Coral Sea (CVB 43) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 91 text:

in th diterranean Navy uniform creating good will and a better under- standing with the people with whom he comes in con- tact. During a regular four-month tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet, sailors on shore leave may visit Athens, Greece Q Say, we studied about the Acropolis in our history classujg Venice f It's not like the moviesulg Naples, Genoa, and Rome f I shook the Pope's hand! j: Gibraltar f So that's the big rockujg Casablanca ful didn't see Humphrey Bogartnjg Rhodes Q Dear Mom- It's wonderfulujg and a score of other places that at- tract tourists the world over. ,H Like his predecessor Admi- ji- U I ral Forrest P. Sherman, now -Q N 1l- Chief of Naval Operations, C 1,f.. i Fleet Commander Ballentine -+1 is a student of the Mediter- Ffa-, ' ' ranean. Having served in the ii' if .. 1, - J: .52 F N Med on two cruises as an V Q., ,gi ,W aircraft carrier division com- l mander he unhesitatin l de- Qi 1? scribes his duty HS thi ybest in the Navy. His guest book 5: '. reads like an international Who's Who, it is inscribed with names of kings and queens, presidents, governors, mayors, cardinals and bishops, dukes and duchesses. He collects and reads avidly everything published about the Mediterranean, supplementing his reading knowledge during calls with tours and conversations with officials. Each visit is a good will mission. Newspapers of the countries of the Mediterranean refer to Admiral Ballen- tine's ships as the friendly fleet. Rarely do all the ships of the Sixth Fleet call at the same port at the same time. After Fleet-exercises, or perhaps a mock amphibious landing on some foreign shore with the approval of the government concerned, units and groups are detached to visit various ports. Later ,,,,, all meet at sea to continue i-,, thei1'f1'aif1iUS- FOF the Signififam diP10' . 'PHN matic chore of extending the 'lf Fleet's good will to local ofli- ' l Admiral Ballentine is 1'f-- 'R'y -.:-' Q .'2:1 1 Cla-S' - assisted by two rear adnnrals, 1 U Zbu the commanders of the cruiser -.,'f and carrier divisions included . ., with the Fleet. Their sched- 4. .. , AX X ule in port is a busy one. The 'ii jrg' entire llrst day in port may be spent in calling on local officials, with the evening devoted to an official reception. The second day sees the local authorities returning the Ad1niral's call on shipboard. Whenever possible, a recep- tion is held on board the flagship to repay local courtesies. Greeting the press, attending local church services and public celebrations and reviewing parades make the schedule in port a crowded one. Only Admiral Ballentine's innnediate staff of twenty officers and about one hundred and fifty men remain in the Mediterranean area for a period longer than four months. Staff personnel normally stay from eighteen to twenty months supervising the training of each succes- sive group. In most cases, the married staff members have their wives and families in Europe with them, some residing at Villefranche or Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, others in Naples and Rome, with some fol- lowing the Fleet. Over holiday periods, the members of the staff may go on leave or their wives and families may join them at the port where they happen to be tem- porarily based. The bulk of the Fleet's fuel oil is obtained from tankers. With the exception of some fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishables, all supplies are brought out in ships from the United States about every six weeks. Perishables are pur- chased locally by the individ- .. ., .Z , ABQ Z Qt Kvffgk 4 iiv 5 M , '.,.w-.1 ol -ifrfe-6,.' sf? if f 'ay L 4' a.Y..s.,,, f . 4 f , fl 5 4? L 5 A s :V 6 X? Xl j A 42- V' l ,7 5 f -. ,KN T, gf 'S l X62 if X f I 7 1 f MWA' f N f I N , 3 1,5 - 7 L A: 2' wt-1 an fi ual ship supply officers but only when such supplies are in excess of local needs. Bids are requested for the ma- terial needed and the order is given to the lowest bidder capable of meeting specifications. Large-scale replenishments of food, fuel oil, aviation gasoline and other supplies, an all hands job, are cus- tomarily made in replenishment anchorages, where staff members make a minimum of olhcial calls. Necessary replenishments also are effected while the ships are at sea, perfecting the techniques developed during World War II for keeping the Fleet uninterruptedly in action. The communication system in the Sixth Fleet, as in all large and complex organizations, is the coordinating lifeline. Few activities of the Navy compare with the Sixth Fleet command in volume of communications traffic handled. Scores of radio and visual messages are initiated and received on board the Fleet flagship daily, keeping far-flung operations at all times under control. Mail from the United States is delivered by Military Air Transport Service planes on an average of five days after it is posted, if the ships are in 13011. Mail for the Fleet is hrst deposited at Port Lyauty, French Morocco, where it is sorted and bagged for individual ships. Then it is flown to the ports where the ships are anchored or scheduled to call. VVhen the ships arrive in port, mail is awaiting them. As in all military organizations, this is an important factor in keeping high the spirits of men away from their loved ones. Duty with this potent Med- iterranean force is prized. A nineteen-year-old flagship ra- dioman comments: 1've been out here three months now. Time goes fast. Maybe it's because we're always doing something. I joined the Navy to see the world, and believe me, I'm seeing it. A salt in the staff communications gang chimes in: I shipped over just to get this duty and I consider sea duty in the Med as the best there is. I've been out here for over two years and after I get back to the States to see my folks, I'm putting in for this duty again. This is the United States Sixth Fleet, described by Admiral Sherman as a powerful factor in maintaining the policies and prestige of the United States in the Mediterranean. It is a far cry from those early days when the sheer boldness and daring of one man named Decatur made history in these waters and set the pat- tern for what is more easily felt than defined as Navy tradition.

Page 90 text:

mea THE early days of the nineteenth century-when ships were made of wood and iron men were making Navy tradition, when Barbary pirates were rampant and uncontested on the high seas-the United States .has periodically kept warships in European waters, particu- larly in the Mediterranean Sea. Beginning with the WVar with Tripoli in 1802, and almost continually since 1886, American sea power in this area of more than a million square miles has aided in assuring peace-a recognized e Sixth F ect The four-month regular rotation of the ships and their historic responsibility of the United States. -gn, if o i1112frrt22l'1' 7 Today, the U. S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, commanded by Vice Ad- miral John Jennings Bal- lentine, is the Navy's larg- est permanent operational lleet on the high seas. Its mission, defined in 1946 by the late Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, is twofold-to support Allied occupation forces and the Allied Military Govern- ment in the discharge of their responsibilities, and to protect United States interests and support United States policies in the area. A Composed of an aircraft carrier, a division of cruisers, a squadron of destroyers and sustaining auxiliary ves- sels-normally about twenty ships in all, manned by twelve thousand oflicers and men and a reinforced bat- talion of Marines-the Sixth Fleet is a subordinate op- erational command of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with headquarters in London. As one of the three Com- manders-in-Chief under the Chief of Naval Operations, his boundaries of jurisdiction extend roughly from a point just east of the Azores to a point beyond India, and from the North Pole to the Equator. The Sixth Fleet has no base in the Mediterranean Seag it must therefore remain continually on the move, engaging in exercises at sea foreign ports in the area. Rarely does the Fleet re- main in any one port for more than a week: usually the visit is for three or four days. With minor exceptions, each vessel of the Sixth Fleet serves for a period of four months in the Medi- or calling at any of scores of fi? 31' '9 ' :, , -,.,. , J ,faerie ,,,,-1-v1- -4' .1-14' .Rf-1 4- st - .verge N 'rg' FQ fke Q XE terranean while on de tached duty from the At- lantic Fleet. Vessels com- pleting their tours are re- lieved in a Mediterranean port by other vessels of similar types and returned to the United States for shipyard repairs and alterations. After being briefed, the new arrivals swing into a sche- dule of operations which trains the officers and men in independent movements and familiarizes them not only with the waters in which they cruise but also with the people, customs and traditions of the various countries they visit. personnel permits the max- I, ,.,' i I . imum number of officers A A,,, y ..-,' . R and men to become . ac- E quainted with the Mediter- ,I H' up I AV , 'f A ranean area. In the Navy tl s lf' ILLL today are tens of thousands 1 .-', 511 gtg, H 4 5 who have made the cruise. 'i 1 fig 5 12 Some of the officers and ,fix - :'AV I V A XX men are old hands and A .'.A - - i .'., 1 know this area wellg others -, H, H. are new, young and wide- J, .,--' 1 . X ' e ed, erha as making their , fiist crpuise in foreign waters. But for all, duty with the Sixth Fleet is considered topsg it 15 exciting and f21SC1' nating. The high morale of the Fleet might be attributed to the fact that at sea and in port the men are always busy. Intensive maintenance is a standing order and -under- lf emergency repairs are needed during the four- month tour, adequate dry- dock facilities are available in the area on a rental basis. At sea, the routine is maintenance and train- ing, in port, maintenance, training and fun for the crew ashore. Admiral Bal- lentine believes in giving his men the maximum op- portunity to get acquainted with the Mediterranean lands and their peoples. Shore leave is as liberal as the situation warrants. Prior to entering a new port, information is disseminated calling attention to the port's place in world history and describing its historic landmarks. Upon arrival, educa- tional tours are arranged. If the men have relatives in the area leaves are arranged for them so that they can pass their time in p01't with their kin. Some marry and bring their wives back to the United States. standably a necessary one. There are no idle hands in this Fleet. Work and play periods alike are crammed full. The training is so in- tensive that it is probable that the men do and learn more in a shorter period of time than they would in actual combat. They are drilled in methods of repelling air and submarine attacks and air targets, including the elusive radio-controlled drones. They learn how to re- cover men overboard and how to extinguish fires, other training helps them to sharpen communications and to master effective ship maneuvers. All of the training brings into play the most up-to-date strategy and tactics as a means of maintaining the Sixth Fleet at the peak of readiness. For the men who scramble ashore after hectic days at sea this is the best duty in the world. Most of them, insatiable collectors, keep a constant flow of photographs and souvenirs returning in the mails to the folks back home. It is estimated that the men of the Fleet spend two million dollars annually in the foreign ports they visit. The Sixth Fleet sailor who joined the Navy to see the world IS seeing it. Each is a roving ambassador in a

Page 92 text:

GIBRALTAR PPROPRIATELY called the Key to the lllediterraneanf' Gibraltzlr has remziinecl in British hands throughout modern history. A small town at the base of the rock houses the British colony. Gibraltar rises 1,408 feet above the water level and overlooks a nine-to-13-mile wide strait that is 40 miles long. Connecting the Rock of Gibraltar to the mainland is a low, sandy isthmus one and one-half miles long. This stretch of barren land forms a neutral zone between Britain's rock and Spain. Ancient Moorish Cnstle on Gibraltar s u estern slope Lv - I Lighthouse on southern vi f H til, of Gibrnl' ll L15 0 QOH lLl'll hl1'l0ll ill i0HYll