Germantown (LSD 42) - Naval Cruise Book

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CMCSVVJ Eric . Page, USN Command aster Chief - Master Chief Page was born in Long Beach, Calif' in 1961. He grew up in Arkansas, Texas, and California, and he began his Navy career in April of 1980 by attending recruit training at Naval Training Center, San Diego, CA. M Upon completion of Sonar Technician HAR School. Master Chief Page reported to his first ship, USS MORTON CDD 9485, home-ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He then served on USS RICHARD S, EDWARDS CDD 9501, also out of Pearl Harbor, and USS PLEDGE CMSO 4927 out of Seattle, Wash. Master Chief Page transitioned to civilian K life in April 1984. In December 1985, he reenlisted and attended Sonar Technician Cn school at Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center CFLEASWTRACENJ in Point Loma, Calif Master Chief Page then reported to USS SCHOFIELD CFF G 31, home-ported in San Diego. Master Chief Page's tours of duty include: USS CDOK CFF 10831, San Diego, Instructor duty at FLEASWTRACEN, USS LABOON CDDG 58l, Norfolk, Virginia, Student Manager at FLEASWTRACEN, USS FIFE CDD 9915, Everett, Wash., and Command Master Chief of USS GERMANTOWN CLSD 425, San Diego. Master Chief Page's awards include two Navy Commendation Medals, two Navy Achievement Medals. four Good Conduct Medals, and various Unit Citations and Awards. He is qualified as an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist and Master Training Specialist. Master Chief Page is a graduate ofthe Navy's Senior Enlisted Academy, Class 106. He also piloted the Navyjs first Command Master Chief course. Meetef Chief Peee resides in Temecula, CA, with his wife of23 years, Debbie, and their three ehirafen. . .

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lised irdengh l'1IOUgl lx U Mai 1 luclem 1 1d Sur. ' 1987. ' LONG las as. S Aux. Sd asa lfiicer. I lander :tor at menc- I o-year :hange ubjects 1 iool of L pleted USS HAM ers I0 sl-701. from . :r. H6 xthem al, the ,eslCY A. ,..... .. .-A -....... . .Wa-....-.. .,,..-... ..---V -.. ..,...,.4-v--pv-1,-,ro-srsrff... .-..,...:-.,..,,.,......-.........,....,............- N..-..... ....-..-.W --N W- -- - Lieutenant Commander ernon ffButch Neuenschwander, U Executive fficer Lieutenant Commander Neuenschwander is a na- tive of Del City, Oklahoma. He was commissioned from the Naval Academy in May 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree and later earned a Masteris degree in Public Administration from Troy State University. Lieutenant Commander Neuenschwanderis initial sea assignment was aboard USS BRISTOL CQUNTY QLST 11985 where he sawed as Dam- age Control Assistant. His second sea assignment was Operations Officer in Maritime Prepositioned Ship Squadron Two home ported in Diego Garcia. Upon completion of Department Head School in July 1998, Lieutenant Commander Neuenschwanderis sea assignments included de- partment head tours as Operations Officer on USS RUSHMORE CLSD 471 and Surface Operations Officer on USS ESSEX QLHD ZJXU SS BELLEAU WOOD CLHA 35. Lieutenant Commander Neuenschwander served his initial shore tour as a Seamanship and Navigation Instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. He recently completed a tour on the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Lieutenant Commander Neuenschwander recently retired from rugby after playing 12 years, including 3 years on the All Navy Team. He also coached the 1997 United States Naval Academy Women's Team to the Collegiate National Final Four. He now enjoys spending his spare time with his wife and infant son. . His personal awards include the Navy Commendation Medal with 3 gold stars and the Navy Achievement Medal with 1 gold star. 5

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...f -V.-.-...F -.f-....... ...,, .W-v...-.., ..-,...... . -.--.wwf ,... . -4 -9.7 g-I - .,..... .--rm... .,..l...,.-.,.,.,,.,,,,,,,,-,,.....,. - ,.-vW...,. --.1--rf.--.-...... ,......-.-.-. - 2-7. , What Do - . i I r 1 . . 3 I I rig Like all amphibious ships, USS GERMANTOWN's mission is to put Marines on beaches any where in the world at any time. With- out us, US Marines could not maintain their fomii- dable reputation as the world's finest landing force. Without them, weld be pretty bored. Together, amphibious ships and Marine units are the modem version of the ideas seen in the movie HSaving Private Ryanfl Only we have some cool gadgets troops landing at Normandy could never have imagined fdetails to followl. Over the years, amphibious assault ships like Germantown have deployed as part of ARG! MEU's. That's short for Amphibious Ready Groups!Marine Expeditionary Units. Three am- phibious ships rnade up the ARG, and a couple thousand Marine Infantryrnen, Tankers, and other combat specialists made up the MEU. In August of 2003 that tradition went away. The crew of USS GERMANTOWN joined the sailors of USS PELELIU and USS OGDEN and the Marines ofthe 13th MEU to become part of the Navy's first-ever Expeditionary Strike Group taptly named LExpedi- tionary Strike Group ONE' or 'ESGI ij. Nothing really changed for the amphibious ships or the Marines. The change came for the destroyer fUSS DECATURJ, cruiser CUSS PORT ROYALJ, frigate CUSS JARRETTJ, and fast-attack subma- rine CUSS GREENVILLEJ deployed with us. Until ESG l , the Navy didn't send these smaller, more heavily-armed ships with amphibs. They traveled with aircraft carriers or deployed on their own. Who defended the ARG's'? Good question. The ESG concept makes us feel a lot safer as we as we transit hostile waters to support the War on Terrorism. The concept also impressed Navy leaders who declared ESGI a success. At 8 o'clock in the morning on August 22, 2003, USS GERMANTOWN left her home port of San Diego, CA. The ship traveled north along the California coast for one day. In that time, three giant hovercraft called 'Landing Craft, Air Cush- ions' for LCAC'sjr from Assault Craft Unit 5, Detachment Charlie, brought aboard more than 300 Marines and enough trucks, tanks, humvees, as- sault vehicles, and related equipment to fill up the entire well deck, truck tunnel, and half of the flight deck, leaving enough space to land one helicopter. Then Gennantown turned westward. With only brief stops in Hawaii and Singapore, we were on our way to the Persian Gulf, where the LCAC,s took the Marines back to the shore. This time, they landed on a Kuwaiti beach, a short drive from Iraq and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In October 2003, the Marines of the 13th MEU took part in Operation Sweeney. They helped stop extremist rebels from attacking US and allied interests in Iraq. When Operation Sweeney ended, we picked the Marines up and took them to the coasts of Djibuti, Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, so they could train with those countries, militaries. We parted ways with the rest of ESGI for a few weeks in January to take just our Marines to Kenya, Africa, for training there. We also delivered a contingent of Fleet Marine Force medi- cal and dental professionals for a humanitarian mission that provided medical care for nearly 2,000 impoverished Kenyans.