Abbot (DD 628) - Naval Cruise Book

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t Scenes from the ship ' s picnic before the big cruise accent the food, fun and frolic enjoyed by all. Congratulations go to the Supply people who really made the affair a success. In August a short warm up cruise was held in preparation for the exercises in the North Atlantic and overseas. 37

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3 ur story begins in Boston. Here on 21 June 1060 twenty-seven midshipmen reported for their six weeks cruise. Leaving Boston, the ship spent a week preparing for the Second Fleet ' s LANTFLEX exercise. Abbot spent the fourth of July in New York and then ])roceeded for LANTFLEX. Long Ears put on a stellar performance against fi e submarines in the simulated massive attack against the East Coast. Proceed indej)endentlv were our instructions following this exercise. Abbot was detached to ))ay a visit to Svdnev. Nova Scotia, far to the north on Cape Breton Island. With Happy Birthday .streaming in the air. Abbot entered Sydney harbor on July 22. Arrival was timed to coincide with the city ' s anniversary celebration. On July 27 the ship cast off and pointed her prow once again for Newport. Final preparations were then made for the coming giant FALI-EX exercise. The big cruise began on 6 September 1960 when we departed enroute to the North Atlantic. Here, along with many units of the Atlantic Fleet and foreign navies, we participated in the largest of NATO exercises to date. Long Ears, with her excellent ASW capabilities, did much to aid the friendly offen- sive Blue Forces in their simulated attack on Northern Europe. The first ports of call were Oporto. Portugal, and Naples. Italv. A reception was conducted for orphan children and volunteer blood donations were made to local hospitals. In Oporto the men of the Abbot contributed more than 75 pints of blood, a story which reached the front page of the local newspaper. A transit through the Suez Canal and Red Sea led us to Karachi. Pakistan, in preparation for Operation Midlink III. Participating in Midlink were elements of the British. Pakistanian and Iranian Navies. The exercises ended with a return trip to Karachi where informal exchange visits by officers and men of the ships of each nation were prevalent. The Pakistanian hospitality made it hard to leave, but 629 proceeded via the Suez Canal back to the Mediterranean and Athens, Greece. Still on the move, and enroute to Barcelona, Spain, we then participated in Operation Jetstream. In a little over three months the Alibot had played a most important role in the President ' s People to People program. This cruise points out the maneuverability and constant readiness of the American destroyer and further serves to emphasize their motto always ready and on the way. 36

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MIDSHIPMAN CRUISE . . . With us for the Midshipman Cruise were 17 third class iiiiddifs from Miami of Ohio. Illinois Institute of Technology, Vanderhill, and Holy Cross. There were also 10 first class middies from Dartmouth, Rensselaer Polytecnic Institute and Cornell University. Conducting tours in Nova Scotia Tliat Ahhol hospitality i 38