Gearing (DD 710) - Naval Cruise Book

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AND TODAY. In vital statistics, GEARING boasts a length of 390 feet, a breadth of 41 feet, and design displace- ment of 3040 tons. Her four Babcock and Wilson oil- fired, express-type boilers, recently rebuilt, supply Steam to turbines driving twin screws which can develop up to 60,000 shaft horse-power, and speeds in excess of 30 knots. Even more vital than the statistics are the men aboard GEARING. This has been a typical year, during which the 240 enlisted and 15 officer husbands and sons have been in homeport only 30 percent of the time. The understanding and perserverence of wives and families is instrumental in the outstanding performance of, GEARING Navymen wherever the ship has been called upon to serve. If there is to be a dedication of this story of our Mediterranean Deployment 1968, it must be three-fold: First, to the Captain, Commander Leis, whose ex- ample and leadership have been a continuing source of inspiration, second, to our families and loved ones, whose contribution has already 'been mentioned, and third, to the officers and men. of GEARING, whose professional, dedicated performance has truly been a Hlabor of love. Though not often called that, it is the only way to describe the cooperation and team- work that have been evident throughout the cruise, whether setting a new recordpduring refueling oper- Iations, or tenderly passing orphans down the accomo- dation ladder to the waiting boat. Those individuals recognized below are just a few of the outstanding Navymen who epitomized this Labor of Love, . - Q. ,- I .- f .,. if A. Condo, QM1 McManus, BT2 OC Division B Division f-Q ci Z ,lf Q X Over 240 enlisted personnel were unknowingly in competition for the award of Sailor of. the Cruise. The six named here were nominated by- division and department officers, and two were voted to share the title. QM1 Condo and BT2 McManus are the recipients of this honor by virtue of their consistent outstanding devotion to duty, thorough professionalism, and con- crete contributions to the command. The initiative, loyalty, forehandedness, and dependability they dis- played during the deployment served as a model for others in formulating the shipwide espirit de corps so vital to successful operations. As career Navymen, they were untiring in their ef- forts to transmit their experience and sense of tra- dition, self-discipline, and responsibility t0 their subordinates, so 'that they might be every bit as re- sourceful, conscientious, and effective as the new challenges of today's Navy require. Both ashore and aboard, their deportment and military appearance have been flawless. . 'Well donel' to all those who were nominated, and to those selected. Runners-fupz 4 ETR3 J. Kincaid FTG3 D. Potter GMG3 T. Schetzel C53 B. Walag NE- - fb

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h b t,k WU Shipeof the Unitled States,Navy, not for a'war're d ,USS GEAEiFi.i2E.Z12lQ132152SME- 2? it ,. rut cl1c?siIfii5nedaYS of World War II for longef range Cruising and greater irepower, e ear y statistics ofthe shlP include: . , K 1 l 'd - August 10, 1944 Liinchaed - February 183913545 w Fegprrrglmisshsijogiuiddgnlgflagiljbrydock Company at Port Newark, New jersey completed the construction at the record d . , . paCe15Ti2ItS22SisWri1aime2d,'Sfor three members of a Navy family: COIII-mandef Hef1fY,Qhalf-U12 Geaflrlg H855-l926l, who SaCj1ESerViCe from 1879 to 1909, .and whose daughter, Mrs. Thomas Foley, participated in-the commissioning eere- mony. Captain Henry Chalfant Gearing Q1884-19441, who serveddlfrom l1?07Nto 194345 arifyldrliieutenant Henry Chalfant 'i - ' in action at the Battle of Gua a Cana in ovem er, Gigginygeiig15QElZ,l1l5liIGWhbCorCeileaci1d used efficiently her original weapons: two ahead-thrown weapon mounts, depth Chafges, tofpedoee, three twin .five-inch 38 caliber gun mounts, and five 40 millimeter machine gun mounts. Then, in 1962, as part of the extensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization QFRAMP pfOgfaIIj, GEARING was refur- bished and brought up-to-date with the latest Anti-Submarine weapons by Boston Naval Shipyard. One-of the five- inch gun mounts and all the ,older armament were removed,. to be replaced with two above-water triple torpedo launchers located forward of the pilot house, the Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter QDASHD system, carried until March 19685 and the Anti-Submarine Rocket QASROCQ, capable of delivering a conventional torpedo or anuclear charge against a submarine some distance from the ship. I . GEARING has spent her entire lifetime in the Atlantic Fleet. Casco Bay, Maine was her first homeport, and her early' years kept her mainly in Arctic waters. In january, -1951, GEARING sailed to the Mediterranean for the first time, returning to a new homeport of Norfolk, Virginia- Since that time she has averaged a Mediterranean deploy- ment at least once every eighteen months. , From Norfolk, GEARING roamed to Northern ,Europe and the Red Sea as well as the Med,,' and participated in numerous exercises closer to home, including Operation Springboard, tan annual Caribbean eventj, Operation Novorock with the Canadians, the joint Civilian Orientation Cruise, and two Atlantic Fleet Exercises. As a unit of Destroyer Squadron Four, GEARING moved to a homeport of Charleston, South Carolina in 1959. The 196O's'brought several firsts to GEARING. In 1961, while on a South Atlantic Cruise as flagship for Deputy Commander South Atlantic, GEARING was called upon to intercept and apprehend the hijacked Portugese liner Santa Maria. As the first naval ship 'in the area, GEARING became flagshi for the negotiator, Rear Admiral Allen Smith. After FRAM, GEARING left her new homeport of Newport, Rhode Isljand to be the first American ship to participate in the Cuban Blockade, and the first to intercept a Soviet Bloc vessel, the Bucharest,,outof Odessa. In 1965, GEARING patrolled for 40 days off the coast of the Dominican Republic as flagship for her new De- ptroyer Souadron Twenty, during which time she was instrumental in rescuing one of two drifting Dominican ships .rom ipiminent destruction on the coastal rocks. Later that same year, the ship was stationed off Karachi Pak- - . . . . . I ' ilsltraenstor eleven days, ready to evacuate American citizens had the need arisen during that period of politican .In -1967, GEARING participated in the initial missile syst t' l f h l f - , - - Missile submarines, USS' WILL ROGERS, located offnCabaeSKCen1iedv,aFelBii?la.AmerlCa S Fleet Balhstlc I l l VMLHHHU as sne 10014 ' - U M DTT wTiT loaded with armament inecclluilliqnmeghahely Siler Commissioning in 1945, running torpedo tubes. g as can depth charges and straight- A

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CDR ALFRED C. LEIS, USN .Many long hours are spent bv the Captain on the bricl e Lee 1 track ofthe fast-changing tactical situation and ensuring Eh' Pfflg ofthe ship for which he, and he alone, is ultimatelv resgonsliljlii Cty corv1rv1AND1No OFFICER . Commander Alfred C. Leis, USN, has been our Commanding Officer since july 1, 1967. Formerly an enlisted quartermaster, Commander Leis was commissioned in january, 1951, and has served a total of 22 years in the United States Navy. His background is varied, having taken part in search and rescue operations during Z7 months aboard patrol craft in the Pacific during the Korean conflict, and having served as First Lieutenant, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer on the USS NEWPORT NEWS CCA-148j, USS BRISTOL CDD-8575, and USS VESOLE CDDR- 8785 respectively. In addition, Commander Leis has been assigned posts as Aide and Flag Secretary to Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Six, and Operations Plans Officer on the staff of Commander, Cruiser- Destroyer Flotilla Ten. Ashore, his assignments have included positions with the Military Sea Transport Service, Atlantic, and the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Commander Leis attended the Command and Staff Course at the Naval War Col- lege in Newport, Rhode Island, and has also served there on the staff in the War Games De- partment. He came to GEARING from the position of Executive Officer of USS YOSEMITE CAD-19l, flagship for Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Civilian training has also served to prepare Commander Leis for his positions of respons- ibility in the Navy. He holds degrees in Market- ing and Management, and in International RC- lations from New York University and George Washington University. Mrs. Leis is the former Barbara Blau, from 'the home town of Commander Leis, New York City- They now reside with their three children ID Newport.