Cascade (AD 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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PREPARATION OH, BROTHER! OOPS! STROKE— STROKE In May and June of 1956 at Melville Fuel Docks, the CASCADE was going through a very hectic period; outfitting for a Mediterranean cruise. Heavily laden trailer trucks advanced on the ship and our working p arties strained to keep up with their charge. Fuel lines, to the ship, were strung along the pier, making a junior obstacle course for these mammoth vehicles and their cracker jack drivers, but no mishaps were recorded. This general area was the scene of much bustling activity and was an impressive sight. When a destroyer tender sets out on a 5 month overseas cruise, she must accomplish a mountainous task of outfitting and preparing and the brunt of this problem, in most cases, falls to the supply group. Every depart- ment is involved, however; but the terrific amount of supplies that have to be received and stowed is a gigantic operation. To acquire a full shipload of A to Z material takes many hours cf hard labor and planning, and the sailing date deadline approaches quite rapidly with this problem pressing for completion. Our sailing date was June 1 1. The Medical Department got their point across, and more than once. Of course shots are a necessary evil, and were for our benefit anyway, even though we were a little doubtful about the possibility of getting that many diseases. Along with the continual painting and maintenance of weather decks, the deck department also had the job of cargo handling and deck space planning for the 6th Fleet vehicles and boats to come. There were boats to be taken aboard, lashing down to be done, and other duties too numerous to mention. With Destroyer availabilities our of the way, the difficult job of revising and expanding office space was the responsibility of the repair gang Mr. Cherchi ' s crew took on this job and had a major portion completed before hitting the high-seas, finishing up the balance underway. The final week called for a last ditch effort and a longer working day to accomplish the feat of loading up. Lighting on the pier was supplemented by our own flood lighting and the work carried on until the wee hours. There were many tired men during these days but they did a marvelous job and the co-operation was remarkable. Dispatches came thick and fast, last minute odds and ends were being wrapped up, department heads got together, ,ne ball was rolling and didn ' t stop. With all this going on, the scuttlebutt started, which is the usual case. Rumor chains had us going anywhere from China to the moon, but as everyone knows the original schedule was maintained (with some excep- tion) and Monday morning June 11th, the U.S.S. CASCADE moved out of Newport harbor, complete and ready for her duty as 6th Fleet Destroyer Tender.

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STAFF, COMSERVFORSIXTHFLEET f »iMii ' .? , ffJiii ■■ ■ H I V CAPTAIN A. J. MILLER CAPTAIN T. H. COPEMAN Capt. A. J. Miller USN, Commander Service Force Sixth Fleet, together with his staff, occupies a unique position in the Sixth Fleet. As his title implies, he has the responsibility for providing all services to our ships in the Mediterranean. This means, of course, that he and his staff must arrange for the delivery of such commodities as provisions, spare parts, fuel and ammunition, must see that the re- pairs and maintenance are adequate, and that personnel administration and transportation are provided for. He has many other tasks as well, such as operating the Fleet Motor Pool and Boot Pool, maintaining foreign currency for dollar exchange in whatever countries we moy visit, procurement of local fresh provisions, supervision of Shore Patrol, handling of legal problems, and arranging for controcts for locol services such as garbage collection, fresh water, lighterage, etc. He also has cognizance of Sixth Fleet postal, medicol and dental prob- lems. Since the mobility of the fleet requires that most of its business be conducted by radio, he must also have a large communication section. The magnitude of these tasks requires that Capt. Miller have a large staff, with adequate berthing space, facn ties to work with, and many offices and storerooms. These were provided by the CASCADE as his flagship, where his sixteen officer; and fifty-five men were berthed all during this cruise. In addition, nine offices, three thousond square feet of storage space, and stowoge on deck for six boats and twenty vehicles were provided, as well as about fifty CASCADE personnel loaned to his staff to operate the Fleet Motor Pool and to assist in operating the Fleet Boat Pool, Service Force communications, air transportation, and other activities. A feature of the Service Force operations in the Mediterranean is thot they are conducted without ony noval boses. This means that all replenishment had to be done underway, and that the planning for it hos to originate with procurement and shipment from the U.S. of everything the Sixth Fleet needed. This meant careful, painstaking work in preparation of plons, and then supervision of the final phase, delivery at sea. As flagship, the CASCADE normally flew the flag of Commander Service Force Sixth Fleet, who was personally in command of the replenishment group. During the four months we had Captain Miller ond his staff on board we had to work very closely with them, and our personal acquaintance with the individual members of the staff, together with our admiration for the manner in which they performed a difficult lob continually increased. When they finally transferred to the GRAND CANXON in Athens, we felt as if we had lost good friends and shipmates, which indeed they were. Good luck and good sailing to Captain Miller, and all hands in this fine organization!

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TRIP OVER THAT ' S A SHOT IN THE ARM OO-AH-OO-AH-OO! SMOOTH It was a cold day in June when the CASCADE pulled away from Mike 12 . We had a DD and DE escort out of the harbor but none were to accompany us on our long journey. For the most part it was a calm voyage, aside from three rough days that gave many boots their first taste of seasickness and reminded many salts that they too were allergic to this psychological malady . The first day out was the beginning of the many hours of letter writing, card playing and reading to shorten the days. Movies weren ' t always better then ever , but you couldn ' t prove it by the attendance. There were still many hours of hard work aheGd before we were to welcome the Flag aboard. The deck force for instance was still fighting its Battle of the Rust and the shipfitters were preparing office space for SERVFORSIXTHFLT. Just to make sure we knew the purpose of this cruise we held drills and more drills. Highlights of the crossing of course were the Happy Hour and the Smoker . The Happy Hour was held just about half way across, after six days at sea. All hands that could, attended. The CASCADE band, consisting of HURLBURT, piano; DIAS, bass; COOPER, drums; SMITH, sax and MONTELEONE, guitar; opened the show with a few numbers in the Shearing Style. They were followed by the ship ' s quartette (a trio that night) JETT, CRINAGE and GERMAN — the second tenor was on watch. The Finale — our Hillbilly Three, (Dominque, guitar; Salard, fiddle, Eravi, guitar.) The smoker, held Thursday, 21 June, was the debut for the boxing team, soon to prove the Scourge of the Sixth Fleet . The deck had the largest representation with Vallot, Oakes, Grinnage and Whitaker. The other participants were Ludwick, DelGado, Velez Feliciano and Dunnaway, our able Golden Glover. All the events were well matched and well received. The next thing we knew — CANNES. SHAKE WELL AND MIX DUN IS ON THE WAY