Chemung (AO 30) - Naval Cruise Book

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iiiniiiiiiiii(iiwy.iwBffliiiii(riiiin inwiiiiiirwiiniifomii| m M division beard-niks and several prize-winning sets of whiskers. SeATuU, Stc. WESTPAC is one of the few places where the Navy allows--even encourages — beards, and a cruise is the only time a married man can trim his whiskers to suit his tastes alone. One of the most popular projects of the crew, therefore, was the beard-growing contest. Many new men also got a kick out of the engineers ' sea bat, ' one of the few in captivity. Others spent their hours watching for mail buoys. For some, however, the journey across was just steering the same old course for days... ...and catching up on their beauty sleep between watches. 32

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mim - 7 Y ' all come to the hootenanny on the mess decks. Three weeks at sea is a long time. As a balance to the training and drill which oc- cupied many of our days, the crew turned their talents and imaginations to the hours of rest and recreation. The Saturday evening hootenan- And so they all did. nies provided an atmosphere of easy camaraderie in which all sorts of unlikely people stepped into the limelight. Featuring ballads and songs never heard stateside, the hoots were great fun for all. 34 .f X. l.. ..%. ' I W It ■ ' ■ m } %% ' ' t i U tH life ' . , . . U i :

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Su ic cuf dad t ScfACat icct After weeks of empty seas, the moun- tainous profile of the Philippines finally appeared on the horizon. With the long- anticipated Arrival SUBIC, CHEMUNG joined the Seventh Fleet and began her long series of working round-trips from the naval base at Subic Bay to the fleet operating in the South China Sea off Viet-Nam. De- spite the busy itinerary of the following nine months, Subic was to remain, for better or worse, CHEMUNG ' s home away from home. As a cruise book may not do justice to Olongapo. the liberty (uh) -heaven- of Subic sailors, let us turn our attention to the business at hand for CHEMUNG: trans- lating months of preparation into action at sea. Putting to sea two days after arrival, the sturdy Thirty spent Christmas Day and New Year ' s Eve learning the tricks of the WESTPAC trade. As 1966 dawned, CHEMUNG was once again in her history very much on the Navy scene. It ain ' t Bali Hai, but it ' ll do in a pinch. The crew was impatient, but three weeks of mail take a while to sort. Underway for the South China Sea: more liberty next time, men. The first of countless signal messages: W-I-L-L R-E-N-D-E-Z-V-O-U-S A-T... 36 %%• Ip % ' % ' ' - 14 ' Us to u %.