Kearsarge (LHD 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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HISTORY ' USS E C1862-1864D June 19, 1864. ullwz' ffm! f'lx'4u11'x.11'Qv,2 .wwf ilflw' N1'f'fV1i1f,Q iff'-'f i ff-'f'f ff 7' flfhff' ffff' 'ii-mfbl JMC, M NIU' lun-My !fm,f,Z.l,,.t,lj ,Ziff y14pvr1m'z'1y in yfwyffy, gfiznafzizg If 1'11ff14c'1m1y In c'fu.w Aw ffm! bw' l'ff'Z'L'71-1.21011XIIICOIX mzffff ffnwfifff Jiffy iff !?UI.HI-fffillllx' mzzgv. Wa' nntp' f1z1m'fz'c's zmlmf flu' fzffzuzzzlizgv ICH spam! pfaxxwxmz' by our wzwzzj '... Authur Sinclair, Lieutenant, Cbnfederate States Navy, Crevvmember of CSS Alzlbtlmil The first ship to the name Kearsarge established her' superiority in design and crew in a 90 minute sea battle dLu'ing the Civil War. The Union ship Kearsarge, commanded by Captain John A. Winslowg and Cbnfederate ship Alabama, cominanded by Captain Raphael faced off in the En- glish Channel off the coast of Cherbourg. Kearsarge, though she approached a worthy opponent, was possessed of certain advantages includingt 11-inch guns, a pivoting gun at her' stern which proved deadly for the Alabama, a hull protected by metal chains C ll e am sill, ilu' yfrf1'1ztc'1'5fly1A21g Qffifi'lIf71 hw' fzrnzm' L'UZ'L'7'1-llg qfrlw wzvmyg lm! no f'Jl'?lCH'dII-U71 m'c'm's... noted LT Sinclairl, and a Crew of 163 to A1abama's 149 Con those old sloops-of-war, as today, every Sailor' countsD. Alabama did get off a shot that could have disabled Kearsarge, but the 55-pound shell embedded itself in Kearsarge's stern post and failed to explode. This souvenir was presented to President Lincoln, and is in fact preserved today in Washington, DC. Throughout the brief battle, Kearsarge maintained an aggresive posture and Alabama was finlly forced to surrender aniidst chokingly thick clouds of gtmpowder and trails of splintered hull and mast wreckage in the water. At 1224, Alabama Went down by the stern and Kearsarge commenced rescue efforts to recover her opponents crew members. The original Kearsarge continued to sail until she was lost on a reef in the Caribbean Seag but she was not the last Kearsarge to offer years of faithful and enthusiastic service to her country. C1898-19201 1 Uss ECBBSJ The battleship Kearsarge was built side-by-side with her sister ship, Kentucky. She was 368 feet in length and 72 feet in beam, with maximum speed of sixteen knots. Her armament included four 13-inch and four 8-inch breech loading rifles with secondary battery of twenty 6-pounders, four Gatling guns, and one field piece. Her crew consisted of 39 officers and 618 en- listed. The ship was ultimately commanded by Captain Herbert Winslow, United States Navyg the only surviving son of the cap- min Of the Origiwl Kearsm-ge: Captain Winslow sailed Kearsavge Th I i ll M 1 ui I pw A L 1 around the world -from 1907 to 1909 as a member of President . eoc or e U ,vc ts C 11 cat White li lect. The Great Willtlf I+ leet's nussion was to Show the entire Wgrld the power of the linited Navy, and to demonstrate that although militarily mighty, Aniei-iga intended '00 maintain international. diplomatic relations as much as possible. Naval presence - the abiiify to be physically present at any location within a matter of days, and the ability to remain on station indefinitely - a critical mission of todays Navy as well, especially the amphibious Navy. ' ' Kf2l1'S2U'21f2 CBB 59 waslclecoirunissiomxl in 1920, and was converted to a crane ship. She served in this filllxh' fm' UVGI' twenty YGUS, illdlnil' ln the construction of several World War II battleships. She beczmie C1399 S ll-J 0- 1 CAB U When Shi? 11215-S011 her illustrious name on to an aircraft carrier' CCVS 'SSD in 19422 lll IYIX

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Colonel Richard P. Mills United States Marine Corps Comrnanding Officer 24th MEUCSOCD Colonel Mills, a graduate of Franklin and Marshall Cbllege, was comrnissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1975 via the Officers Candidate School Follovving the Basic School, he reported to 1st Bat- talion, 5th where he served as a Platoon Com- mander, Company Executive Officer and the Battalion t Adjutant. During 1978 and 1979, he served vvith Head- quarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa. Upon his return to OONUS in 1979, he was assigned to the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD, Parris Island as a Series Commander. In 1980, he served as the Battalion S-4 and subsequently as the Comnianding Officer of D Cbmpany. Following AWS in 1983, he reported to the 2nd Marine Division where he comrnanded A Company, 1st Battalion, 6th and later as the Regimental Assistant Operations Officer. From 1986 until 1989, he was assigned to the Officer Assingment Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps. After completing a subsequent school assignment, he stood a one-year tour as a Senior lVIilitary Observer with the United Nations 'lruce Supervision Orginization CUNTSOD in Palestine. Returning to OONUS in 1991, he reported to Marine Air Group 29, 2nd MAW for duty as the Air!Ground Liason Officer. From 1993 until 1995, he served as the Operations Officer for the 26th MEU CSOCJ. He also as the Operations Officer, Special Operations Group CSOTGD, ll IVLEF. From 1995 until 1997, he was assigned to the staff of Comniander, Sixth Fleet in Gaeta, Italy, as the Amphibious Exercise Officer and Assistant Fleet Marine Officer. In 1997, he returned to the 2nd Marine Division for duty as Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion, 6th and concurrently as Cbrnmanding Officer, BLT 3!6, 24th MEU CSOCJ. In 1999, he departed 2nd Marine Division for duty as a student in the United Kingdom. His most recent assignment was as Officer in Charge, SOTG, H MEF. He holds a Masters Degree in Business and has attended the Amphibious Warfare School, the Marine Corps Cornmand and Staff Cbllege, the Naval Warfare Cbllege, and the Royal Cbllege of Defense Studies, London, England. Colonel Mills' personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal Ctwo Gold Stars in lieu of second and third awardsj, The Joint krvice Cknnmendation Medal, and the Navy-Marine Cbrps Ckimmendation Medal. Cblonel Mills is married te the former Patricia Jacobson of New York, New York. I lllll I'Xll

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HISTORY USS E CCVXCVAICVS 337 C1945-19705 The aircraft carrier Keuirsarge, the third ship to bear the name, was authorized by Cbngress in 1942 and conqlnissioned in May 1945. In February 1950, she headed to Puget Sound, Washington where she was briefly decorninissioned in order to fit her to carry modern jet aircraft. Following her recorninissioning in 1952, she joined Task Force 77 off the east coast of Korea with Captain Louis B. French, United States Navy, in command. During the Korean War, Kearsarge launched over 6000 sorties. The ship was awarded two battle stars for her valiant efforts. In 1958, Kearsarge was fitted out as an antisubmarine warfa.re support carrier CCVSJ. On August 1, 1962, she left Naval Station Long Beach, California, to position herself on station in the Pacific Ocean as a recovery platform for Mercury astronaut Walter Schirra. Kearsarge also recovered astronaut Gordon Cooper on May 18, 1963, following his completion of 22 orbits of Earth in the capsule 'Faith Seven . On June 19, 1964, Kearsarge commenced her ninth Far East deployment. She was dispatched to the South China Sea following North Vietnamese patrol boat attack on US. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Kearsarge provided antisubmarine protection for all ships attached to Seventh Fleet, as well as latmching planes to destroy North Vietnamese oil supply depots. The succew of these endeavors severely crippled the North Vietnamese Cbmmunist offensive and earned five battle and a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the ship. Following her outstanding in the Vietnam War, Kearsarge was decomrnissioned in 1970. USS E QLI-ID 31 C1993 - Launched on March 26, 1992, LI-ID-3 was christened GE on May 16, 1992, at Ingalls Shipbuilding by lVIrs. Alrna Powell, wife of General Colin L. Powell, USA, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. USS KEARSARGE was cornrnissioned October 16, 1993 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. ' GE departed for her maiden deployment on March 2, 1995, Where she served as the primary platform for the rescue of Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady after he was shot down over KEARSARGE began her second deployment on April 15, 1997, relieving USS NASSAU CLHA4D off the coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Cformerly Zaireb in support of Operation Guardian Retrieval on May 2, 1997. GE was later directed to Freetown, Sierra Leone to conduct a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation in support of Operation Noble Obelisk. On May 31, KEARSARGE evacuated more than 2,500 Aniericans and foregn nationals from more than 40 countries. The evacuees were transported to Conakry, Guinea. On April 17, 1999, Kearsarge embarked on her third deploynient. Perforrning a turnover with the NASSAU ARG while underway, ' 'E made best speed to the Adriatic where she performed various operations off the coast of Kosovo, including Opertation NOBLE ANVILXALLIED FORCE and establishment of Camp Hope in Fier, On JUne 7, Operation JOINT GUARDIAN began The 26th MEUCSOCJ was offloaded June 10th Litokhoron Beach, Greece, for movement to Skopje, Nlacedonia. The U.S. were the first peacekeeping gorce to enter Kosovo. After completing operations in Kosovo and while visiting Palma de Mallorca, Spain, KEARSARGE was ordered to transit across the Meditteranean Sea to Turkey after a devastating earthquake killed 12,000 people. On April 25, 2001, KEARSARGE departed Naval Station Norfolk for her fourth deployment to the Mediterranean. The ship served as a platform for the United State Organiyation CUSOD Gala, marking the 60th anniversary of the organization, participated in exercises and supported the President of the United States dLu'ing the G 8 summit in Cknoa, Italy. KEARSARGE has been awarded the Golden Anchor for Retention Excellence, Navy Unit Cbininendation, Meritorious Unit Ckimmenc lation, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, NATO Medal for Kosovo Operations, Battle Efficiency E , the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Ronald Rftmgan Distinguised Service Award and the Cbrninander Naval Force Atlantic Safety Award. HLWIY DRY I 9