Germantown (LSD 42) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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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-f ..-...-f........ ..q.....v - .,.-.. W- i.. f-Q.-Y. -1, qv -- eplo ed... USS Germantown: We make things happen. Weapons recovered from Iraqi radicals by Marines from the l3thMEU. HMCCSWXSCWXFMFJ Blanca Mendez examines a Kenyan baby during Exercise Edged Mallet. 8 Germantown sailors are proud of our motto: Follow in our Footstepsf' But if you're going to take us up on the offer, you'd better be prepared to trek to the ends ofthe earth. When we got underway for our 2003-2004 Western Pacific Cruise, only three months had passed since President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq. Two months before that CMarch 20031 American troops entered the middle eastern country to over- throw its tyrannical dictator, Saddam Hussein. Husseinis Baathist regime was believed to possess weapons of mass destruction and was acting in violation of various United Nations resolutions. When we got to the Arabian Sea, Saddamis regime had already been overthrown, but there was plenty of unrest left behind in Iraq for our Marines to help tackle. And while they were on the ground in Iraq looking for weapons and explo- sives left over from years of war, we were underway, in the waters off Iraqis coast, looking for smugglers trying to steal Iraqi oil, transport weapons, or traffic drugs. fTurn the page for more on our Visit Boarding Search and Seizure teanrj The pictures on these pages show some of the people our l3th MEU friends met while they were on the ground in Iraq and while they provided medical care and rnili- tary training in Kenya during an exercise in January.