Pocono (AGC 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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: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

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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

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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..