Blue Ridge (LCC 19) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 5 text:

USS Blue Ridge History C7F Fleet History C7F Bio Blue Ridge CO Bio C7F Chief of Staff Bio Blue Ridge XO PooitVuscts 8 C7F Flag Secretary Blue Ridge CMC C7FCMC Saipan Suva, Fiji Noumea, New Caledonia Brisbane, Australia Cairns, Australia Darwin, Australia Surabaya, Indonesia Singapore mgE Pt Phuket, Thailand Penang, Malaysia Hong Kong I Admin Intel Operations Communications Chaplain Supply Deck Medical FSA C2W Dental MarComDet Engineering Navigation HSL-51 Seventh J-Izet ' Pexsommem- -69 Exec N-l -Administration N-5-Plans and Pol-Mil 012-Public Affairs N-2 -Intelligence N-6 C4I 01 3-- Judge Advocate N-3-Operations Navy Band 014-Medical N-4-Logistics O ' b ' bs-x- ' EN ' hs— -79 Comrel Projects Steel Beach Picnic Homecoming At Work Sports Cruisebook Committee TSTA Every day activities In Memoriam Crossing the Line

Page 4 text:

y Suvi in irii Cor Bij

Page 6 text:

maaraBOfaan uss Ut r XUtt cc 19) H ' ST0 Unlike its World War II prede- cessor of the same name, which had to be converted from a merchantman to an amphibious force flagship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) represents a unique effort and achievement in the Navy ' s Command and Control ship design. Blue Ridge is a platform built from the keel up to accomplish the mission of command coordination. In this 18,200-ton ship are the facili- ties to direct and manage every phase of command and control operations. Blue Ridge represents the accumu- lated knowledge of four decades of the Navy ' s experience in the difficult problem of control and coordination. Initially conceived as an Am- phibious Command Ship in 1963, USS Blue Ridge was in the planning and design state for four years before construction finally began at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in early 1967. On Nov. 14, 1970, the ship was commissioned with the most sophis- ticated electronics system in the Navy, thereby enabling it to serve as a com- mand ship for the Amphibious Task Force Commander, Landing Force Commander and Air Control Group Command during amphibious opera- tions. From 1971 to 1979, Blue Ridge operated from San Diego, where it deployed to the Western Pacific and participated in the following am- phibious operations: Pagasa I; Pagasa II; Golden Dragon; Song Thank (for which Blue Ridge was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon); Eagle Pull and Frequent Wind (the 1975 evacu- ation of Sa igon in which Blue Ridge was the flagship). Blue Ridge earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation for Operations Eagle Pull and Fre- quent Wind. Since October, 1979, Blue Ridge has operated from Yokosuka, Japan as the flagship for Commander, U.S. Sev- enth Fleet. Well suited to support a fleet commander, Blue Ridge deploys for several allied training exercises each year including exercises with U.S. Marine units,as well as with the Japa- nese Maritime Self-Defense Force. To stay on the cutting edge of technology, Blue Ridge continuously upgrades its command and control facilities, warfighting capabilities and methods of meeting the high visibil- ity requirements of a fleet flagship. s OKtktTK