Rochester (CA 124) - Naval Cruise Book

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I I VICE ADMIRAL Alfred M. Pride n u I Born in Somerville, Mass., on September 10, 1897. uunAttended Tufts College Engineering School until he enlisted in the Navy in 1917. nu:After a year and a half as an enlisted man became a naval aviator With the rank of ensign. nllDuring the 1920's served abroad the USS ARIZONA, LANGLEY and the LEXINGTON. COMMA NDEB

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Maul W 12 X5 'RN

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-f .V Rochester Becomes Flagship For Third Time Since 1950 The ROCHESTER steamed to WestPac last Feb- ruary to become the flagship of Vice Admiral Alfred M. Pride, commander of the Seventh fleet, and his staff of 240 officers and men. It was the third time the three-starred flag of Commander, Seventh fleet had flown from the ship, and marked the second tour of Admiral Pride aboard the ROCHESTER. . . . . The admiral and his staff performed their assigned task of formulating the defense of the Formosan area aboard the ship from 3 March to 8 May, when they shifted to the USS ELDORADO. During this time, the ROCHESTER was not as much a cruiser at it was a floating office and base of operations for the staff. The ship had been torn up and reassembled to accomodate the avalanche of personnel and materiel which marked the staff's arrival. Ship's officers had to move to sickbay to accomodate staff oflicers. Ship's company men had to double up in living compartments to make room for the men attached to the staff. The duties of the staff were many. Operationally, they had to keep track of virtually every ship deployed in WestPac. Whether the problem was one of replenishing a Task Force or transporting Boy Scouts to Okinawa, it was the responsibility of Commander, Seventh Fleet to have the right ships at the right place. It was similar to a gigantic game of checkers, permitting ships to move from place to place in West Pac Without concentrating too many of one kind in one spot or spreading them out too thin. Granting yard availability and suf- ficient liberty and recreation to each ship were other problems which made operational planning difficult. Another responsibility of the Seventh Fleet staff was that of intelligence. It became necessary 'to know what was going on behind the bamboo curtain and evaluate it, so that proper American foreign policy might be formulated and so that the Seventh fleet, which was committed to the defense of For- mosan waters, might be better prepared to perform its function. A large part of the staff was comprised of com- munications personnel. The ROCHESTER's radios and other communications equipment were placed under direct control of the staff, and extra com- munications gear was installed to accomodate the heavy traffic which the staff brought with it. The communications requirement of an organization with such diversified and far-reaching interests was one of the greater changes wrought by the advent of the staff. Administratively, the staff performed many of the same duties as any ship's company. There were boatswain mates to coxswain the staff boats, yeomen to handle the vast correspondence required, per- sonnelmen to handle the men's records, photogra- phers and journalists to look after the publicity needs, and supply personnel to fulfill the logistic demands of the staff. Plans were made to rip up the ship months before the staff arrived and rebuild the office spaces which it required. For eight weeks at Long Beach Welders, painters, pipefitters, electronics specialists, carpenters, and many other yardworkers cut, chipped, chopped and burned the ship on almost every deck and then put it back together again according to plans and specifications received from the Seventh fleet staff early in the fall of 1954. The ROCHESTER emerged from the shipyard in late January, fully outfitted to take aboard the com- mander of America's strong right arm in the Pacific and his large staff. I I I Was Executive Officer of the SARATOGA when World War 11 broke out. I I IBecame the first skipper of newly com- missioned BELLEAU WOOD in March of 1943. I I IReceived a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon and his ship the Presidential Unit Citation. I I IAppointed Rear Admiral in March 1944 and given duty of Commander, Air Control Unit, Amphibious Force, Pacific. I I I Awarded Legion of Merit for his part in the planning, staging and execution of the assault and capture of Okinawa Shima. IIIPGGCG time commands include Carrier Divisions 2, 4, and 6, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Commander Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Md. I I I Assumed command of the Seventh Fleet with rank of Vice Admiral on December 1, 1953. SEVE TH FLEET