Glacier (WAGB 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ingalls Shipbuilding Company ' s hull number 580 was laid in August 1953 at Pascagoula. Mississippi. Number 580 was commissioned in May 1955 as the U.S.S. GLACIER and was homeported in Boston. Named for Glacier Bay, Alaska, the ship became the largest and most powerful icebreaker in the US. fleet. The GLACIER held her shakedown cruise enroute to participation in the first Operation Deep Freeze during which she served as Admiral Byrd ' s flagship and discovered the largest iceberg ever recorded. Antarctic service became an annual event as the GLACIER cut channels for resupply ships, supported remote stations, and made meteorological and oceanographic observations. In June of 1966. the GLACIER received a coat of white paint and became the Coast Guard Cutter GLACIER. With this transfer in service she was transferred in homeport to Long Beach. Her heavy armament was removed and a great deal of scientific equipment installed. GLACIER ' S string of continuous Antarctic de- ployment was broken in 1970, but in thirty years of service she has sailed in support of Operation Deep Freeze twenty-seven times. Her record of service includes not only Antarctic trips, but numerous deployments to the East and West Arctic Oceans. Proud in her history and capabilities. GLACIER ' S motto. Follow Me marks her for the leader she is.

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DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF SNOM DAVID SCOTT SWANK FEBRUARY 20, 1964 . . . SEPTEMBER 24, 1984

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For 27 of the past 30 years GLACIER ' S mission has been to support the scientific colonies expeditions in the Antarctic regions. For most of those years GLACIER met or exceeded all expectations. DF 85 was no exception. Big Red successfully completed every one of her assigned missions. The degree of success for most of the goals left the scientists on board ecstatic. The accomplishments of DF 85 are the reflection of the drive determination of the crew to get the job done. They are all the more admirable significant in that they followed hard on the heels of a very demanding Major Maintenance Availability; and immediately followed a mentally and physically exhausting Refresher training. This year GLACIER was charged with helping find rookeries and determine population densities of several species of birds in the Antarctic Penninsula area - and searching tor Krill in the same area. These completed, GLACIER began seismic, coring, and diatom studies from the South Orl ney islands in the South Atlantic ocean all the way to the South end of Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen sea. This marked the first time in history any vessel had made it to the south end of Pine Island Bay. An additional benefit for the scientists came when 2 people from GLACIER became the only humans ever to set foot on Pine Island glacier at the south end of the bay. Completion of work in the ice did not mean completion of our mission. Enroute home we had 2 more tasks to complete. Air water samples were taken at intervals from Punta Arenas, Chile to Panama checking on the levels of Radioactivity. From Fortaleza, Brazil to Puerto Vallarto, Mexico GLACIER conducted transit and active Law Enforcement patrols working actively with the Panamanian Costa Rican governments. The patrol results included over 100 sighting reports and three boardings. When GLACIER made her triumphant return to Long Beach on April 5. 1985, with one of the most successful Deep Freezes ever under her belt, the crew could still not relax. For they had to get families household goods vehicles ready tor the move of homeports to Portland, Oregon. Though the 27,000-odd-mile journey at times seemed long and arduous - it was completed in an enthusiastic vein - an air of mission accomplished pervaded the minds and could be seen in the eyes of all on board even before a particular task was undertaken. We knew we would succeed where others had not -would meet all challenges no matter the odds. The words can ' t and maybe were nearly non-existent on board GLACIER in Deep Freeze 85. ■-■. -S.-. V.V.-S.. ' ' 1 ■■■ r x ' «.