Renville (APA 227) - Naval Cruise Book

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, -x.t'v' - - ,up I Ii As we sailed from San Diego on 22 june 1964 there were undoubtedly several conceptions of the words cruise as it applied to our then forthcoming tour in the Far East. To some it meant the oppor- tunity to see new lands and new faces and to broaden, first hand, knowledge of the world on which we live. To more experienced hands who had been in West Pac before it was simply another job to be done. To the Amphibious Squadron we were relieving our arrival would mean the chance to stand down from the exacting combat readiness requirements of the wide -ranging Seventh Fleet and a return to a still alert, yet less rigorous, readiness posture in home port. To those we were leaving behind unquestionably the predominant thoughts were those of emptiness and apprehension as minds filled with the many prob- lems to be faced alone in subsequent months. Our cruise meant all those things, of course-but we sensed as we sailed, and subsequent events proved, that none of them connoted the true significance of our tour in West Pac. Most of us accept, at face value, the tenet that seapower is a. major constituent of our national strengths-military, political, scientific and economic-and that our freedom to use the seas is absolute- ly essential to the attainment of national security objectives. Yet we frequently err by defining sea- power in lofty or abstract terms, difficult to associate with our day to day efforts. From time to time, therefore, it is appropriate that we remind ourselves that seapower is, in fact, comprised of every day, real life men and ships: their potential and their accomplishments -and that we in RENVILLE are, in- deed, a quantum of seapower and, thus an instrument of national policy itself. The visible proof we furnished of the readiness, the resilience, and the staying power of the Navy- Marine corps Team by our record-shattering 67 consecutive day commitment off Viet Nam with a com- bat-loaded Battalion Landing Team reminded friend and foe alike that the omnipresence of United States Seapower must be reckoned with wherever the Free World is threatened. This and the other Sev- enth Fleet assignments we took in stride proved again, too, what we must never forget: that men- not machines -form the basic foundation on which seapower is built. A ship 's performance is measured in the competence, the skill , the dedication, and the diligence of her crew. RENVILLE could not fail because her crew prided themselves in seeing that she did not. I am highly privileged to have commanded this fine ship and her devoted crew during these momen- tous and significant months in our nation's history. May this cruise book faithfully record our pride and satisfaction with another job routinely well done. E 6

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DECK DEPARTMENT LT. GERALD A. HALL X MW - n NS,,,,,..,- I-v 'ix L Deck Department aboard the RENVTLLE has a multitude of i ,pup- WWW' vs: ln fact, our activities were conducted such a great number of times on Sunday that this axiom gradually developed: Through the arduous hours of our deployment, each man stead- fastly performed his job to the utmost of his ability. Each individual should be proud of his contribution to a deployment well executed and a job well done. sponsibilities. It maintains nearly all topside spaces and equipment, X all troop spaces, gun mounts, magazines, boats, and the ship 's sides. In addition, seamanship activities such as underway replenishment, anchoring and mooring, cargo handling and amphibious operations are accomplished either in whole of in part by Deck personnel. During this cruise to VVESTPAC, Deck Department has been called upon to perform each of the above functions on numerous occasions. i Operational commitments required the department to be on call any time of the day and any day of the Week. six DAYS A WEEK, DO ALL THoU ART ABLE, ON THE SABBATH, STRETCH THE HIGHLINE, AND SLUSH THE CABLL. EWO OGLEY