Ingersoll (DD 990) - Naval Cruise Book

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On 7 July we weighed anchor and commenced the second half of our deployment. Reentering the Indian Ocean, we commenced a variety of exercises, and a •Red Stallion Rodeo to relieve the monotony. This contest, among the several ships in our squadron, consisted of both serious professional drills as well as some more light-hearted evolutions. These events ranged from putting the whaleboat In the water to delivering the Engineering Officer of the Watch a cheesburger by candlelight dinner. Start and finish times were recorded by the participants and reported to the Commodore ' s staff who compiled the results and declared a winner At the end of the week-long rodeo. INGERSOLL, the Super Stallion, finished in first place among 10 ships, by a very nar- row margin. Along the way we had a good time while polishing our skills in a variety of evolutions. The Engineering Officer of the Watch enjoyed his cheeseburger. 30

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Continuing to the northwest, we soon arrived in the vicinity of Diego Garcia, a remote island under the control of Great Britain. Upon our arrival, INGER- SOLL was placed in charge of a convoy exercise in- volving 18 merchant ships. INGERSOLL and USS Cook screened the merchant convoy during this ex- ercise and practiced antisubmarine warfare and maneuvering drills with the formation. We also prac- ticed refueling from astern of a merchant oiler, a first for the ship. It was at this time we received orders which substantially changed the remainder of our deployment. We were detached and ordered to pro- ceed to Subic Bay to join the battleship USS New Jersey and escort her to the waters off Central America. This schedule change considerably im- pacted our future plans, causing the cancellation of three port visits and our Tiger Cruise. 31