Independence (CVA 62) - Naval Cruise Book

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Captain W. E. Clarke Chief of Staff Carrier Division Six 15 Jan 1965 - 22 July 1966 Captain R. N. Miller Chief of Staff Carrier Division Six 22 July 1966

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Commander Carrier Division Six RADM Geo. P. Koch Rear Admiral George P. Koch was commissioned as Ensign and received his designation as a Naral Aviator in 1934. His first tour after completion of flight training was aboard the cruiser TUSCALOOSA, which was followed by assignments to Torpedo Squad- ron 7, Patrol Squadron 3 and Patrol Bombing Squadron 74. In 1942 and 1943, he commanded Headquarters Squadron 5 and in 1944, after a tour of duty with CINCLANTFLT Staff, assumed command of the sea- plane tender USS HUMBOLT. After the war, RADM Koch served in USS LEYTE; completed the Senior Course at the Naval War College and then was assigned as Executive Officer of Naval Air Technical Training Center, Memphis and subsequently of Naval Station, Kodiak. Between 1953 and 1955 he had assignments to the Staff, Commander Fleet Air Wings Atlantic and the Office of the Chief of Naval Opera- tions. Then, after serving as Commanding Officer, NAS Barbers Point, he reported in 1957 as Chief of Staff to Commander Fleet Air Wing, Quonset. In May 1958 he became Commander Fleet Air Wing 3 and a year and a half later assumed command of NAS Norfolk. Since his promotion to Rear Admiral, he has commanded Carrier Division 18, Fleet Air Wings, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, with additional duty as Commander Fleet Air Wing 5, and in 1963 became Chief of Naval Air Reserve Training. RADM Koch assumed command of carrier Division Six in October 1965.

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Captain John E. Kennedy Commanding Officer 11 Aug 1965 - 25 Aug 1966 In February 1941, upon completion of flight train- ing. Captain John E. Kennedy was commissioned as Ensign. During the next four years he had tours of duty as a flight instructor, as a member of Torpedo Squadron 5 and in USS INDEPENDENCE (CVL-22). In July 1946, after completing a tour on the NINETEENTH Fleet Staff, Captain Kennedy entered the General Line School, Newport. He was later assigned to the Staff of the Chief of Naval Air Train- ing. In June 1949, he assumed his first command. Attack Squadron 175. Between 1951 and 1955 he spent two years in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, after which he was transferred to Air Development Squad- ron 5 to become Executive Officer and later Acting Commanding Officer. In 1955 he assumed command of Air Task Group 4 and eighteen months later he returned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1959, after a tour as a student at the NATO Defense College, Paris, he was transferred to the Staff of U.S. Commander-in-Chief, Europe. Captain Kennedy was assigned to the Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1961 and joined the Staff of Carrier Division 3 in October 1962. In December 1963, he took Command of USS VESUVIUS. Before assuming command of USS INDEPEND- ENCE, Captain Kennedy served on the Staff of Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.