Trippe (FF 1075) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 19 text:

f -2? -,ai -wi! vt: I G' ' l - 7'?2,,,f,',, 55' ,fav V , K , . .. A .,,, ,ff.,, W .- yn -fxmgp, ry, A 4 ' 7-W:-W-E. H- of ff., .'l-'tit i ff ,Q ., . fl - -. , 1 Our visit to Rota was noteworthy for one predominant reason, it rained the whole time we were there. The visit was primarily a working one, with many ship's personnel receiving briefings on Mediterranean logistics and standard operating procedures. This first visit was only the first of three. Later visits allowed us time to explore Spain and join in the Spanish festivities, such as the running of the bulls festival. We did not stay long in Rota and early on 14 January we left on our way to the Med. That afternoon we passed through the straits of Gibraltar Cbetween the Rock of Gibraltar and the mountains of Moroccoj and were officially welcomed to the Mediterranean Sea. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The Rock of Gibraltar and Mount Abyla, across the Strait, were known to the ancients as the Pillars of Hercules and marked the end of the known world until the days of the Phoenicians. The two are geologically identical, but the rock differs from any other land on the Spanish side, lending credence to the legend that Hercules split apart the land bridge once connecting the two to open a route from the Mediterranean to the Island of Atlantis. During WWI and WWII, the Rock was used to control access to the Med.

Page 18 text:

4-Q Q: rv vu ' J., in -:- Q5 Vejer - Running of the Bull Toro Embolado fmksggw-iii :-!c'zQ-,xf-?f-a- -L 1-pLjZ'.cl717ixgQ'hlG52f. - ri is-me - . 235. wi M K- 'we v - Med Cruise Blues? Challenge the bull, receive 30 days convalescent leave. LTjg Hess says, Try it, you'll like it! il M, fam! ff-ff' if l hawk'

Page 20 text:

THE BUFFALO NEWS JANUARY 31, 1987 James J. Kilpatrick Navy s Message To Gadhafi IN THE MEDITERRANEAN The little town of Au gusta lies somewhat south of Catania on the east coast of Sicily Relatively speaking it is not even picturesque Apart from its petroleum refineries it has nothing much to recommend it to anyone but on a recent Tuesday it served a splendid purpose for Vice Adm Kendall Moranville He wanted to send a message Specifically the admiral wanted to send a message to Libya s Col Gadhafi It was a message no man could fail witness the climactic visit to Augusta. It was an over- ' ex erience. Whfehreqlgegrriee Kennedy, commanded by Capt. John A, Moriarty, is a floating city inhabited by 6,000 officers and enlisted men. By The end Of the Week, they were 6 000 weary men. Over a span of three days, while afrcraft were being launched and recovered, Moriarty managed to get four hours of sleep. He was not alone. His air boss Cmdr. H. R. Bourland of San Dlego, a 21 year veteran was as active So too were the hundreds of deck personnel who got the birds off and brought the pilots home Life on an aircraft carrier as tuned to an eerie or chestration to the rolling thunder of the catapults as they fling the plans off the stern to the rushing thump and whack of the steel cables as they snare the planes coming in It is dangerous work An aircraft shot from a catapult goes from zero to 170 miles per hour in 100 feet the process takes 1 5 seconds The returning plane comes in at speeds up to 150 miles per hour and shudders to a stop in one second This correspondent has now been catapulted once and landed once and it has done wonders for his morale but little for his di gestion to understand Toward that end Moranville put together two battle groups of the Sixth Fleet and a dozen sup porting ships and ordered them to rendezvous off Au gusta A little after noon on this particular Tuesday they all came steaming in Old timers in the fleet told me they could remember nothing quite like it since World War ll The ships formed into three columns each of them 10 miles long Moranville s flagship the guided missile cruiser Belknap headed the center column One by one the warships came out of a hazy horizon 35 ships in all silent as shadows slipping into port on a slate blue sea Moranville s purpose was to send a message not of a perception of power or an image of power but rather of the reality of power The anchorage at Augusta was part of a week of exhausting exercises by the two battle groups One group headed by the aircraft carrier Ken nedy was finishing its six month tour of duty the other group headed by the carrier Nimitz was just arriving Moranville wanted Gadhafl and the ever present Soviets to get a good long look at the U S Navy in action lt was impressive This correspondent had applied last autumn for permission to spend a week with the 6th Fleet The permission came through in time for me to Last weeks exercises saw the Kennedy operating around the clock Daylight operations are sufficiently complex Landing on a carrier by night is like finding a postage stamp in a parking lot There is not much deck in a vast deal of sea but the operations go smoothly Meanwhile below decks the unseen and unsung ac tivities go on Twenty thousand meals have to be pre pared every day there is laundry to be done and uni forms to be repaired the sick must be treated mail must be handled equipment must constantly be checked and replaced In some ways life on a ship of the line has changed little since the days of Lord Nelson Enlisted personnel Sleep whenever they can sleep deep in the bowels of the Shlp Their bunks are maybe 22 inches wide stacked three deep with perhaps a foot of headroom All of a sallor s worldly goods must be stowed in a tiny locker Pf'VeCY is unknown On an ordinary day a sailor works 12 hours plus four hours on watch DeSPl'fe the hardships the sea seems still to hold lt5 old allure The Navy continues to attract top flight re cruits who tolerate loneliness and thrive on danger lt s a proud service The taxpayers ought to be proud of it Universal Press Syndicate