White Plains (AFS 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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logistic Support lor WE 'IPAC .xvi if VVHITE PLAINS is a Combat Stores Ship, designed to operate with high-speed task forces and provide them with logistics support in the form of food, general supplies and repair parts so that these units may, in turn, remain at sea for prolonged periods. The ship is named for the city of lfVhite Plains, New York, the scene of a Revolutionary War battle. ' In addition to the conventional alongside replenishment method, where two ships steam on parallel courses 100 feet apart and material is transferred by wire highline, the ship has the capability of conducting vertical replenishment operations bythe use of helicopters. The two helicopters on board WHITE PLAINS ferry two tons of material per lift, suspended in cargo nets as they shuttle between ships. It takes many skills to realize the full capacity of this ship. Among these are bookkeepers, data processors, laundrymen, cooks, bakers, clerks, and barbers, as well as, typists, postmen, male nurses, warehousemen, electricians, carpenters, welders, radio operators, I gunsmiths, telephone repairmen, pilots, mechanics and supervisors. To manage this myriad of talent, WHITE PLAINS is organized into eight departments: Supply, Deck, Engineering, Dperations, lavigation, Medical, Administration, and Air Detachment. Despite the fact that the mission of the ship must receive primary attention, the safety and welfare of the crew is a major consideration as well. The ship is fully air-conditioned. Services include a ship's retail store, soda fountain, library, barber shop and recreational equipment. A doctor and staff with a modern emergency operating room, X-ray room, pharmacy and seven-bed hospital ward are . available to provide treatment on board for all crew members. ,-' I -..f,-, ' Breakin' up is so very ff Q V bam' to do 'P ' Breakin' up is so very hard to do. . . 'K croon the words of an old pop song, echoing the sentiments of the crew of the Combat Stores Ship with a person. They're all in love with a place.. . . Sasebo, japan. b Breaking up wasn't their idea, or Sasebo's either. The WHITE PLAINS, her crew, and all their dependents are moving to Yokosuka, ' japan as part of a realignment in the Navy's Dverseas Family Residence . 1 Program. As of the first of September, the WHITE PLAINS can no longer call Sasebo home . There have been good times here, since the ship first arrived in October of 1972. Picnics, Christmas parties, three New Year's celebrations, birthdays, and marriages all drew stronger and stronger the ties between the ship and the city. Learning how to live in a foreign country became a pleasant necessity for some Plainsmen and an experience not soon to be forgotten for all. japanese phrases enriched the vocabulary of some of the crew. Moving, of course, is something a sailor learns to accept, and ' sometimes even to look forward to. But each move is a melancholy experience too, for he leaves behind friends, experiences, and familiar places. Move an entire ship and this feeling is multiplied 300-fold. Although the WHITE PLAINS and her crew look forward to new A g .N t ,W adventures in Yokosuka, the memories of good times in Sasebo make this , --L if break-up very hard to do. I Rf f,., Q i w,m - X- TI Y I 69 WHITE PLAINS. This time, though, it's not a case of being in love Q W. ' .MM

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