Lake Champlain (CG 57) - Naval Cruise Book

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TIMELINE no not sqtiauder lime: for Ihal ' s ihe slufflifc is mack ' of. Lost lime is never foimd ctficiin. - Benjcimiu l-niiiL ' liii DEPART SAN DIEG KOREA ® © (D ©CD © (Z) H 9 10 11 12 @ © © © 17 18 19 20 21 © l( © @ l CHINA I THAILAND NEON FALCON. ARABIAN GAUNTLET EXERCISES

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H AW A I I • ' tf ' ' EARL R RBOR, HAWAII, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. JSS MISSOURI alongside USS ARIZONA, memorials to the Sailors of World War II. The Japanese fleet in Pearl Harbor? Nine ships were moored when we arrived. The lewest ships in thejapanese fleet, AEGIS destroyers. 65

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rm USE 2000 07 ianuary - 0 tuly 1 he sight of a earner battle group leaving San Diego Bay is not unusual but, when you are on one of those 2,rc warships heading west across the Pacific, whether it ' s your first cmise as a young fireman or ensign ir. II s your final deployment as an old Chief with over 20 years of sea stories, the anticipation and I n lety is certainly present. And, so it was when the USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, as a part of the JOHN .;. MHNNIS Battle Group, set sail on her last WESTPAC of the 20th Century. This deployment, our chief mission was Maritime Interdiction Operations(MIO) with the VBSS Teams . ' xcited to be assisting Seal TeamTliree. Improvements in satellite communications and the installation of IT2 1 enhanced Command and Control, as well as improved e-mail capabilities and allowed internet access. (The frequency of e-m.i .is so great that many didn ' t begin work until they, checked with theirwives and mommies . ) c liad a change of command, a visit from the MCPON and were the first guided missile cmiser to provide electricity a ' ficl otlu ser ices to a Los Angeles Class submarine. Other cruise memories . . . Hundreds of flight operations, frequent at-sea replenishments of fuel and food, numerous repairs and regular maintenance. Tlie whine of the turbines, standing the watch . . . the Blue Gold watch rotation, which improved quality lof life for most enlisted, being scrapped because of logistics problems (too many senior enlisted and officers couldn ' t adapt), JBreaking the monotony with video games, surfing the WEB, ' round the clock movies, watching direct feed Armed Forces Network TV - the frustration of pLxelated sports. The beard growing contests on the way to Korea and again when we left the Gulf for Australia. Relieving stress with weightlifting. Steel Beach picnics, tax-free pay, sleep; e-mail, e-mail, e-mail; crossing the line - twice. For those who joined the Navy to see the world , we made port calls in Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Bahrain, Dubai, Australia and Hawaii. We suffered the disappointment of losing the Battle E (despite higher scores) to a sister ship that ran aground in the Gulf - or was that a hshing cable ?!! We were awarded the Sea Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Fuel Conserva- tion Award, COMNAVSURFPAC Safety Award and, the highlight, the 1999 Spokane Trophy - the most prohcient Surface Combatant in the Pacific Fleet. ■We travelled over 32,000 miles in 178 days and returned home safely, in the words of Captain Guillory, with 10 fingers and 10 toes . The sight of a carrier battle group returning to San Diego is not an unusual sight but, when you are on one of those grey warships, sailing by Point Loma, manning the rails, passing under the Coronado Bay Bridge, pulling alongside the pier and trying to glimpse your loved ones as the ship moors - whether it ' s your first cruise or your last, the myriad of feelings is the same - excitement, joy and, most of all, pride . 2 3©® S @ 11 12 23 ( © i BAHRAIN 2 3 4 5® 9 10 (Q) © ® 4) y © @ ® ® @ 2| @ @ ( @ 8) @ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES MARITIME INTERDI CTION OPERATIONS © © © © © © @ 9 10 11 12 Q 14 l5 16 17 ® @ © @ @ AUSTRALIA (D 3 © 5 6 7 8