Valdez (FF 1096) - Naval Cruise Book

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NAVAL , ' ,gfqs H'-Bi' 45 eos? .4- SV' , X Etc' I- 'R 1 4 gf os C' .v 6 4'lAN1iC f the cruiser-destroyer force of today has evolved from the first destroyer force which 'was established in 1919, and the pre-world war ll battleship-cruiser force. before these two forces were combined to form the cruiser-destroyer force, the cruisers and destroyers operated as separate entities, fighting side-by-side to preserve peace for america. in the years that followed world war ll and the korean conflict, it was becoming more obvious that the face of naval warfare was rapidly changing. to facilitate this change the cruiser-destroyer force, u.s. atlantic fleet was established on april 1, 1962, combining the atlantic destroyer force and atlantic cruiser force under the some command. cruiser-destroyer force, u.s. atlantic fleet lcrudeslantl is commanded by a senior rear admiral with headquarters in norfolk, virginia. rear admirals command the groups that are the second level in the crudeslant echelon. each group usually consists of a destroyer tender, a cruiser, and anywhere from two to four destroyer squadrons. a destroyer squadron typically consists of six to eight destroyers of a mixed variety and age. in short, a group can consists of as few as 14 or as many as 35 ships. today we are confronted by an expanding challenge to our traditional supremacy at sea-we are in a seapower struggle. seapower is the sum of a nation's capabilities to implement its interests in the ocean. it is usually understood that seapower consists of: lil naval power-our navyl marine corps team and the coast guard. l2l maritime industries, including the merchant marine, shipbuilding and living resources. l3l scientific and technological abilities in oceanography, including research vessels. the soviet union now possesses a modern, well-equipped navy. it is second in size only to our own. it has the largest submarine fleet in the world. and, the soviets have more than worships in their struggle with us for seapower. a growing merchant fleet, a global fishing fleet, and a fine oceanographic program that surpasses our own in size and scope. the soviets are quite serious about their obiective to surpass us in seapower. the naval power of seapower is measured by the ability of a nation's sea control forces. the maior force in the u.s. navy-concerned primarily with sea control-is the cruiser-destroyer force. with seventy per cent of the earth's surface covered by water, maintaining control of the seas is of paramount importance in order to remain a seapower. freedom of the seas for the last two centuries for all the nations of the world has been assured, with the exceptions of the two world wars, by the dominance of two seapowers: england, and then. the united S,iunag. 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N 'r 'fluum Xy 3 states. the mission, then, of comcrudeslant is the maintenance of the ships under his command in a state of training, material readiness, discipline, and morale, that will attain the highest possible degree of readiness for combat. in essence, comcrudeslant maintains the ships so the fleet commanders can operate them. . cruisers and destroyers serve many vital duties for the fleet commanders. among them are convoy and patrol duties, reconnaissance missions, coastal defense, shore bombardment, air defense, and anti-submarine warfare. they are also called upon to evacuate personnel from trouble spots and to help in time of national emergency. ships of the atlantic fleet cruiser-destroyer force are also employed in diplomatic and show-the flag roles in the world over. when trouble flares destroyers are invariably the first ship on the scene. the ships of the force and the proud, technically trained men who man them stand ready at all times to carry out their mission to ensure our nation maintains the naval portion of seapower. the maintenance of approximately 150 ships so they may effectively and efficiently assume their role-in sea control is, then, the primary mission of crudeslant. redesignated naval surface force on 1 iuly 1975. 7 destroyer squadron six destroyer squadron six was first organized in september 1920 and assigned to destroyer flotilla two, destroyer force u.s. pacific fleet, homeported in san diego, california. no commander was assigned since the three divisions of the squadron, consisting of seventeen destroyers, were either in reserve or under construction. in april 1930, captain a. staton became the first commander of destroyer squadron six and broke his flag in uss decatur ldd-341. a year later the squadron was dis-established but re-estab- lished in 1935 under captain i.h. ingram. early in 1941 the squadron moved to pearl harbor and was operating at sea in hawaiian waters when the iapanese attacked. throughout the war destroyer squadron six operated with elements of the u.s. pacific fleet including the carriers enterprise, hornet, and yorktown. she also participated in the battles of midway and leyte gulf and supported strikes against hollandia, iwo iimo, guam and okinawa. in early 1946 the squadron was transferred to the atlantic fleet and homeported in norfolk, virginia. three years later she deployed to sixth fleet in the mediterranean, the first of many deployments to that area. during the lebanon crisis in 1958, the squadron provided immediate surface and air cover for u.s. landing forces. subsequent operations have taken the squadron to iceland, northern europe and the caribbean with individual unit deployment of squadron ships to the western pacific for duty off vietnam. on 1 september 1959, the squadron was re-organized and her homeport shifted to charleston, south carolina. at this time, uss gyatt lddg-1l, the navy's first guided missile destroyer ioined the squadron. the re-organization of destroyer squadron six on 1 iuly 1969 changed the composition from a totally missile-ship squadron to one composed of three types of ships - a guided missile frigate, guided missile destroyers, and general purpose destroyers - whose missions are primarily anti-air and anit-sub- marine warfare. two other minor squadron re-organi- zations have taken place on 1 ianuary 1970 and on 1 ianuary 1971, but the basic composition of the squadron remains unchanged. These versatile men-of-war have demonstrated their capabilities in exercises and operations with the second, sixth, and seventh fleets, in the atlantic, pacific and indian oceans and in the mediterranean sea. while deployed, these units have in recent years contributed significantly to the navy's operations in cuba, cyprus, the dominican republic, the middle east and southeast asia. destroyer squadron six is assigned to the administrative command of commander cruiser-des- troyer force, u.s. atlantic fleet. the ships of destroyer squadron six take great pride in having consistently demonstrated the validity of the squadron motto primus-inter-pores - first among equaIs. the warm fuzzy philosophy prevails in valdez. in valdez our way of showing that we care is symbolized by a little puff of soft fur called a warm fuzzy. our warm fuzzy had its origin in a lovely once upon a time story about a hidden valley populated with happy people. they didn't have any tv, hamburger stands or golf courses, and they didn't know you had to have these things to be happy. the people of this happy valley gave each other warm fuzzies each time they met -- and this exchange always brought them happiness. it meant, simply, that they cared about one another. f one day a wicked old witch flew over the happy valley and saw all those people hugging and kissing each other. she thought, how ridiculous!...i'll ga down and show those people how to be like the rest ofthe world! so she flew down and started a rumor that there was going to be a shortage of warm fuzzies!!! being human, the people of the happy valley reacted like everyone else. they went home and hid their warm fuzzies in dark closets and began to avoid each other so they wouIdn't have to give away their warm fuzzies. soon, people began to mistrust one another, and fear, hate and loneliness came to the valley for the first time. the fuzziless months turned into fuzziless years and soon the happy valley became iust like the rest of the world, and they, too, gave electric coffee pots for wedding gifts instead of fuzzies. then one day a great-grandmother told her grandchildren about the good old days when everybody loved each other and gave each other warm fuzzies. the children got so excited about the idea that they went out and hunted up the few old warm fuzzies they could find and they began to give them to each other. when warm fuzzies are given away -- they multiply -- and soon the adults saw how happy the children were and they, too, began exchanging warm fuzzies. soon the valley returned to its original state where people loved and cared about each other.

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del valdez, uncle of the ship's namesake, chats with the nucleus crew during his visit to the shipyard. 4 A if , t zen A ,JJ 'Vim i 1 photo on right: '- nucleus crew with temporary t naval support activity new orleans, louisiana berthing uss w.c. lawe ldd-763l in background. the nucleus crew was made up of those personnel ordered directly to the avondale shipyards about three months prior to commissioning. this detail consisted of experienced personnel who assisted in the preparation of ship's manuals and records, witnessed tests of machinery and became familiar with the details of operating the ship and its equipment, and they began serving as on-the-iob instructors to the balance crew the day the ship arrived in charleston, 12 iuly 1974. roundtable discussion on human relations. checking in of balance crew. v, ,KM ..f.. assi nment for various phases of training. status board of expected arrivals. 9 firefighting school cleanliness . I i . H the balance crew consisted of nearly ninety percent of the ship's company. these men reported to the charleston naval station about 2'A months prior to commissioning for training. this portion of the crew was charged, under the prospec- tive executive officer, with developing a functioning ship's organization which would be operational at commissioning. most of the crew received training in such varied subiects as damage control, fire fighting, leadership and small arms.