USS Monterey (CG 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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fine Naval LA-oi(a ,E,-- Labyrinth of defenses were 10,000 tug which served in San Francisco regular troops Led by General Pedro Bay from 1863 to 1892; Monitor No. de Ampudia. 6, which was commissioned in 1893, Starting on the morning of 20 Sep serving in the Spanish-American tember, Taylor stormed the heav- War and the Philippine Insurrection; ily defended city. The Bishop ' s and the WWII aircraft carrier, which Palace fell to the Americans on won 11 battle stars. 21 Septe ber. The Americans The present M nterey is the were forced to take each house in teenth AEGIS cruiser to join the succession, because the houses fleet, and the fourth built by Bath were solidly built and streets Iron Works of Bath, Maine. She strongl y barricaded. Me takes her place in the coordinated bathe lasted until 23 Battle Group utilizing her AEGIS September, with Weapons System, SPY-1B radar, SM- the Mexi- 2 surface-to-air guided missiles, can forces and SQQ-89 USW suite in defense contesting of the Battle Group against hostile every foot aircraft, cruise missiles, and of ground marines. MONTEREY has been de- until only signed and built to fight in a multi- the Citadel threat environment, and possesses remained in an new long range strike their posses- ity in her Tomahawk and Harpoon cruise missiles. She also supports two LAMPS MK III Helicopters. sion. On the morning of 24 September, General Ampudia sur- rendered. He and his army were permitted to march out with honors of war. Three previous Navy ships have been named MONTEREY; a screw MONTEREY was Launched on 23 October, 1989, conducted her first sea trials in November, 1989, and was commissioned on 16 June, 1990. MONTEREY ' s homeport is Norfolk, Virginia. 9

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cktistor„ 11 ill] 1r All Ticonderoga Class AEGIS Cruis- ers are named for great American battles. USS MONTEREY (CG-61) commemorates the battle fought on 20-24 September, 1846, in the war with Mexico. On the 19th of September, Gen- eral Zachary Taylor, with a force of 6,625 men, arrived at Monterey. Ihe city which sprawled before Taylor presented a formidable as- pect to the would-be cinc,ueror Monterey ' s southern and eastern limits rested on the Santa Catarina river, relatively safe from assault. Southwest and just across the river from Nueva Leon ' s capi- tal stood Federation Hill, from which a single-gun redoubt and Fort El Soldado command- ed the city. Directly across the river from these works, and even more imposing, rose the precipitous Inde- pendence Hill, boasting a sandbag redoubt on its western end and a fortress, Bishop ' s Palace, on the east. North of the city stood Fort Black, a massive stone work mount- ing twelve guns. East of it, next to the river, was Fort Te- neria with four guns and behind it, a well-manned, fortified tannery. hundred yards south stood Fort Diablo. Throughout Monterey hous- es were fortified with loopholes and sandbags, and streets had been bar- ricaded. Garrisoning the awesome 8

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RDMIL 110 jko Grathcc---1,1 Rear Admiral Michael R. Groothousen is from Houston, Texas. A 1975 graduate of the U.S. Na- val Academy, with a degree in Ocean Engineer- ing, he was designated a Naval Aviator in August of 1976. Following Fleet Replacement Pilot training in the A-7E Corsair, he made cruises onboard USS America (CV 66) and USS Independence (CV 62) before reporting to Commander Training Air Wing Three as TRAWING LSO. In January 1982, Rear Adm. Groothousen reported to Commander, Carrier Air Wing Eight embarked on USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as Wing LSO. Upon transition to flying the F A-18 Hornet he reported to VFA-106 as one of the initial cadre of Hornet Instructor Pilots on the east coast. With VFA-132, Rear Adm. Groothousen de- ployed to Iwakuni, Japan. During his tour, the squadron was awarded the Estocin Award and became the first Hornet squadron to capture the prestigious Fox One Award. After graduating from the Armed Forces Staff College he served as Deputy Chief of Missile Warning within NORAD and U.S. Space Com- mand. He reported as Executive Officer of VFA- 137 during Operation Provide Comfort onboard USS Forrestal (CV 59). On September 18, 1992, he assumed command of VFA-137 and carried out the Kestrels homeport reassignment from NAS Cecil Field, Fla., to NAS Lemoore, Calif. Following Naval Nuclear Power Training, he served as Executive Officer of USS George Wash- ington (CVN 73) from May 1996 to September 1997. During his tour, GW won the coveted Battle E Award, each departmental E and earned the Golden Anchor Award. In December 1997, he assumed command of USS Shreveport (LPD 12) in Constanta, Ro- mania. While he was in command, Shreveport deployed to the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, and St. George ' s Bay followed by a complex drydock availability. Shreveport sub- sequently completed all readiness assessments and Engineering Certification (ECERT) in record time preceding her award of the 1998 Battle E Award. Following tours as Operations Officer on the staff of Commander, Carrier Group Four and Chief of Staff for Commander, U.S. Second Fleet NATO Striking Fleet, Rear Adm. Groothou- sen commanded USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), from March 2002-July 2004. During this time, Truman Air Wing 3 participated in 01F, won the Jig Dog Ramage Award for best ship air wing team of the Navy while Truman ' s crew swept AIRLANT Battle E Competition and was award- ed the Battenburg Cup as best ship in the At- lantic Fleet. He then served as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. He is currently serving as Com- mander, Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO. Having accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours, Rear Adm. Groothousen has flown from the decks of 14 different U.S. Navy aircraft car- riers. His personal awards include the Legion of Merit (five awards), Bronze Star, Defense Meri- torious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Joint Service and Navy Commen- dation Medals. 10