Whidbey Island (LSD 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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WHIDBEY ISLAND HISTORY WHIDBEY ISLAND, the first ship in a class designed specifically to interface with the Landing Craft Air Cushion CLCACJ, assisted in the operational and developmental testing ofthe amphibious assault craft from July to September 1985 and again in May and July 1986. She was named for Whidbey Island, in Puget Sound, Washington, the location of NAS WHIDBEY ISLAN D, the name ultimately derives fiom the sailor, explorer and engineer Joseph Whidbey. ln August 1986, WHIDBEY ISLAND embarked on her first major operation, participating in the NATO Exercise Northern Wedding!Bold Guard '86. WHIDBEY lSLAND's first deployment was to the Mediterranean in January I 987. The ship took part in seven amphibious exercises carrying out duties as Presidential Support Ship tor the World Economic Summit in Venice, Italy, May l987. WHIDBEY ISLAND was the tirst amphibious ship from the East Coast to deploy tothe European Theater with LCACS. ln August l990, WHIDBEY ISLAND again deployed to the Mediterranean as part of M A RG 3-90. During the trans-Atlantic crossing, the ship received orders to sail to Mamba Station ot't'the coast ot'Monrovia, Liberia. Serving as the flagship tor the evacuation operations in Operation Sham Edge.. the ship spent 105 consecutive days at ma. By the time WHIDBEY ISLAND reached its IITSIPOI1. Las Palmas. Canary Islands the shi had been out to sea for 126 straight days. 3 P In 1992 WHIDBEY ISLAND deployed with MARG l-92 representing the Amphibious Ready Group's operations in the Black Sea with a series of port calls. With members ofthe Sixth Fleet, the USS INCHON band, and representatives from the other,MARG ships, WHIDBEY ISLAND made historic port calls to Samsun, Turkeyg Constanta, Romania, and Burgas, Bulgaria. At this point, WHIDBEY ISLAND became the first United States amphibious ship and the largest United States warship to operate in the Black Sea, the first U.S. Navy ship to visit Samsun in 70 years and the first U.S. Navy ship to ever visit Burgas. On 28 August 1995, WHIDBEY ISLAND deployed fort fifth Mediterranean Deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit CMEID. During this deployment, the ship participated in Exercises Atlas Hinge, Odysseus 95, Bright Star and Alexander the Great, spending over thI0C p months in the Adriatic Sea in support of peacekeeping operations for the Dayton Peace Accords in the formet Yugoslavia. The crew received the Armed Forces SCIVICCEQ Medal and the NATO Medal, returning to homCP0ft 29 February 1996. WHIDBEY ISLAND departed for its Sixth Meditenanftttt deployment I5 September 1999. Along with zaad Expeditionary Unit, WHIDBEY ISLAND Participated Exercises Bright Star and Infinite Moonlight Durillglh , exercises the ship Worked in partnership with mCI'11 the British, Egyptian and Jordanian militaries. ISL l . , Stra 1 3 5 9 ' Ba ,i AND safely transited the Suez Canal as wel as its of Tiran Taranto Gibraltar and of Messina, V15 ' t P0ftS such as Antalya, Turkey, Haifa, Israelg Sffuda y Greece, and Aqaba, Jordan. A