Independence (CV 62) - Naval Cruise Book

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United States Ship INDEPENDENCE . . . the city that never sleeps At sea, INDEPENDENCE was a self-sustaining city - a city with no after hours and no weekends. The crew of INDEPENDENCE worked shifts of 12 or more hours a day, seven days a week in order to meet the 'round-the- clock' demands of the ship. While thc flight deck personnel worked in all types of weather. the men below decks must contend with the heart of the machine. pumping its life blood. INDY's engineers worked in places with names like the Pit, the Hole. or Shaft Alley. They endure the ever- present heat ofthe boiler rooms to provide the steam that is the ship's lifeblood. Steam launches the aircraft, moves the ship through the water, and provides hot water for bath-

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United States INDEPENDENCE . . . the city with a proud history Ship permanently forward-deployed air- craft carrier and flagship for Com- mander, Carrier Group FIVE. The ship deployed to the Ara- bian Gulf in mid-1992 and started Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, a multinational mission to moni- tor Iraqi compliance with the U.N.- established no-fly zonew below the 32nd parallel. On August 27th, 1992, aircraft from embarked Car- rier Air Wing FIVE began flying 'round-the-clock, missions in sup- port of the operation. INDEPENDENCE became the oldest ship in the Navy's active fleet on June 30, 1995. With this distinction, f'Frcedom's Flagship proudly displayed the Revolution- era First Navy Jack, commonly called the 'tDon,t Tread On Mel' flag from her bow until today. In November 1995, the INDE- PENDENCE and Carrier Air Wing FIVE team returned to Ja- pan after successfully completing their third deployment to the Ara- bian Gulf in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. In March 1996, INDEPEN- DENCE was called upon to pro- vide a stabilizing presence during heightened tensions between Tai- wan and China. Upon returning to Yokosuka in April 1996, the ship was visited by President Bill Clinton as part of an official state visit to Japan. In November 1996, INDY re- turned to Japan after participating in the ANNUALEX exercise with our host-nation allies, the Japanese. This past year, I made a four month ffSouthern Swingv deployment, covering several major ex- ercises and seven ports of call. In- cluded in these ports of call were two historic port visits. The first was Feb- ruary 28 to the island territory of Guam. Indy was the first air- craft carrier to pull into Guam in 36 years. The second, two months later, was to Port Klang, Ma- laysia. Indy became the first aircraft carrier in the world to make a port visit to Ma- laysia. Before sailing back to Yo- kosuka, Japan, INDEPEN- DENCE made its last port call of the deployment in ' May to Hong Kong. Indy's port visit was the last U.S. Naval port visit to the terri- tory before its reversion to China on July 1, 1997. INDEPENDENCE de- ' ployed to the Arabian Gulf in Jan. 1998 to support nego- tiations between the UN and Iraq and to again participate in Operation Southern 1 Watch. Today, September 30th, 1998, lndependenceis commis- sioning pennant is hauled down 39 years, 9 months and 20 days after it was first proudly hoisted. Adm ??'??speaks of Indyis mighty accomplishments through the yearsjust as Admi- ral Arleigh 'S31-Knot Burke foretold of the protection and service Indy would provide America in his commissioning speech Jan. 10th, 1959. ENUENCE

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'few - nf .. Q ing, cooking and cleaning. Engineers also manned criti- cal damage control stations and repaired and main- tained everything from air conditioners to telephone systems. Machinery repairmen made needed parts for equipment, and hull technicians maintained the mas- sive network of pipes. Without the engineers, the city of INDEPENDENCE would have been cold, dark and immobile. Supply department also expertly performed an al- most larger-than-life mission. Supply's two messdecks A ., ivirizfigii , b 1 -:ew N ,- if X. provided hot food for the hungry crew around the clock, a huge task that required messdeck personnel to prepare and serve more than 15,000 meals per day. The ship's laundry per- sonnel cleaned more than 200,000 pounds of laundry per month. Supply ran the ship's three stores. barber shop, and soda machinesg issued and monitored hazardous materials like paint and cleaning supplies: and ordered and stored every- thing the ship needed to conduct its daily mission.