Kawishiwi (AO 146) - Naval Cruise Book

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mii:i;;i:i: ;:m;i iwwwn i iiiiiiiliiiiliiiiiniiiiiiliiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiTiiiriiiiiiiiil iiiiltiiliiiiit! Captain John L. Nicholson Jr., U.S. Navy

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l USS KAWISHIWI (AO-146) is fourth of a group of six sister ships of the NEOSHO class commonly known as super oilers. KAWISHIWI is one of three of this class of fleet oilers which serve in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. All navy Oilers are named for United States rivers that bear American Indian names. KAWISHIWI is named after the river of that name which is located in the extreme northeastern portion of the state of Minnesota. The KAWISHIWI River was given its name by the Ojibway Indians, and when translated means River full of beavers ' houses. KAWISHIWI was built by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey. She was commissioned in the U.S. Navy on 6 July 1955. KAWISHIWI has an overall length of 656 feet, a beam of 83 feet, and a liquid cargo capacity in excess of seven million gallons. KAWISHIWI, a unit of the Service Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Service Group Five, is designed for high speed replenishment at sea of the fuel needs of today ' s far flung fleets. Naval ships are required to stay at sea for longer periods of time than other ships. The mobility and freedom of movement of these ships depends on many factors, but more often than not they are influenced by the ability to refuel and replenish supplies at sea. Refueling other ships at sea is the major purpose of fleet oilers. The highly specialized evolution of underway replenishment can be carried out during the daylight hours or under cover of night. The process is not limited to the transfer of petroleum products. It can and does provide the capability of transferring dry cargo, mail, passengers and provisions, all while steaming along side by side. KAWISHIWI is home ported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During this latest cruise, her eighteenth, the KAWISHIWI delivered 473,545 barrels of fuel to 76 ships. In addition to her normal petroleum products, the KAWISHIWI delivered over 243,000 pounds of fleet freight and mail, plus 139 passengers for ships in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.

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Commanding Officer Captain John L. Nicholson Jr. entered the naval service in December 1950 and received his commis- sion upon graduation from Oberlin College in June 1953. He was designated a Naval Aviator in May 1955 at Corpus Christi, Texas. He reported to Fighter Squadron SIXTY-TWO and deployed to the Mediterranean in 1956 aboard USS RANDOLPH (CVA-15) and made his second deployment to the Mediterranean in 1958 aboard USS ESSEX (CVA-9). Captain Nicholson joined At- tacl Squadron ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR in November 1962 mal ing two Western Pacific deployments aboard USS CONSTELLATION (CVA- 64) in 1963 and 1964. He participated in the first retaliatory stril es against North Vietnam in August 1964. In 1965 he reported aboard USS HANCOCK (CVA-19) as Air Operations Officer making two deployments to Vietnam in 1966 and 1967. Captain Nicholson reported aboard Attack Squadron FIFTY- SIX in December 1967 and assumed the duties of Ex- ecutive Officer in January 1968 aboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN 65) for his fourth Vietnam deployment. In 1969, as Commanding Officer of At- tack Squadron FIFTY-SIX, he deployed with his squadron aboard USS RANGER (CVA-61). In 1970 he took command of Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO home ported at NAS Lemoore, California, and made his sixth and final deployment to Vietnam as Operations Officer aboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65). Captain Nicholson assum- ed command of the USS KAWISHIWI after a tour of duty as Air Operations Officer on CINCPACFLT STAFF. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star. Captain Nicholson is married to the former Evelyn Sadona of Schenectady, New York. They reside in Honolulu with their four children; Paula, Jen- nifer, Jacquelyn, and Eve.