Ponchatoula (AO 148) - Naval Cruise Book

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ll h ll 0 ie it i l i i lol E m oy- iew dll s oi un- i 'll The ling all ol das 's QE.: secondary recovery ship for the Apollo 14 space mis- sion, and, following a two day stop-over in Pago Pago, American Samoa, returned to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard where she was converted to burn and carry' Navy Distillate fuel. In July 1971, PONCHATOULA departed on another Westpac deployment. After her return to Pearl Harbor, she participated in the recovery of the Apollo 16 moonship during which she carried NASA scientists and equipment for studying the capsules reentry. ln April 1972, she participated in the multi- nation Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise HRIMPAC 72 during which she operated with ships of the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian Navies. Her 1972-1973 deployment spanned more than seven months. PONCHATOULA supported Seventh Fleet operations during the final months of the Viet Nam war, and during the minesweeping operations that followed. In 1974, PONCHATOULA visited Guam for a six month, 954.5 million overhaul. ln lVlarch 1975, PONCHATOULA participated in another RIMPAC exercise with ships of the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian Navies. Since her commissioning, PONCHATOULA has proven herself to be reliable and efficient. She has been awarded the Square Knot award for Deck Seamanship for 1973 and 1975, and the Service Force E for Battle Efficiency for 1968, 1973, and 1975. The PONCHATOULA plaque was designed shortly after commissioning the ship. It symbolizes what the ship stands for and the ideals she fosters. The meaning of the various parts of the emblem are as follows: 111 The white chevron is symbolic of the higher concepts to which the ship aspires. l2jl The sky blue fields through which the chevron points upward is symbolic of the heavens which contain the guides of these ideals. Q31 The moon and stars are aids from the heavens to help in safe navigation on each cruise. l4l The symbol found in the UPPER LEFT hand corner is the symbol of the goddess Venus, and com- memorates PONCHATOULA's timely rescue of the Panamanian ship VENUS. As ever, she stands ready to perform even the most demanding operations.

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E .L,,p.'g'ps,-'f'..',:.g, ' 4... if Y.. , . . ,. , . 1 .gs -5. -....,:.,.. :,-K. XJZQ5.,-1 j.::4ji:,Ei5L5?:5fE535Ql5,::.5:.:?.T, Ty, ,ga :L-LL,-W 'W W W' - ,wmv ww 'r ' ' S-v-JM'-azz'-lL::.'rE:!:-...nfl-'lw:m4efm - l i 1 1 HlP'S HISTORY The USS PONCHATOULA CAO-148y was com- missioned the 12th day of January 1956 at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. The second Navy ship to bear the name, PONCHATOULA is named after a river, as are all U.S. Navy oilers. The Ponchatoula River flows through Tongipahoa Parish, Louisiana. Upon completion of acceptance trials and a shake-down cruise, PONCHATOULA sailed for her new homeport, Long Beach, California, via the Panama Canal in March 1956. PONCHATOULA wasted little time in embarking on a long career of service. In September 1956, PONCHATOULA rescued the floundering Panamanian ship SS VENUS off the coast of Japan by taking the ship in tow and clearing oncoming Typhoon Ivy. ln early 1958, PONCHATOULA's homeport was changed to Pearl Harbor. PONCHATOULA has participated in the Quemoy-Matsu Crisis 419585, operated in support of the Operation Dominic nuclear tests in the Christ- mas Islands l1962l, supported Seventh Fleet units in the South China Sea off the coast of Viet Nam and served as a space capsule recovery ship for projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. In November 1965, the ship spent ten days on a goodwill visit to Sydney, Australia where she par- ticipated in Exercise Warrior along with ships of the British, Australian, and New Zealand Navies. PONCHATOULA returned to Pearl Harbor in April 1967 from an eight month deployment to South East Asia where she again engaged in direct support of Seventh Fleet combat operations off the coast of Viet Nam and in the Gulf of Tonkin. The ship set a new Pacific Fleet record by bringing 503 ships alongside and refueling 464 of them. Over 50 million gallons of fuel and many tons of cargo were transfered to com- batant ships operating far from their bases. On her November 1967 to June 1968 deploy- ment, PONCHATOULA established another new record for volume of petroleum products delivered to customer ships, pumping over 74 million gallons of fuel through her replenishment hoses. She then un- derwent a five month, S3 million overhaul. An April visit to Kobe, Japan and EXPO '70 highlighted PONCHATOULA's 1970 deployment. The ship operated out of Sasebo conducting replenishments in the Sea of Japan for nearly half of her seven months in Westpac. ln February 1971, PONCHATOULA served as l l 1 I ' ' - - 4.1 tzlmqv., ,.,.,n!,, , U

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t..:..,s--if.E-MHfe-f:f-:,:1':-5.f-- E, . . . .. ,Wg GEORGE M 2:1 11 if X233 f C M-MANDIQ G X 435 J? E 1 vm fm S33 I , X 4 5 3 ff ,4 I f ffl , -5 4 . V, .. ?,MV,,, 7 f 512 , , QQ fix Z X r We? if 2 Captain Furlong, a native of Muskogee, Oklahoma, entered the Navy in December 1948 as a Naval Fleservist at Naval Air Facility, Memphis. Following study at Memphis State University and the University of Arkansas, he was ordered to active duty in the V-6 program in January 1951. Captain Furlong entered the Naval Academy in 1952 and, following graduation in June of 1956, entered flight training at Pensacola. After receiving his wings in July 1957, he participated in three West Pacific deployments on board the aircraft carriers USS SHANGRI-LA and USS HANCOCK while flying F-11A of V-121, VA-156, iand VF-111. Captain Furlong was next assigned to the U.S. Naval Post graduate School where, in June 1963, he received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. From June 1963 to June 1965, he served as Special Projects Pilot, F-4 Projects Officer, and F-111B Program Manager at the U.S. Naval Weapons Evalua- tion Facility at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. From 1965 to July 1967, he served as Aide and Flag Secretary to Commander Carrier Division Nine. Cap- tain Furlong joined VF-142 in January 1968, following F-4 refresher training, as Maintainance Officer and ' A SKI'-Kfsfzrnszsaa.-T'E'.. .EH':Z2:!:.'1. , H125 K.T. 'r'--.f.,- W. 1 .Y i ' V ,fi 'a ff, f Q fury . . V-in-x j QFFIGI-ER flew from the USS CONSTELLATION prior to being detached in December 1968. Following a short tour of duty as Special Assistant to Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet for Retention and Leadership Development, he rejoined VF-142 as Executive Of- ficer in May 1969. Upon completion of a West Pacific deployment aboard the USS CONSTELLATION, he assumed command of VF-142 in May 1970. ln May 1971, Captain Furlong reported to Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet for special duty as Fighter Training Officer prior to reporting to the Naval Nuclear Power School in August 1971. He was F-14 Project Manager for Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, from January 1972 to February 1973. He served as Commander of Attack Carrier Air Wing Fourteen, USS ENTERPRISE, from July 1973 to November 1974. Captain Furlong is a veteran of over 200 combai missions in Southeast Asia. He was the 1971 recipieni of the National Navy League John Paul Jones Award for inspirational leadership while serving as EXGCUUVS Officer and Commanding Officer of VF-142. '-'--- -' - -1 .r 'anna ---2--- far fr'-:-t . -- FU RLONG CAPTAIN, USN 1