Kirk (FF 1087) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 7 text:

Kirk ' s Twelve Year Mission In July of 1976 the USS KIRK joined the modern version of America ' s Asiatic fleet in Yokosuka, Ja- pan. Over the years these ships and the men who sailed them earned a reputation for living hard and fighting hard at the far edges of civilization. KIRK and her sailors lived up to this reputation with style. For 12 years, from the frozen North to the Land Down Under, no weather was too fierce, no language too foreign for KIRK men to master. This cruisebook documents KIRK s final 18 months of going bamboo. It was a busy time. Communi- cation barriers, schedule changes, and moral dilemmas appeared at every turn. But through them all KIRK sailors showed great professional strength and human compassion. We donated scholarship money to Fil- ipino students, saved a life in Malaysia, and showed the flag effectively from Otaru, to Bali. After her 12 years in WESTPAC, KIRK returned to Long Beach, California, on August 25, 1988, full of men who spoke Tagalog, hadn ' t been to America in years, and tended to confuse aye with hai. This book is for you, WESTPAC sailors in EASTPAC, and also for our new shipmates who want to know what KIRK is all about. The Twelve Year Mission is over but far from forgotten. El- - ' ««.,!

Page 6 text:

Some Call It WESTPAC We Call It HOME Sl KIRK has always had two personali- ties. You could find them in the phrase work hard, play hard. You could also find them in the symbols pictured on this page. The ship ' s insignia, above, identifies the ship for ceremonial purposes. The central feature of the insignia is the shield from the KIRK family Coat of Arms, appropriately chosen to honor Ad- miral Alan Goodrich Kirk for whom the ship is named. The four stars indicate the rank Admiral Kirk achieved during his career and the tridents symbolize Kirk ' s primary mission of anti-submarine warfare. The House Flag, to the right, shows our other self. The palm tree symbolizes e xotic ports in Southeast Asia, while a smiling cat represents a KIRK Sailor on his well-earned R R. The phrase What ' s Next? correctly encapsulates KIRK ' s drive to take on new challenges. It may also refer to the constantly chang- ing schedules of a forward deployed ship, but this is only hearsay. i

Page 8 text:

Commanding Officers CDR E. Richard Diamond, Jr. Commander Emil Richard Diamond, Jr., USN, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on 15 De- cember 1943. As a Navy Junior, he lived throughout the United States and Territory of Alaska before receiving the B.A. degree in Histo- ry from the University of Dallas, Irving, Texas, in 1967. After being commissioned in November 1967, CDR Diamond completed two Western Pacific cruises aboard USS BON HOMME RICH- ARD (CVA-31) and served two years aboard USS SPRINGFIELD (CLG-7), Flagship U.S. Sixth 4 Fleet, in the Mediterranean. He then served as an NROTC instructor at Tulane University, earn- ing the M.A. degree in Diplomatic History. CDR Diamond served as Weapons Officer aboard USS SAMPLE (FF-1048), on the CINCSOUTH staff in Naples, Italy, as XO of USS BUCHANAN (DDG-14), and with the Studies, Analysis, and Gaming Agency.