Iowa (BB 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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TRODUCTIO On June 7, the Battleship Iowa left Norfolk and began a six-month Mediterranean deployment. By the time the cruise ended on December 7, Iowa had steamed more than 30,000 miles, operated in 12 seas and visited 15 different ports in nine countries. The first stop on the cruise was Kiel, Germany. For seven days, the crew took part in Kiel Week 1989. The week is traditionally celebrated with foreign navies from around the world. Represented at the Kiel Week festivities were navies from America, Britain and Germany. The stay in Kiel gave Iowa sailors a chance to relax and stretch their legs before continuing Med Cruise ,89. Iowa's next stop was Portsmouth, England. The Iowa was there from July 3rd to the Sth. Dur- ing the transit in the harbor, thou- sands of people were on hand to greet the Battleship to their city. In return, the Iowa hosted thousands of visitors on her main deck for tours. The crew of the Iowa also celebrated July 4th with members of the British Navy. Capt. Moosally cut the traditional 4th of July cake at a picnic celebration in town. British and Iowa sailors then challenged each other to softball, volleyball and log throwing and tug-a-war contests. Between these ports, the Battle- ship Iowa took part in Baltic Sea Op- erations CBaltopsD '89. lowa's RPV detachment used remote piloted ve- hicles to support a wide range of missions during Baltops. Baltops is an annual exercise involving several different NATO countries. From there it was on to Rota, Spain for a three-day visit. While in port Rota, an awards ceremony was held to advance a large number of crewmembers to first, second and third class petty officers. The ship then sailed to Casa- blanca, Morocco. During this three- day port visit, crewmembers got to see part of Africa. Several sailors took part in relief effort for the natives while in Casablanca. It was now time for Gibraltar, an English island in the Mediterra- nean, as the Iowa pulled into port on July 19th. The port call was an excellent opportunity for crewmem- bers to do some shopping or sunbath at one of Gibraltar's many beaches. In addition, many sailors traveled to the top of the rockl' via cable cars. After Gibraltar, the Iowa steamed into Marseille, France for a lengthy port call that was interrupted when the Iowa was ordered to Lebanon. The ship cut its port call early on August 2nd and headed off to the coast of Lebanon where she stayed for three weeks. The Big Stick was joined by other ships in the Battle Group as the United States showed its force against terrorism. The days ran long during this time as the men of the Iowa practiced for war-time situ- ations by running numerous general quarters drills and other exercises. During this time, Iowa was author- ized to practice shooting 16-inch gunneryg thus breaking a moritorium imposed on 16-inch gunnery due to a disaster in Iowa's turret two. After three weeks off the coast of Lebanon, the crew finally got some liberty in Antalya, Turkey. It was in this port, where most crew- members got good buys on leather and jewelry. The Iowa was well- received in this poit, as the Turkish people welcomed us to their country. There were several steel beach picnics held during Med Cruise I89. One of the biggest was held on September 8th, better known as Hump Dayf' This day marked the half-way point of the cruise and included a 5K run, boxing smokers, f'Hump Day cake cutting ceremony, USMC Sunset Parade and Iowa's first annual Gong Show. Hump Day was celebrated while the ship was anchored in Gaeta, Italy. When the Iowa pulled out of Gaeta on September 15th, she had been in port for two weeks. During this time, many sailors traveled to Rome to take part in an audience participation with the Pope. Mean- while, others went to Naples to shop at the Navy Exchange. After leaving Gaeta, Iowa sailed for approximately three weeks before pulling into Istanbul, Turkey on October 4th for a five-day port visit. Many tours were given in Istanbul, including one of the most popular ones - Istanbul by Night. The tour l