Flint (AE 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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Commanding Officer Commander Emanuel Earl Witherspoon, a native of Durham, North Carolina, graduated from Shaw University in 1958 and received his commission from the Officer Candidate School, Newport, Rhode Island. Commander Witherspoon ' s previous sea tours include duty aboard the USS VIGIL (AGR-12) as Operations Officer and First Lieutenant, The USS WASP (CVS-18) as Fire Control Officer, the USS CANBERRA (CAG-2) as Anti-Aircraft Battery Officer, the USS GUADALUPE (AO-32) as Executive Officer and the USS OKLAHOMA CITY (CLG-5) as Weapons Officer. Commander Witherspoon ' s shore assign- ments include two tours in Washington, D.C., first at the Naval Communications Station, and later at the Joint Chiefs of Staff where he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his performance as Branch Chief and Message Control Officer. A graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, Commander Witherspoon assumed command of FLINT shortly after graduating the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

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Ship ' s History: USS FLINT C he Gfrospective L ommanding Jjjicer, {Jjjicers and K revo request the honor oj your presence at the commissioning oj the Qylnileol Opiates G$lii{ 97mf {(A -3S.) 9ier (A, Q laval {Base, Charleston, of. @. on (2) alurday, the twentieth of flovemoer nineteen hundred and seventy-one at two o clock lAmjorm for V Laval GTersonnel QJervice LJJress c jlue FLINT was built in Pascagoula, Miss., by the Nuclear Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries. She had two features that made her first in a new class of AE ' s: an Automated Propulsion System (APS) and a bulbous bow. Together they made her more maneuverable and yet more stable at her primary mission of replenishment at sea. APS is the nervous system of the ship ' s 600-pound steam plant. Electronic sensors monitor boiler temperature, lube oil levels and other information, then feeds it into a computer console. The engine plant can then be controlled automatically, either from the Enclosed Operating Space (EOS), the nerve center of the hole, or from the bridge. This allows for quick speed changes that used to be common only in ships smaller than the 564-foot-long FLI NT. APS also cuts down the number of men needed to stand watch. A Smoother Ride The bulbous bow is a steel tube that extends beyond the bow of the ship, underwater. It acts to break the waves for better stability during Underway Replenishments (UNREPs). And UNREPs are what FLINT is all about. With three UNREP stations to starboard and four to port, FLINT can pass ammunition or fuel to two ships at the same time. She uses a system of wires and winches called STREAM. STREAM stands for Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method. The wires strung between ships are kept under hydraulic pressure to keep them even despite the rock and roll of the seas. FLINT also carries her own air-power in the form of two HU-46 helicopters used for VERTICAL Replenishment. Fully loaded FLINT weighs 18,000 tons, is 81 feet wide and 167 feet high. She carries eight 3 750 caliber guns in four twin mounts. Previous Deployments USS FLINT joined the Pacific Fleet in December of 71, under command of Captain Philip R. Bush. The ship made its homeport at the Naval Weapons Station Concord and prepared for its first deployment, begun on October 13th, 1972. In December of 72 Captain Thomas S. Rogers relieved Capt. Bush and led FLINT through the rest of her line swing, then home on May 9th. On October 4th, 1973, FLINT began her second cruise. In November Commander John K. Ferguson relieved Capt. Rogers. She returned stateside April 9th. FLINT began her third deployment on January 2nd, 1975, returning home on June 5th. ' On September 19th, Commander Emanuel E. Wither- spoon relieved Cdr. Ferguson. Other Ships Named FLINT The first Navy ship to be named FLINT was a light anti-aircraft cruiser (CLAA-79), commissioned in August 1944. But the first FLINT was a wood-burning ferry built in the 1880s. In 1919 two new FLINTs were built, one a sea-going merchant and the other a ferry on Lake Michigan.

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Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Ronald F. Melampy is a native of Mason, Ohio. He received his degree at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and entered the Navy through the Officer Candidate School, where he was commissioned in 1962. Lcdr. Melampy has served aboard the USS TILLS (DE-748) as CIC and Communica- tions Officer, the USS WALLIS (DD-466) as Weapons Officer, the USS PEACOCK (MSC-198) as Commanding Officer and the USS MARS (AFS-1) as Operations Officer. Lcdr. Melampy, a graduate of the Naval War College, has served in the Foreign Military Sales Office of the Navy Department, and with the Commander Naval Forces Vietnam as a naval advisor, where he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and the Vietnam Staff Service Award. While assigned to the Cruiser Destroyer Force Staff, Lcdr. Melampy was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for his work in establishing new homeports in Athens, Greece.