Lynde McCormick (DDG 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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Captain C. W. CUMMINGS, Commander Destroyer Division ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO, and his staff of five officers and five enlisted men have been embarked in USS LYNDE MCCORMICK, Divi- sion Flag Ship, for the majority of the 1969 WestPac deployment. The flagship has actually served as a base of operations for the hard driving, flexible command. During the month of February, COM- DESDIV 172 was aboard the USS NEW JERSEY, invaluably assisting the battleship's commanding officer as CTU 70.8.9, coordinating gunline operations during the post TET offensive. Showing the flexi- bility so necessary in successful Naval operation, COMDESDIV 172 reacted swiftly in taking over the essential assignment of search and rescue coordinator aboard the cruiser USS CHICAGO in the course of the expeditionary forces sent to the Sea of Japan after the EC-121 incident in April. When TF-71 operations continued on a lesser scale in the months following, COMDESDIV 172 returned to the USS LYNDE MCCORMICK to coordinate the screening ships for USS ENTERPRISE and USS KITTY HAWK on defender station south of the TsuShima Straits. Individual members of the staff have served the division and allied forces in their professional specialized areas from engineering as- sistance, spiritual and moral guidance on division ships, to medical assistance on shore in South Viet Nam at Vung Tau and aboard the hospital ship USS REPOSE. It's been a very successful cruise, as it rightly should have been, when the best destroyer division command and best DDG in the fleet team up to fight for freedom in the Western Pacific. ' Supervising the empty brass offload Dining in Cairns. Doc Plunkett doin' his thing. Watcha reading, Chief? One of the staff functions.

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Captain C. W. Cummings Captain C. W. Cummings, U.S. Navy, a native of Porterville, California, assumed command of Destroyer Division ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO on 11 August 1967. He reported from duty as Commanding Officer, USS COONTZ CDLG-92. Subsequent to graduation from Porterville Union High School, he received two years of undergraduate study at Stanford University. Following Stanford he entered the United States Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1946. Previous sea experience includes billets aboard USS DULUTH fCL-872, USS GUNSTON HALL KLSD-51, USS MOUNT MCKINLEY IAGC-71, and USS BRADFORD KDD-5452, where he served in the Engineering Depart- ments, Weapons and Operations Department. He served as Executive Officer in USS BROWN CDD-5462 prior to attending the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. Following a tour on the staff of Commander- in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet he assumed command of USS CARPENTER CDD-8252. Captain Cummings attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. prior to as- suming command of USS COONTZ IDLG-91 on 14 August 1965. During his tour on COONTZ, he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V , the Navy Bronze Star, and the Republic of Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order. The Commodore busily working on the gun report. Relaxing in the pilot house.

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I 'hz ' f m? Front fl to rj LT Plunkett, LT Salerno, LT Pennington, LCDR Jackson, CDR Rowden, LT Holmes, LT Garmus, LTJG Warner, LTJG Forsythe. Second fl to rl ENS Tennant, LTJG Greer, CWO Stephenson, LTJG Gray, LTJG Kennedy, LTJG Buzhardt, ENS Slates, LTJG Corr, LTJG Grahn, LTJG Parker, LTJG Woodall, LTJG Cochran. A Naval Officer is an interesting sort of man. He can get through his spaces twice a day, plan next Weeks Work schedule, keep his pubs up to date, get 8 hours sleep, watch the movie in the Wardroom, and sign chits for a 812,000 servmart run - While spending 36 hours a day on watch. Although our operational assignments put a heavy strain on the members of the Wardroom, the officers were up to the challenge. For some it was their first cruise. Officers of the deck, Navigators, GLO's, Tactical Communicators, and Evaluators were all qualified quickly. The ' ' Old Salts assisted the ' ' Boots and with much Work and patience the officers operated as a team to organize and coordinate the many activities of Westpac '6'9. 1 P N N