Independence (CV 62) - Naval Cruise Book

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X I , Jr N C , - E NCQ. -. -1, -I CAPT Dennis W Irelan CAPT Carter B. Refp and command of USS INDEPENDENCEQQQQ and her crew. . . T' . . fs I -1. 8 r. ,.. ,N xr -cv In ,gil ff? if -ri , .- :4 ' A -l . 'llvr

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,....T.f, Rear dmiral B. J. mith 5 nited States Na Commander, Carrier Group FIVE Battle Force SEVE TH Fleet has been my experience that cmisebooks, once received. are scanned, then put up on a shelf for long periods, referenced only occasionally for the name of an old shipmate. After gathering dust for several years, a cruisebook becomes much more valuable to its owner as a source for memories from an earlier and very different life. While the wonderful photos contained herein will serve to bring back the faces and places, I wanted to convey some of my impressions of this past year in which INDEPENDENCE was called upon so often, and performed so brilliantly, during a million man-days at sea. I believe that the exercises we conduct to prepare for deployments are often more demanding than the deployments themselves. Spring Training '93 certainly falls into that category. The air wing took advantage of the wide-open X spaces of Westem Australia to pack every minute of 't , . A flying time they could into the 53-day trip, as always with the tremendous support of the ship. We ran into a bit of weather from a super typhoon while working with over IOOJMSDF ships during ANNUALEX, then rolled into what can only be classified as an exceptionally successful deploy- ment. Although the Cold War has ended, hot spots warranting the attention of our Navy have continued to emerge with great frequency. So even as INDY was deploying to the Arabian Gulf to support Op- eration SOUTHERN WATCH for the second time, a great deal of preparations were being made to divert the battle group to the south to support troops in Somalia. It wasn't until we left Singapore, in fact, that we knew a course to the Arabian Gulf was to be steered, where our battle group's contributions would be greeted by an appreciative coalition of U.S., French and British air forces. Following retum from deployment, and with the polished skills of half a year at sea, we led a dual bilateral force of Korean and Japanese ships through RIMPAC '94 exercises with the CONSTELLATION battle group off the coast of Hawaii, where we again proved ourselves a capable force. A trip to the dry dock for a repair availability was delayed, as we remained at sea to provide the desired level of security in the Westem Pacific area of operations. Having sailed aboard aircraft carriers for nearly 30 years, l recognize that even routine deployments are arduous. But what makes me particularly proud to be associated with the United States Navy is the way my shipmates respond to unscheduled and unpredictable at-sea periods with uncommon dedication and extraordinary devotion to duty. I salute each of you and thank you for your contributions to achievements represented in this book. I hope you remember your service on INDEPENDENCE with pride. I certainly will. CMAVJ CARRIER GROUP FIVE - 19

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