Marguer- ite Allen of Washington, D. C. They have one son, Paul, who is an undergraduate student at the Mich- igan State University. No Christmas season would Abe complete without a Santa Claus and small children. POCONO sponsored two Christmas parties this year, one for families of the crew and the other for a group of less fort- unate children from the Norfolk area. But Santa's appeal is the same to all children everywhere, and these pictures speak for themselves. gf'- 'Hv '- mf--5 ., , - --- - - ,-M..----,..-,, r' 44 ,Q L Y ' 414' 1. -A . . . y , , I , 1 . X 'rn-ruvh I A , ,, .Tw--xref 4 1. N. 3, . ' 1 ' , f- 1-' 9l i 'Q. ' A v : f'Z ' .f' I L dj Q . 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