Kenneth Whiting (AV 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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COMMANDER JOHN N. WEST, USN Executive Officer Commander John Norman West was born in Forest Grove, Oregon, but claims Corvallis, Oregon his home. Commissioned as Ensign in 1938 upon his gradu- ation from flight training at the Naval Aviation School, Pensacola, his first assignment as a Naval Officer was aboard the carrier USS WASP with Scouting Squadron 72. In 1939, he was transferred to another scouting squadron, VS-6, aboard the car- rier ENTERPRISE, where he served during the first part of World War II in the Pacific. From the ENTER- PRISE he was assigned to Naval Air Station, Jack- sonville, Florida, as an instructor in Scouting and Fighter aircraft. Later in 1944, ho to tions lor Commander job of Air Opera- r-r Forces. In 1945 he was ordered to duty as Air Officer aboard the USS SITKOH BAY (CVE-86). Promoted to Commander in 1945, he was assigned to the General Line School, Newport, R. I., as a student. On graduation, he drew the assignment as Commanding Officer of FASRON- 110, and held that post for two years. From here he was transferred again to the General Line School in Newport, this time as an instructor. In Septemiber, 1950, Commander West took over command of Scouting-26. In 1952 he returned to the field of education, this time to the Armed Forces Staff College at Newport, R. I. On graduating, he was as- signed as Chief Inspector, Bremerton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, where he remained until reporting aboard the USS KENNETH WHITING in October 1954.

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CAPTAIN LEMUEL M. STEVENS, JR., USN Commanding Officer Captain Lemuel Mussetter Stevens, Jr., was born in Honolulu, T.H. Commissioned on Ensign in 1933, his first assignment as a naval officer was to the battleship USS NEW YORK. After three years aboard the NEW YORK, he attended the Naval Avia- tion School at Pensacola, graduating in 1937 as a Naval Aviator. His career has been in naval avia- tion since that time. In January 1952 he was pro- moted to the grade of Captain, USN. On completion of flight training, he was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS RANGER, as a pilot in VS-41. In 1939 he returned to his former ship, the NEW YORK, in the VO-5 unit, and after a short period was transferred to the USS TEXAS. Later in ■40, he was assigned to NAS, COCO SOLA, Canal Zone, in the Overhaul and Repair Department. Returning to the sea again after the outbreak of WW II, he helped commission the carrier PR INCE- TON (CVL-23) and was assigned Assistant Air Officer. Remaining on board the PRINCETON until 1944, he was transferred to the ADMIRALTY ISLANDS (CVE-99), to put her in commission, as Executive Officer. From there he went to Washing- ton, D.C., and became Aide to Vice Chief of Naval Operations, in July 1945. The then Commander Stevens, received his orders to sea duty again. This time to NAS NOB Midv oy Islands, where he was assigned the dual roles of Executive Officer and Chief Staff Officer. In 1949, he returned to the U. S. to attend the Armed Forces Staff College. In the fall of ' 49, he again went to Wash- ington, D.C., this time to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Remaining there until 1951, he was transferred to the Staff of Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, as head of Plans and Develop- ment. In 1954, he became Commanding Officer of NAS Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Fla., and held that post until receiving his orders to command the USS KENNETH WHITING (AV-14) in June, 1955.

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THE DIVISIONS Why does something as small and compact as a ship need to be divided into divisions? Well, why does a city need maintenance crews, utility people, fire departments, or a police force? That ' s easy. Chaos would reign without them. It ' s no different with a ship — any ship. But with most ships they, more often than towns, become something very personal. They ' re home away from home. And any good home is an organized one, one you can depend upon as a sanctuary. And herein is the making of a first-rate ship. Foremost in the minds of both officers and men of the Kenneth Whiting, our ship had to be organized to fit the needs of a comfortable home. Certainly it wasn ' t always as comfortable as that apartment back in the States. But then that would understandably be impossible — a couple of important ingredients are lacking. But, again, there are some sacrifices required by this type of duty. As a home with over 550 inhabitants, there are difficulties that a dozen house- wives couldn ' t face. Imagine the problems associated with just feeding so large a group! What about barber shops, cobblers, athletic facilities? How about a hospital for this miniature city and a dentist ' s office, the movies, the library, and the soda fountain? These never-ending headaches could even shake our mothers-in-law loose at the switch. But the Kenneth Whiting satis- fied them all and more. In undertaking to serve this floating city, there are still many more require- ments. Our city needs power plants for electricity and motivation, a water works for converting the sea into a healthy drinking fountain. We had to have a government, and administrative group. We have a court system, a police force, and a fire department. And because we are a ship, we have to include such personnel and organizations as the deck force and repairmen to keep her in good shape, an engineering force to keep her propellers turning. We have first-line navigators and quartermasters to get us from one spot on the globe to another, signalmen to converse with other ships, radarmen to give the ship eyes at night and in fog, radiomen to keep us informed and dozens of other experts, each and all as important as the next. One of our chief functions was to serve as the Flagship for the Admiral and his staff. For them we supplied many things besides office space. We handled hundreds of incoming and outgoing messages. At times we even acted as a floating pick-up truck, transporting supplies to various ports of the China seas. And it would be difficult to estimate the number of seaplanes we refueled or how many pilots and flight crews we served. Those were just a few of the duties. Yes, the Kenneth Whiting is indeed a large and complex pie- .- ' .■ ery, and in running this machine, there are countless tasks req-...: .a high degree of specialization and cooperation. On the following pages ore the men who did all these jobs. These are the men of the Kenneth Whiting. Come aboard; won ' t you! Glad to meet ya!