Chicago (CG 11) - Naval Cruise Book

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4 P 130 To the losers , To the winners, a CHICAGO plaque. a free shave!

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132 PIRAZ A little over a ear ago, USS CHICAGO returned to San Diego from her first deployment as the PIRAZ ship. It was durin that depfoyment that the operatin procedures for PIRAZ were developed by CHlCAGO,. USS KING, COMCRUEESFLOT ll, and Commander Taskforce 77. These procedures, many of which are still in use today in CHICAGO's second deployment, were implemented under actual operating conditions. A. , . What is PIRAZ? Simply, the word PIRAZ is the abbreviation for Positive Identification and kadar Advisory Zone. The zone is a geographical area which covers the entire northern half of the Gulf of Tonkin and the coastal areas of North Vietnam. A small area within the zone is designated as the PIRAZ station. It is from within this station that CHICAGO conducts the operations of the PIRAZ, , ' The ship's radars first obtain the location of the contacts. Then the CHICAGO's NTDS fNaval Tactical Data Systemj takes over. From the radar information the NTDS comtputers calculate the contact's course and speed and store this catalogued information for future use. This is done or every aircraft which flies into the PIRAZ, In addition, the same information is sent to CHICAGO's NTDS computers Cover radioj from other NTDS ships. In this way, information can be obtained about aircraft which are too- far away for CHICAGO to see with her own radars. C HICAGO's computers can only make a tentative identification. Positive identification is then made bdy the operators aboard CHICAGO using radio and electronic aids. Thus, the Positive Identification part of the wor PIRAZ I CHICAGO provides services for all friendly aircraft which fly over North Vietnam territory. Radio and elec- tronic aids are used to provide the pilots with the latest tactical information. These services include helping pilots reorient themselves if they become confused, warning them of possible attacks from enemy aircraft, and providing assistance to airplanes in trouble either by supplying ocational information to other fleet units, or by launching her own search and rescue helicopter. I' CHICAGO is well qualified to undertake the role of the PIRAZ unit, first of all because she is equipped with the very sophisticated and computerized NTDS. This system enables her to keep a complete, up -to -the -second, picture of all of the air activity within the PIRAZ. Ships not similarly equippe have been found unsuitable in fulfilling the mission of PIRAZ simply because men and plotting pencils alone are too slow to keep up with the rapidly changing picture of air activity. Only the computer, with its blinding speed and infallible memory, is fast enough to provide reliable and up -to -the -second information. Secondly, CHICAGO's potent missile systems and extensive communications equipment allow her to carry out another mission in addition to PIRAZ. This mission is the protection of the aircraft carriers and other surface units operatincg in the Gulf of Tonkin. CHICAGO could do this by detecting enemy aircraft before they reach the carri- ers and estroying them by controlling the carrier's CAP fCombat Air Controlj aircraft andfor using its own mis- I siles., Anextensive communications capability is necessary to both direct and advise our air strikes and control CAP , . Finally, since CHICAGO is a cruiser, she is a very self-sufficient ship. This means that she can remain on station for long periods of time with minimum extra requirements for supplies and fuel. . , lt is for a lthese reasons that CHICAGO is almost ideally suited for the role of the PIRAZ ship. lt is -also why CHICAGO is serving once again in WestPac. Most of what has been escribed comes under the responsibility of the ship's Operations, Communications and Weapons Departments. But although these departments carry the specific responsibility, the teamwork of all de- partments is necessagy in order to carry out our mission. In short, fulfilling the mission successfully depends upon theeffort contribute by every man aboard CHICAGO, . - 'P CHICAGO was the first ship to be desi ated the role of the PIRAZ unit. Now she is once again serving in West- Pac ,as the PIRAZ unit. The confidence of lgfgher authorities in CHlCAGO's abilities is reflected in the fact that she is the first ship to be deployed as the PIRAZ unit a second time. b n , V The establishment of PIRAZ has proved to be an important part of our country's effort in Vietnam. The men Of CHICAGO are proud to be contributing their part towards the success of the PIRAZ mission. The families and friends of the men aboard can be extremely roud of them because of the magnificent way they are meeting the challenge in executing the responsibilities of, the PIRAZ mission. - U TONKIN GULF