Vreeland (FF 1068) - Naval Cruise Book

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collision or adverse action by the PLO. Many alternatives were considered, which included transfer by small boat. One by one most ,of the altern atives were discarded. It was finally decided that VREELAND would manuever astern of the NEREUS and transfer the water using an astern replenishment method' with hoses run from VREELAND's portable water station on the port side fonlvard to our bow, then to the stern of the ferryboat. A line was passed into the opened rear loader door of the GREEK vessel. It was used to haul lengths of hoses into the after section of the ferryboat. Once the connection was completed, it became necessary for VREELAND to maintain its position astern at a distance of approximately fifty feet until the transfer was complete, estimated to be about an hour. If the ships had both been Navy vessels, maintaining position would not have been a problem. However, maintaining station astern of a Greek ferryboat at five knots with five hundred PLO soldiers looking on made the job more challenging. It was assumed at the time and later verified that many of the soldiers were armed. , The evolution was an overall success. Thirty three hundred gallons of fresh water were transferred to the NEREUS. A particularly sensitive situation was defused to the satisfaction of all concerned. What could have turned out to be a major international incident resulted in a bond of mutual respect between the crews of the Greek ship NEREUS and of VREELAND. VREELAND and NEREUS went of to complete their respective missions on 30 August. With NEHEUS safely at anchor at Port Sudan, VREELAND headed north for a transit of the Suez Canal and rendezvous with the FORHESTAL Battle Group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. However, at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, at Port Suez, further tasking to escort two more ships, the Greek ships, PAROS and SANTORINI, was received. On the afternoon of 2 September, VREELAND with two Greek ships set out from Port Suez for North Yemen. We were now faced with another problem, keeping the ships in a convoy, an ordered arrangement in close proximity to one another. The Greek Masters were willing to cooperate with VREELAND but the language barrier presented a problem. The problem quickly vanished as VHEELAND's Greek linguists provided communication with the Greek Masters. We were joined midway to North Yemen by another U. S. Navy ship and together we completed to delivery of these two PLO evacuation ships safely and on time on 5 September. We had covered a distance of approximately 1200 miles. We then proceeded to rendezvous with our Aircraft Carrier Battle Group in the Gulf of Suez for further tasking enroute to the Indian Ocean. All hands will long remember this evacuation operation as a most interesting and meaningful experience . . . events that held world-wide attention. President Reagan and Vice Admiral H. J. Hays, Commander in Chief of U. S. Naval Forces, Europe held much praise for the SIXTH FLEET forces and their role in the Palestinian evacuation operation. 2 fm Z , semi 55

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S'-, The rogues gallery. Volcanic Expedition team one and one half. Volcanic Expedition team one Let's play king of the mountain.