Hawes (FFG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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DKDICA I I() L 1 . -; ' «di %A

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DEDICATION To the men who made it happen . . Each day, the crew of a mod- ern warship is laced with an unparalleled challenge: to function effectively as the ul- timate team. This group of diverse men must not only maintain and Ik prepared to fight a highly complex warship, but must also provide tor e - ery human need that each mav ha t Achieving such specialized self-sutli- ciency demands superior professional performance, mature flexibility and discipline. On any given day, a young seaman may swab a deck, and later act as helmsman steering 4000 tons of frig- ate through the ocean. . n engineer- ing petty officer may train to combat potential fires, and later oversee the operation of two 25,000 horsepower gas turbine engines. A technician may conduct maintenance on a state-of- the-art computer, and later operate the ship ' s fire control system to en- gage a hostile aircraft. This book is dedicated to the spe- cial group of these highly skilled young professionals who manned HA WES between December 5, 1988 and June 5, 1989. Through an ardu- ous .Middle East deployment these proud, resourceful officers, petty offi- cers, seamen, firemen and airmen consistently excelled. Through them, HAWES, has done her part to main- tain . merica ' s status as the only true symbol of power and freedom. To the men who made it happen . . . some memories. 1 1

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CO. COMMANDING OFFICER COMMANDER JAMES W. SPEER, UNITED STATES NAVY Commander James V. Speer. LSN, is a graduate of Upper Si. Clair High Sdiool. Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, Bullis Preparatory School, and a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Naval .•Xcad- em . Following his commissioning he served aboard USS FORREST SHERMAN (DD- 931) as Communications Officer trom 1969 - 1971. He was then ordered to the staff of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 24 as the Staff Communications Officer. In June of 1973, Commander Speer was reassigned ashore as the Operations, Plans and Auto- mated Data Processing (ADP) Production Officer of the Naval Telecommunications Center (N7CC), Crystal Plaza, Washington, D.C. From December, 1974 to July, 1975, C ' ommander Speer attended U.S. Naval De- strover School. He was then assigned as Weapons Officer in USS AINSWORTH (FF-1090) and subsequently reported tor dutv as the Flag Secretary to Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two. Upon com- pletion of that tour Commander Speer at- tended the College of Command and Staff at the U.S. Naval War College, graduating in 1981. He then returned to sea as Fxecutive Officer aboard USS THORN (DD-989) until June, 1983. From Julv, 1983. tojulv, 198r). Commander Speer was assigned to Com- mander, Naval Military Personnel Command and served as the Cruiser-Destroyer Place- ment Officer within the Surface Warfare General Unrestricted Line Officer Distribu- tion Division. Subsequent to this assignment, Commander Speer attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National De- fense University, graduating in June, 1986. Concurrently, Commander Speer completed his graduate studies and earned a Masters in Public . ' dministration trom George Wash- ington University in August, 1986. On 16 .■ pril 1987. Commander Speer assumed command ot USS HAWES (FFG-53). Com- mander Speer ' s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Com- mendation Medal (with two gold stars in lieu of second and third awards). Navy .Achieve- ment Medal, and numerous unit and service awards.