Truckee (AO 147) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 60 of the 1975 volume:

x x 1 4 'e 1 . e im :bn S Melvzh ee 76911515 V8 Navy It is very difficult to explain how close to one another Sailors grow, especially when sailing foreign waters. Our ship becomes our home, and our lives, past, present, and sometimes even future become shared with one another. We work, play, eat and sleep together. We, in a very unique way, become a family. And just like any family, but perhaps in a different way, we mourn over the death of one of our members. Such was the tragic experience of the death of Melvin KIMBLE. Each and everyone of us felt his death . . . but because he lived a life of humbleness, peace and love for his shipmates, each of us will never forget the life he shared with us. It is with this idea in mind and grief in heart that we dedicate this Cruise Book to SA Melvin Lee KIMBLE, U. S. Navy. CFU 1 SQ, TMQ lot W5 USS TRUCKEE, one of the fastest and largest oilers in the U. S. Navy, was commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 23 November 1955. Her primary mission is the complete underway replenishment of petroleum products to the Fleet. She is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. Soon after her commissioning in 1955, TRUCKEE made her maiden voyage. She carried eight million gallons of fresh water to Bermuda before her tanks had once been filled with petroleum. In June of 1956, she sailed on her first Midshipman cruise to Copenhagen, Denmark and Sheerness, England. ln September of the same year, TRUCKEE sailed to the Ascension Islands. She also visited Recife, Brazil and Noronoha before returning to Norfolk, Virginia in November. In late June of 1959 during her refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the crew achieved the l'1l9l1eST operational mark ever awarded to a fleet oiler. ln August of 1959, she operated in North Atlantic waters as a unit of a task force assigned to support former President Eisenhower's round trip flight to Europe. The summer of 1960 was spent operatingwith the United States Second Fleet. Highlights of the summer included a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, TRUCKEE s third Midshipman cruise, and an unofficial record of more than one hundred ships alongside in the single month of July. The early fall of 1960 found TRUCKEE operating in North Atlantic waters with a task force of NATO ships. On 20 September, TRLJCKEE crossed the Arctic Circle, an event which entitled all men who were aboard at the time to carry a blue nose certificate.'This trip also included a brief stay at Lisbon, Portugal. Thanksgiving in Naples, Christmas and New Year's in Cannes, and St. Valentine's Day in Barcelona, featured TRUCKEE's second successive winter deployment in the Mediterranean. ln February 1962, TRUCKEE got underway for her third successive winter deployment with the United States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. During this deployment, the ship acted as flagship for Commander Service Force. Sixth Fleet. TRUCK-EE is believed to have set the peacetime record for the number of ships refueled during a singleyearf. During the calendar year of 1962, TRUCKEE fueled 457 ships, 152 of which occurred during aperiod of fifty dayts of almost constant steaming in support of the Cuban Quarantine Operation. Commander Service Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet commented on her activities as follows: While serving as flagship for Commander Service Squadron FOUR and operating in the Caribbean in support of the Cuban Quarantine Operation during October - December 1962, TRUCKEE engaged in fueling of units of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet on a most demanding schedule.Aln addition to sustaining an arduous tempo of replenishment operations throughout the Quarantine period, TRUCKEE's performance was highlighted by the highline transfer of 165 long tons of fleet freight during a two day period to ships of the task force, ffreight-varying from electronic tubes to iet aircraft enginesl, and receipt of 716 bags of mail in a single day. These examples of versatility and hard work are ,characteristic of the outstanding performance of TRUCKEE during the critical Quarantine period. ln July of 1963 TRUCKEE was awarded the Golden UE for winning the Battle Efficiency Award far her five consecutive years. She was the first Service Force Atlantic Fleet ship ever to win this coveted award. ln July 1964, a hash mark was added to the Gold E as TR-UCKEE again won the battle efficiency competition, for an unequaled sixth straight time. During September and October, TRUCKEE served as flagship for Commander Service Squadron TWO and supported NATO exercises Teamwork and Masterstroke in the North Atlantic. On 1 March 1965 TRUCKEE left Norfolk on her way to ioin the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. While deployed, TRUCKEE served as flagship for Commander Service Force Sixth Fleet, visited thirteen ports in five countries, fueled 409 ships and participated in several maior exercises. ln addition, a second gold hashmqrk was added to the Battle Efficiency E in July, marking the seventh consecutive time that TRUCKEE has won the award. ln July l966 TRUCKEE received her eighth consecutive Battle Efficiency NE and commenced an extensive overhaul at the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Norfolk. The overhaul was completed in January 1967, followed by a three week refresher training period at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prior to departing on 27 March for a six month deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. During that deployment, while again serving as flagship for Commander Service Force Sixth Fleet, TRUCKEE served a vital role in support of Sixth Fleet ships during the lsraeli-Arab conflict. On 8 June, during the Arab-lsraeli crisis, TRUCKEE received approximately 200 tons of fleet freight from USS SYLVANIA in a record time of in hours. On 2l September TRUCKEE returned to Norfolk, having completed a most active and intensive period of operations in the Mediterranean. A The year i968 saw TRUCKEE participating in exercises off the Virginia Capes and in the Caribbean. On i2 June, during Operation Racer Run, TRUCKEE was involved in a collision at sea with USS WASP. The collision occurred during underway replenishment and resulted in millions of dollars of damage and a three month yard period for TRUCKEE. The ship again deployed to the Mediterranean in September 1968. During TRUCKEE's IMediterranean deployment in i968-69, the ship fueled 'l58 ships, visited ten ports in seven countries, and pumped over 35,000,000 gallons of fuel in support of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. TRUCKEE returned from Europe in April 1969. She spent the fall and early winter of 1969 in Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, undergoing her re ular overhaul g . TRUCKEE deployed to the Mediterranean for the seventh time in April 'l970. She embarked Commander Service Force Sixth Fleet at Rota, Spain and commenced her replenishment duties as the maior oiler asset of the Sixth Fleet's logistics arm. The routine of the summer was shattered by the .Jordanian crisis. TRUCKEE pumped around the clock to support the operations sustained by the naval task force standing off the coast of the Middle East. For her contributions to this operation, TRUCKEE and her crew were awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation. Upon returning to Norfolk in November l970, TRUCKEE commenced a program of conversion to Navy Distillate Fuel. Following this conversion TRUCKEE once again ioined the working fleet on the Atlantic Coast. The year l97l saw TRUCKEE participating in replenishments from as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia to as f h 1 1 n n ar SOU? as the warm waters off St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Both NATO and Atlantic Fleet exercises helped keep the ship and the crew operating at peak efficiency. The beginning of 1972 found TRUCKEE getting ready for her eighth Mediterranean deployment. The ship departed her homeport on l4 February and after a short sea trial period and a workup training exercise in the Caribbean, reported to the Sixth Fleet to begin seven busy months. TRUCKEE arrived in Rota, Spain, on 8 March and commenced her replenishment duties. ln the spring of l973, TRUCKEE completed a refresher training course in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and was able to v-isit Porte-au-Prince, Haiti as a liberty port. On 13 July 1973 she departed Norfolk for her ninth deployment to the Mediterranean. Highlights of'the deployment included visits to ldtanbul, Turkey, Athens and Mykonos, Greece and port visits in several different countries. TRUCKEE fueled over l50 ships and pumped over 25,000,000 gallons of fuelfduring this deployment. On 7 October TRUCKEE was underway in an emergency sortie to join the rest of the Sixth Fleet in an increased alert posture due to the Arab-Israeli U Yom Kippur War. During the following month and a half TRUCKEE provided the vital services necessary to keep the Sixth Fleet mobilized and in a high state of readiness. TRUCKEE returned to Norfolk on 21 December. Another highlight of the 1973 deployment occurred on 9 December while TRUCKEE was enroute to Rota, Spain. The ship became the temporary haven for an obviously disoriented racing pigeon. Subsequently, the TRUCKEE was awarded a HMediterranean Pigeon Protector Award by COMSERVLANT. During i974 TRUCKEE underwent a regular overhaul at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Balti- more, Maryland. Upon completion of the overhaul the ship operated briefly off the Virginia Capes before undergoing f h re res er training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ship deployed to the Mediterranean for her tenth deployment on 9 May 1975. P . .. - r A graduate of the University of Denver in 1955, Commander Gilfry began his Naval career when he was commissioned an Ensign in 1956 at Pensacola, Florida. Completing his flight training, he was desig- nated a Naval Aviator in May 1957. Commander GiIfry's first operational tour was with VPF-63, Naval Air Station, Miramar. His next assignment was with VCP-61 at Guam. Commander Gilfry was then ordered to Naval Air Station Beeville, Texas serving as an instructor pilot for three years. In 1964 he reported aboard USS INTREPID KCVS-111 as Assistant Navigator. Upon completion of his tour aboard USS INTREPID, Commander Gilfry reported to the Naval War College for a year of study at Command and Staff School. In 1967, he was assigned to' Attack Squadron TWENTY- SEVEN as the Administrative and Operations Officer. His next tour was aboard USS CONSTELLATION as the Operations Officer for CVW-14. Following that deployment he became Training and Readiness Officer on the Staff of Commander Fleet Air Lemoore. In 1972 Commander Gilfry commanded VA-195 DAMBUSTERS de- S ployed aboard USS KITTY HAWK CCVA-631. During this tour he completed his 400th combat mission. In 1973 Commander Gilfry was ordered to transition to the 'Super A4F Sky Hawk and F8.I Crusader before com- manding CVW-21. During this tour aboard USS HANCOCK KCVA-195, Commander Gilfry returned to the Indian Ocean during the October 1973 Middle East Crisis. Commander Gilfry took command of USS TRUCKEE KAO-1471 on 4 October 1974. Commander Gilfry has been awarded the Silver Star, five Dis- tinguished Flying Crosses, ei-ht Individual Air Medals, four commen- dations and thirty-eight ,Strike7FIight Air Medals, as well as the Navy Unit Commendation and the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon and various campaign and service medals. Commander Gilfry is married to the former Kelly Gustafson of St. Peters, Minnesota. They reside in Lemoore, California with their two sons, Daniel and Mark. LCDR LYNN H. SMITH FORMER EXECUTIVE OFFICER LCDR THOMAS T. TRIPLETT PRESENT EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMMANDER MASON C. GILFRY COMMANDING OFFICER LCDR Lynn H. Smith is a graduate of the University of Pennsyl- vania. He was commissioned through the Naval ROTC Program in August 1961. After an initial tour aboard USS STRONG KDD-7581, he served aboard USS SPRINGFIELD CCLG-71 homeported in Villefranche, France. ,He then served as Head, Military Personnel Planning and Requirements Branch, Commander Naval Telecommunications Head- quarters, followed by an in-country RVN tour with CTF-115. LCDR Smith first came to the Service Force in June 1969 as Operations Officer of USS DENEBOLA, and then spent three years as Executive Officer, Naval Communications Station Asmara, prior to reporting to USS TRUCKEE. Commander Smith was detached in October of 1975 and is currently assigned to Naval Telecommunications Center, Crystal Plaza, Arlington, Virginia as Officer in Charge. i I-CDR. Thomas T. Triplett, a graduate of Miami University, received his commission through the Officer Candidate Program in March 1961. Previous shore duty includes tours with the Staff, SEVENTEENTH Navel DISWICTI K0diak, Alaska, Fleet Mail Center, Naples, Italy, and Offwe of CNG iOP'631, W0'Shington, D.C. Previous shipboard duty has been a-board USS ALTAIR CAKS-321 and USS WILHOITE fDER-3971 as Operations Officer, and USS MAC DONOUGH KDLG-81 and USS PONCE il-PD-151 as Engineer Officer. He served as Operations Officer wifh Commander Coastal Squadron ONE in Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam, and is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Destroyer School qnd fl-,e A,-med Forces Staff College. 0 LCDR Triplett and his wife Claudia reside in Virginia Beach Virginia with their two sons. ' TRUCKEE's service 'ro The Fleer has shown her capability and devotion To duty. We work long and hard fo accomplish our mission. Join us now as we cruise the waters of the Mediterranean Sea . . . 7V5fy'o May1975 . wwf-1 V r Zf'W'Zfj,,QZ71i'7?W13 QQTWWQQ . ,- viz E is It a last gaadiye. Nffks., P Truckee. lzke time and title. waits far na man.. --,M-sk 5 fffff 1 9' , ff? ,J - 6M , Wf , , , ' ff 553462 pf? , f If K gr W f f ff KW! ff X7 f, Q 'V '9W J , 'f ', . 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