Long Beach (CGN 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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Brazil, and Barbados. During October and November 1990. LONG BEACH added her impressive capabilities to the war against drugs by participating in counter narcotic operations off the coast of Central America and Columbia. While on station, LONG BEACH success- fully detected and tracked numerous targets of Com- mander Task Group 4.1 and Commander, Joint Task Force 4, significantly impeding the flow of illegal nar- cotics into the United States. LONG BEACH was commended by RADM Williams P. Leahy, USCG for providing air and surface detection monitoring which contributed to the interdiction of approximately 1.5 tons of cocaine abandoned at sea off the coast of Nicaragua. LONG BEACH got underway for her fourteenth Western Pacific deployment on May 28, 1991, taking station on the Persian Gulf on July 13, in support of U.N. sanctions against Iraq following the Gulf War. While transiting the San Bernadino Strait, enroute to her station in the Persian Gulf, LONG BEACH was called upon to aid in the evacuation of over 12,000 American military dependents from Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Station, following eruption of Mount Pinatubo and a series of earthquakes on the island of Luzon. Over the course of five days, in what the Navy termed OPERATION FIERY VIGIL, LONG BEACH evacuated over 1200 dependents to the island of Cebu, 500 miles away, where aircraft were waiting to return them to the United States. This book is to document this fourteenth Western Pacific deployment of this truly remarkable ship now in her thirty-first year of service to her country. THE SHIP ' S SEAL The ship ' s seal is representative of LONG BEACH ' S mission, summarizing it in the motto Strike Hard, Strike Home. The capability of LONG BEACH to Strike Hard, Strike Home is her missile systems, symbolized in the seal by the triple tridents. The missile systems are designed to operate offensive- ly against land, air, surface, and sub-surface threats, making LONG BEACH an effective tactical weapon. Combining this striking ability with the advantage of nuclear power for propulsion, further increases her effectiveness, by allowing virtually unlimited cruising ability. Nuclear power is represented in the seal by the sun. The anchor-carrying eagle stands for the sea power possessed by LONG BEACH, one of the most powerful ships in the surface fleet. The final symbol, the sea shell, is taken from the seal of the city of Long Beach, California, for whom the ship was named, and symbolizes all the qualities of adventure inherent in a sailor ' s life. The Navy ' s mis- sion of power projection, strength, combined with nuclear propulsion and the most advanced missile sys- tems, is exactly what USS LONG BEACH repre- sents.

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CAPTAIN WILLIAM R. BURNS, JR. COMMANDING OFFICER USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9) Captain William R. Burns, Jr. took command of the nuclear powered cruiser USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9) in November 1990. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, attended high school in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and graduated from the United States Naval Academy with the class of 1967. Upon commissioning, he was assigned as Weapons Offi- cer in the gunboat USS GALLUP (PG 85), a unit of the Market Time Forces in the Republic of Viet- nam. Subsequent sea duty included tours as Operations Officer in USS MEYERKORD (DE 1058); Com manding Officer, USS UTE (ATE 76); Main Propulsion Assistant in USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9); Executive Officer, USS ARKANSAS (CGN41); and Commanding Officer, USS BAGLEY (FF 1069). Captain Burns most recent assignment was as Chief Engineer in USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). Assignments ashore have included tours as Junior Officer Detailer in the Naval Military Personnel Command and as Nuclear Type Desk Officer on the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Captain Burns is a graduate of the Navy Nuclear Power School, the National War Col- lege and the John F. Kennedy School of Govern- ment at Harvard University, where he was awarded a Masters Degree in Public Administration. Captain Bums is authorized to wear the Meritori- ous Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with gold star, and various unit and campaign awards. Captain Burns is married to Catherine Ann Ballinger, a Lieutenant in the Navy ' s Civil Engineer Corps. He has a daughter Bobbi and a son William, who reside in Virginia.