Flint (AE 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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Subj: Westpac Farewell AS THE USS FLINT DEPARTS THE WESTERN PACIFIC AND SAILS EAST- WARD YOU SHOULD VIEW THE LAST ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE DAYS WITH A FEELING OF PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR HAVING LEFT A MORE READY SEVENTHFLT. YOU HAVE CONTINUED YOUR PROUD TRADITION OF PROFESSIONALISM, INNOVATION AND OVERALL SERVICE TO THE FLEET, WORKING LONG, ARDUOUS HOURS WHILE PARTICIPAT- ING IN NUMEROUS VARIED EVOLUTIONS. YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE BEEN COMMENDED BY YOUR CUSTOMERS AND COMMANDERS ALIKE. PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY WAS YOUR ABILITY TO CHANGE YOUR DESIGNATED ROLE AS AN AE TO THAT OF AN AFS DURING YOUR INDIAN OCEAN DEPLOYMENT, PROVIDING CONREP AND HEAVY-LIFT SUPPORT TO FLEET UNITS. DURING YOUR SUBIC INPORT PERIODS YOUR VERTREP SUPPORT TO OTHER INPORT UNITS WAS NOTED WITH PLEASURE. DURING A PERIOD WHEN SOME WOULD BEGIN TO WIND DOWN , YOUR SUPPORT OF AN INCHOPPING AND OUTCHOPPING CARRIER BATTLE GROUP DEMON- STRATED YOUR SUSTAINED LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE. AS YOU ANTICIPATE A WELL DESERVED REUNION WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES, I PROUDLY EXTEND TO THE ENTIRE FLINT CREW MY SINCEREST APPRECIATION AND BEST WISHES FOR A SMOOTH AND SAFE VOYAGE HOME. WELL DONE. REAR ADMIRAL J.A. LYONS JR. Subj: Westpac Farewell DURING YOUR DEPLOYMENT TO THE INDIAN OCEAN AS A MEMBER OF TASK GROUP 70.9, YOU HAVE CONSISTANTLY PROVIDED EXCEPTIONAL LOGISTIC SUPPORT. IT WAS A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH A SHOP THAT UNFAILINGLY DISPLAYED PROFESSIONALISM AND A CAN DO SPIRIT. WELL DONE. REAR ADMIRAL FULLER. Subj: Welcome Home ON BEHALF OF ALL UNITS IN SERVICE SQUADRON THREE IT IS A DIS- TINCT PLEASURE TO WELCOME HOME THE PROVED PROFESSIONALS OF USS FLINT. ALL HANDS CAN BE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THE MOST IM- PRESSIVE RECORD COMPILED DURING DEPLOYMENT. THE STEADY IM- PROVEMENT IN TRAINING, MATERIAL READINESS AND RETENTION HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY GRATIFYING. THE PROFESSIONALISM OF FLINT ' S UNREP AND CARGO HANDLING TEAMS AS WELL AS THE SUPER PREFOR- MANCE OF YOUR ENGINEERS IS ESPECIALLY NOTEWORTHY. ALL HANDS CAN BE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO FLINT ' S SUC- CESSFUL DEPLOYMENT. PLEASE CONVEY MY HIGH ESTEEM TO ALL FOR A JOB WELL DONE AND MY BEST WISHES FOR A JOYOUS HOMECOMING. WARM REGARDS, COMMO- DORE WILSON. BZ

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YOU ' VE BEEN ON WESTPAC TOO LONG WHEN Concord sounds like just another liberty port. you can drink the milk and think it ' s fresh. you remember your wife ' s name but not your kids. you remember your address but forget how to get there. you wonder whether KBOM is an affilate of ABC, CBS or NBC. Diego Garcia sounds like an exotic liberty port. you hear of groups in the top 10 that weren ' t around when you left. everyone gets a thrill out of Miss Piggy. you look forward to the Sunday Bingo games on the mess decks. you get all of your clothes back from the laundry at the same time you start using hamburgers as scouring pads. the ship passes liberty call and you wonder what that means. you decide to repaint your car haze gray. you think GONZO Station is just another naval station. you remember the make of your car, but not the color. its the same sports season when you get back as when you left.

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COMMANDER NAVAL SURFACE GROUP WESTERN PACIFIC COMMANDER TASK FORCE SEVENTY-THREE COMMANDER LOGISTIC SUPPORT FORCE SEVENTH FLEET FLEET POST OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO 96601 FROM: Commander Naval Surface Group Western Pacific TO: Commanding Officer, USS FLINT (AE-32) SUBJ: Letter of Commendation REF: (a) American Consul, Cebu, R.P. Itr of 12 Sep 1980 1. It is with pleasure that I recognize and add my appreciation for the exemplary performance disclosed by reference (a). The officers and men of FLINT proved to be most hospitable hosts and true profession- als. 2. Please convey my personal congratulations to all personnel involved for their outstanding efforts and results. WELL DONE. BZ