Kiska (AE 35) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 144 of the 1977 volume:

THE YUKON TRADING POST 1976-77 INSIDE THE POST: Commanding Officer 4 Change of Command 6 Executive Officer 8 Department Heads and Officers 12 Ports of Call 16 The Crew 38 Parting Shots 120 Staff 132 -w- T : CDR R. P. FUSCALDO Commander R. P. Fuscaldo comes to the KISKA from the Naval Weapons Support Center, Crane, Indiana where he served as the Director of Ordnance. Born January 30, 1939 in Bronxville, New York, he went on to the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering, and receiving his commission as Ensign on June 30, 1960 through the NROTC Program. His tours of duty have included the USS MT. MCKINLEY (AGC-7), the USS WYANDOT (AKA-92), USS ELLISON (DD-864), and two years as Project Manager for Engineering Training at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Afterwards CDR Fuscaldo served with Coastal River Division 513 and 532 in Vietnam. Before arriving on board the KISKA, CDR. Fuscaldo served on board the USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) and the USS NAVASOTA (AO-106). CDR Fuscaldo relieved CDR R. L. Toney as Commanding Officer on December 20, 1976. COMMANDING OFFICER CHANGE OF COMMAND Commander Robert P. Fuscaldo relieved Commander Robert L. Toney as Commanding Officer during ceremonies held off the coast of Japan on December 20, 1976. Lieutenant Commander Barron Nelson, Executive Officer, presided over the Change of Command while Electricians Mate Chief Augustus R. Emperador, the ship ' s Catholic Lay Leader, delivered the invocation and benediction. Pa ji- nJ 1 i l H Wi HBflHH Bj BL ,fl LCDR BARRON C. NELSON EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lieutenant Commander Barron C. Nelson, was born in Maywood, California on the 19th of November, 1941. After attending the University of Maryland in Munich, Germany, San Antonio Jr. College and Trinity University in S an Antonio, LCDR Nelson received a B.S. in Interdepartmental Social Sciences. After his graduation, he attended Officers Candidate School (OCS) and received his commission on 18 September, 1964. His first tour of duty was on board the USS FIREDRAKE (AE-14) as Communications Officer. In August, 1966 he served on the USS HIGBEE (DD 806) as Navigator and then at the Naval Destroyer School in October, 1967 followed by another tour on the USS HIGBEE as Weapons Officer. After a year on the HIGBEE, LCDR Nelson served at the Naval Communications Station, San Francisco and then back again to the Naval Destroyer School in July, 1970 as Academic Plans Officer. Two years later he assumed his first command at sea on board the USS TAWASA (ATF-92) Upon completion of his tour as Commanding Officer, he served as the Flag Secretary and Aide of the U. S. Pacific Fleet Training Command (COMTRAPAC) followed by one year as a student at the Naval War College. LCDR Nelson relieved LCDR J. J. Hinds as Executive Officer, USS KISKA in October, 1976. OPERATIONS LT. HENRY O. NICOL III NAVIGATION LTJG KEITH ROBERTS AIR DEPARTMENT LT. WILLIAM BOGLE DEPARTMENT SUPPLY LT. KENNETH GANDOLA _ ? ENGINEERING LT. JOE METZGER DECK LT. LAWRENCE SOLAK HEADS ENS. Danilo Crisostomo (RIGHT), ENS. Charles Cox (BELOW), LTJG Dave Martin (BELOW RIGHT), CW02 Perry Tankersley (BOTTOM), ENS Steve Riordan. i r_ — —a I • • • • i jj ♦ ji A . 4 V ■ THE OFFICERS CW03 William Katschke (TOP), CWO 2 Bruce Putnam (TOP RIGHT), LTJG John Lucy-EOD, ENS Jerry White PORTS OF CALL was hoping he wouldn ' t find us here! - -« nci iL u. ILIW C ' !N . ' 1 «1 LABORATORY chest DISEASES CHILDRENS DISEASES VD-RjpldT j,. ,,,. 1 A 1, HAWAII tt e - HAWAII TAIWAN TT ' r mi ftnijii KOREA SUBIC BAY, PHILIPPINES y CLUB GUAM . PAN f i I93HIIII!  ■■!■ EOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS AND THEN THERE WAS THE DAY . . . The photos on these pages depict GMG 3 Sjostrand and his first ride on a horse. Confidence gleams on his face shortly before he is taught the ins, outs, ups and downs of rodeo riding by the horse in question. A sore lesson indeed. r- A, 4 Z W i a. i, ■ I  4 Other riders that day included SMSN Orton (LEI and BTFN Threet. 3 h ■■■Ml t 9 i Ml 1 « T il ■ ft !! « • i ; ' . ' ► U i 1U , ;W -_ PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER KISKA, still a skeleton, begins to take shape at the Ingalls Ship Yard in Mississippi. (FAR LEFT) (CLOCKWISE from the TOP) Captain R. J. Rockwood is congratulated by one of the speakers at the commissioning ceremonies. Mrs. Isaac C. Kidd Jr. addresses the attendance while a painting of the KISKA is unveiled. Senator Ernest F. Hollings, Democrat, South Carolina, guest speaker. Mrs. Isaac C. Kidd Jr., sponsor and Captain R. J. Rockwood, first Commanding Officer. THE CREW XO . . . We ' ve got to pay more attention to up-dating our departments! w V y y l? HBBBHHI m ENGINEERING Boy, will I be glad when they get that Automatic Boiler Control Fixed! B DIVISION (left to right) BTFA Threet, BTFA Phiefer, BTFA Bird, BTFN Fears, BTFN Hammer, BTFA Traster, (FRONT ROW) BTFN Adams, BTFA Hestdalen, BTFA Wilczek, BT3 Carter, BT3 Andujar, BT1 Weed. m « ■ii i 1 ± jm yflfe jp , f iZj V A ;B 7 1 The Hole: Where the sun never shines, the birds never sing, and only the smell of fuel oil wafes along the 110° breeze. Here you ' ll find the members of KISKA Power and Light Company . B Division, we make the ship go, is their motto, and that they do. They make their own sun down there, generating the steam to power the generators that light the lights all over the KISKA; and at sea their boilers provide the steam to drive the main engines, to heat our showers and food, to make the KISKA the WESTPAC Hacker she is. Boiler Tec ' s, snipes, they have their own song. It ' s the sound of a forced draft blower running smoothly, the song of steam. (left to right) IC1 Berg, IC3 Hendricks, IC3 Mclarrin. EM3 Sharp, EMFA Chammings, EMC Emperador, (FRONT) IC1 Vierra, ICFN Taylor, IC3 ' Moon, ICFN Falconer. E DIVISION When you walk into a compartment and turn on the light, did you ever reflect on exactly what it takes to light that bulb? Or, when you use the telephone, steer the ship, talk on the Sound Powered Phone Circuits did you ever wonder who kept this equipment up and operating? The men of E Division, that ' s who. E Division personnel not only maintain the ship ' s electrical equipment and phones, they also maintain the ship ' s gyrocompasses and other navigational equipment, in fact just about every piece of equipment on the ship uses electricity for som e part of its operation, and this makes the men of E Division a vital part of the team. A DIVISION m=m z MMFN Furguson, MMFA Vollman, MMFA Scott, FN Caceres, MM2 Bray, MMFN Vorce, ENFN Weber, FN Clark, (FRONT ROW) EN3 Paradis, MMFN Fancher, EN1 Duree, MM1 Garcia, MM3 Midkiff, SN Rodriguez. You say your air conditioner is broken, your heat is on, and we ' re in Subic ... the ice cream was hot and the meat was cold at dinner . . . we ' re on water hours and you can ' t get the shower to stop dripping and you don ' t know who to call to have it fixed? Well, call your friendly duty A gang, and he ' ll fix you right up. A Division personnel maintain the ship ' s vital auxiliary equipment in working order, they make the fresh water we drink, chilled water to cool our compartments and steam to heat the ship when we ' re in colder waters. They maintain our environment at the pleasant level we ' re all used to. 53 R DIVISION 4 HT1 Gibson, HTFN Koecke, HT2 Shipley, HT Walker, HTFA Case, HTFA Ingram, HT1 Williamsi HTC Baldwin (FRONT ROW) HT3 Ecle, HTFA Richardson, HT2 Essenmacher, HT3 LeGault, HTI Schaf. The Hull Tec ' s of R Division have been called the nbers of KISKA, but in reality they are much more. Hull ' s have not only replaced the old Shipfitter rating, but ) the ratings of Damage Controlmen, Welder and a few 3rs, making the HT rate one of the most flexible in the le Navy. From welding the steel plates of the hull to !ing out a shipboard fire the HT ' s have to know it and w it well. One mistake could cost a life or the life of the ), they are more like a seagoing Mr. Fix-It than a nber. M DIVISION MMFA Nazworth, MMFm Georgi, MMFA Duleck, MM2 Austria, MMFA Keister, MR2 Genua, MMFA Harden, MR3 Druelinger, MMFA Falconer, MM3 Ogella, MMFA Shadoan (FRONT ROW) MMCM Wright, MM3 Hinton, MMFN Fugate, MM3 Smith, MRFA Dizon. 29,000 miles, more than a trip around the globe, that ' s how many miles the main engines of M Division have driven KISKA this cruise. These Machinist Mates all know that shaft alley is not where Richard Roundtree hangs out, and futuristic control consoles aren ' t only found on the set of Star Trek. Like everyone who works in the Main Engineering Space, or the hole as some call it, they are distinguished by their lack of tan and their sweaty clothes, and the fact that they don ' t get the recognition they deserve. While the rest of the crew goes on liberty, the engineers can be found steaming the plant in three sections. Give credit where credit is due, they got us there, and they got us back, and they ' ll get us there again if need be. The men of M Division make KISKA go. OPERATIONS I ' m hitting the rack. Give me a shout if that strange contact gets any closer! I 01 DIVISION 0S2 Gerard, OSSA Cowan, ETR3 Swedberg, OSSN Brand (FRONT ROW) OSSN Jenkins, OSSN Armijo, 0S3 Kuhn. Maintaining and operating the advanced electronic equipment on board demands a special breed of sailor, one with tremendous technical knowledge combined with a large amount of practical experience which can only be obtained at sea. No one rate possesses this combined knowledge, and so Ol Division is composed of two, Operations Specialists, or Scope Dopes, who operate the equipment that allows the KISKA to steam across the Pacific to find the small island of Oahu; and Electronics Tec ' s or Twidgets, who fix the equipment when it breaks, and performs the routine maintainence that is supposed to keep it from breaking in the first place. I OC DIVISION RMSA Diver, SMSN Oton, SMSN Miller, SMSA Weaks, RMSN Peters, RMSN McCluskey, RMSN (Vinney) Valkenaar, (FRONT ROW) SMC Cardona, RMSA Ybarra, SM3 Johnson, RMSN Rapp, RMSN Pitkiewicz, SMC Shipman. Where do we go next, and what are we supposed to do when we get there . These are two very important questions which must be answered before we can ever put to sea. In today ' s modern Navy the watch word is Communications , and that is what the men of OC Division do. OC Division is divided into two group of men. The ones with the tan being the Signalmen, and those without are the Radiomen. Both groups communicate; SM ' s by the oldest water-borne method of semaphore and RM ' s by the most modern electronics. NAVIGATION 66 ' Working hand in hand with 01 and OC Divisions, Navigation personnel chart our course through both the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean and the narrow channels or straights from San Bernadi no, Philippines to San Francisco with exacting care. Along with piloting, writing logs, and manning the helm during unreps and sea details they are KISKA ' S weather guessers. Thanks to them all the new people are spared that dreaded illness of the sea, Mai d ' Mer, or sea sickness. The KIMS crew, CLOCKWISE on page 70 are J03 DAmato, Program Director and head banana, RM2 (EOD) Roberts, Anchorman and smooth talker, HM2 Mundell, Sports Director, and cream pie freak, GM62 (EOD) Nahitchvanski, Public ' Service and Information Director (also a smooth talker) and HM2 Mundell again after finishing another after the sports show pie . On page 72 we have IC3 Sheppard, SITE Repair Tec and nice guy, and finally, but not forgotten, LTJG Martin, Public Affairs Officer, and overseer. i) r KIMS TV KIMS TV and KTID Radio operate nightly bringing the crew a touch of home through situation comedies, the latest sporting events, and lots of information. Additionally, the staff airs a live half hour news, sports, weather and vitals program featuring such well known personalities as Doc Joe and Captain Ski of the High Seas to name a few. Through a wide variety of programming and music, KIMS KTID help those long nights at sea or inport duty days to slip by quickly. JAM You mt il.oJe ' wf SUPPLY Hey Cates, you sure you ordered the dogging wrenches from the new catalog? Bet that ' s the last time you ever say anything bad about Al ' s cooking! ™ k I H n S-l DIVISION SKSR Blum, SK3 Casiano, SN Snead, SN Moore, SK3 Moeck, (FRONT ROW) LT Gandola, SKC Poniente. All Navy ships require a large back supply of repair parts, office supplies, food, clothing and other items in need. S1 is tasked with keeping this inventory up to date and supplying needed goods to those who have a use for them. GSK is sometimes known as KISKA ' S underground department store. 1.7, ' .. M v J V 1 S-2 DIVISION MS2 Balantes, MSSA Oakley, MSSN Benson, MS2 Nye, MS2 Santiago, (FRONT ROW) MS2 Red, MS2 Cariaga, MS2 Ries, MS2 Almanzor, SA Harden. Keeping the crew and the officers fed and nourished is essential for good operation of the ship. To meet the needs of a constantly famished crew, S2 must plan and prepare 3 meals a day. ,;ai «____ rm SA Firestein breaks out eggs and sausage for breakfast. (ABOVE) MSC Acfallie and two of his messmen plot another meal. 80 z ==xu-W r ipfcjjf kj- I ' ■ 1 ( S S-3 DIVISION SHSN Salinas, SHSN Emery, SH3 Ellis (this time its right), SH3 Cato, SHSN Pollock, SH3 Ecle, (FRONT ROW) SA Parsons, SHSN Garcia, DK3 Merza, DK1 Hernandez, SH3 Adriatico. S-3 is the old S-3 and S-4 combined. S-3 now not only provides the essentials for living on a ship while at sea, but they also provide essentials for going on liberty; money. The ship ' s store always has its shelves stocked with the necessary personal hygiene items, as well as gifts and reading materials the library usually doesn ' t carry. The fountain carries a complete line of sardines in any kind of sauce one can think of, and all sorts of goodies that keep the Dental Tec ' s in business. When it comes to getting the money to spend on all this good stuff, the DK ' s of the KISKA help out. They prepare pay checks, start and stop allotments and give a hand explaining what all those questions on the tax form mean. J iJ uup i r ' h Ill 1 1 « i ' • « 8S III 66 ADMINISTRATION It works for Walt Disney too! X DIVISION LTJG Roberts, YN3 Lawrence, PC2 Stevenson, PNC Castro, (FRONT ROW) PN3 Green, YN3 Navarro. The office with stacks of paper up to your eyebrows and the sound of typing and subtle curses filtering from behind belongs to none other than our all time heroes, X Division. The PN ' s and YN ' s work all day and sometimes at night to get out the enormous amount of paperwork that is required for the running of the ship ' s affairs. They also keep all the request chits, and correspondence moving as well as weed through the service records of the crew keeping them clean, neat and well-pruned. POST OFFICE Neither rain, snow or sleep (which is rare in WESTPAC) deters PC2 Stevenson from his appointed rounds of the ship picking up all of our mail. Not only collecting, sorting and handing out the tons of mail we receive, PC also provides stamps, money orders and a soft shoulder to cry on when there ' s still no personal mail. MASTER-AT-ARMS The KISKA ' S Keystone Cops are the guys who roam the passageways turning off lights after taps for those of us who forget, and generally keep the ship a safe place to live and work. One of the less enjoyable jobs is following up on the report chits that eventually come to their attention. But the rewards out-weigh the faults as the MAA ' s go about their duties as ace crime stoppers. MAC Bleuel. MM2 Fields. MAA Mascot, GMG2 Reed, KISKA COMSWAT DECK Sooner or later, he ' s going to learn his knots! 1st DIVISION a © l «M (LEFT) SA Kimbrough, SA Anaya, SA ioltz, SA Montarsi, SA Vickroy, SN Pitcher, SA iray, (FRONT ROW) SN Hooper, SA Meyers, R Hughes, SA Booker, SA Richardson 30TTOM LEFT) SA Feltner, SA Greer, SA :asey, SA Atkinson, SR Martin, SA Hazlet, SA lamer, SA Huddin, SN Pippin, SA Kirkwood : RONT ROW) SN McDaniel, SA Firestine, SN est, SA Helton, SN Dockery, SN Akin, SN rink. UNREP all day and stand watches all night, lat is the job of the men in 1st Division, ctually that is just a small part of their job, ie large part is maintaining the 100 plus paces they own, which makes them the ship ' s irgest janitorial force. But their real glory omes when we are alongside another ship ansferring cargo, because it is the personnel f 1st Division who man the winch control tation and other parts of the rig. They are the nes who earn us the position of the best ervice ship afloat today. I 2nd DIVISION ' s mm L f [III - = — 1 SA Winkler, BM3 James. SA Martin, SN Jones, SA Heijn. It is one of the sad facts of life on an ammunition ship that we never seem to tie up to a pier. We always anchor out. The men of 2nd Division become very important at times like these, because they are the ones who drive the liberty boats for us. Second Division also stands watches while underway, maintains spaces in the after portion of the ship, and provides assistance to the replenishment stations when required. The relatively few men of 2nd Division occupy a very important place in the ship ' s organization. RASE (STREAM TEAM) ENS. Chrisostomo, FA Westmoreland, MM3 Sherry, FN Ramin, FN Olson, FA Love-Krooms, FN Murphy, BMSN Peterkin, FA Cornelius, EM3 Durlam, EM1 Simpson, (FRONT ROW) EMFN Morofsky, SR Blackburn, EM3 Gumaya, SA Hubrecht FR Cazenave, FN Jiminez. A 10 hour UNREP of the Midway followed by a six hour UNREP of some destroyers is not only hard on people, it is also hard on complicated equipment that is part of underway replenishment system. The maintainance of the winches, lines and various hydraulic systems is the responsibility of KISKA ' S Stream Team . Along with fixing the equipment as it breaks, the men of RASE Division also conduct daily System Operational Tests , or DSOT ' s, on all the replenishment stations, whether they have been used or not. It is only by the diligence of these men KISKA is able to be ready any time, any where, to transfer stores of ammo to the ship ' s in WESTPAC. REAM EAM } J BHcVI FOX DIVISION (UPPER LEFT) SA Fissette, SN Bates, SA McKinney, FTG2 Ondrak, SA Lang, SA Burger, CW03 Katschke, GMG2 Baum (FRONT ROW) SA Delille FTGSN Sugden, SN Cunningham, SN Jones, SA Myer, SA Roberts, FTGSN Thommason, SA Marler, SA Bonner, SA Neyhart, GMGSN Wallace. (LOWER RIGHT) GMGC Dobry, GMGSA Hicks, FTGSA Woodman, GMGSA Bennett, SA Hermens, GMG2 Skinner, GMGSA Miller, CW03 Katschke (FRONT ROW) GMG3 Kondroski, GMG3 Sjostrand, GMGSA Benedict, BMG3 Anderson, GMG2 Baum. - ' Who gets to stay on board after liberty call almost every day we are tied up to a Naval Magazine, off loading the cargo we have on board only to restock the shelves again before we pull out? The men of Fox Division, KISKA ' S bomb squad, that ' s who. Fox Division, the largest division on board, is not only responsible for all the ammunition on board, they are responsible for the magazines themselves, and the ship ' s 3750 Cal. guns and Fire Control Radar. And after all, when Bombs are your business is one of the motto ' s of the ship, then it is obvious that the people who handle them are among the most important. MEDICAL HM2 Baar, HM3 Sorenson, SN Acosla (FRONT ROW) HM2 Traylor HM2 Mundell. Thanks Doc! It ' s a small verbal reward enacted many times each day behind that hard-to-open door labeled Sick Bay ' . But it ' s one of the many that the Corpsmen receive. Mixing humor, tacky bedside manner and a whole lot of professionalism they go about each day holding sick call, ridding the mess decks of some enormous uninvited guests, and looking after shipboard cleanliness and habitability. Without such attention, those small hurts would stay big hurts in our minds and we ' d be constantly fighting to keep our food from being carried off by little beasties. « % Thanks bud, now the pain ' s smaller! AIR DEPARTME (FAR RIGHT) (left to right) ADJC Brown, AMH1 Barker, AE3 Creech, AZ1 Bermudez, AME3 Engelhardt, ADJ3 Lusardi, AMH3 McVey, ADJAN Carter, AT2 Gallagher (FRONT ROW) AMS1 Fortney, AKAA Lorio, ADJ2 Butterfield, AE2 Gregory. AIR DET OFFICERS . . . LT William Bogle, LTJG John Phillips, LT Alan Conrad, CW04 Alton Stapp, (FRONT ROW) LTJG Dennis Dolfie, LT Michael McQueeney, LT Dan Berkebile. Known as Boom - Boom - Bogle ' s Airlines the HC-3 Det on board the Kiska provided valuable services in a pinch. With the aid of the CH-46, they flew countless hours enabling our alongside time to be shortened. Of course with the work, there ' s play. During times of slack, they flew the crew around giving them an opportunity to get another view of the Kiska. Regardless of the situation BBB Airlines proved their worth with each day. E.O.D. GMG2 Nachitchvanski, LI2 Harris, RM2 Roberts. The Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team on board provides an important service to the ship in times of need. They are the ones tasked with disposal of weapons that are a threat to the safety of ship, whether damaged or just too old to be sure of. Although their services are seldom required, it ' s nice to know that there is someone who can take care of that pallet of bombs that just got dumped on the deck. The EOD team also lends a hand at other ship ' s functions. They were the mainstay of the nightly news program aired on SITE TV each night and also took part in the planning of the numerous raffles and parties. -I PARTING SHOTS 123 USN te . n HOME !!! MARCH 30, 1977 STAFF EDITOR J03 Joe Damalo SALES. ..GMG2 Dennis Reed PAO LTJG Dave Martin A special thanks to OS2 Gerard for the use of his equipment, and to Waldo Worm who kept me and the rest of the KIMS staff going when things got a little thick. Art work by J03 Joe Damato 1 i J 1 S j WALSWORTHWWW Cruise 3ook Sales Offices PU com? n?111 U3B Ingham Street-Suite i ...™ .,.l nr San Diego. California 92109 4 K