Yosemite (AD 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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WE ARE MANY WE ARE ONE

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SHIPS HISTORY The presenT YOSEMITE, builT during The early days of World War ll, firsT saw service when she deparTed for Pearl Harbor via The Panama Canal in The summer of 49414. On AugusT 49, 49114, YOSEMITE arrived in Pearl Harbor and The USS CALDWELL moved alongside To become The firsT of 246 ships The YOSEMITE Tended dur- ing The nexT five monThs. The YOSEMITE nexT served aT EneTeTok AToll in The SouTh Pacific, where she serviced sixfeen ships in one five- day period alone. ln lvlarch, 4945, YOSEMITE moved on To The Caroline Islands, where she prepared desTroyers and escorT ships for The Allied assaulT on Okinawa. WiTh The war's end in 4945, The YOSEMITE became parT of The Navy's Task force in Japan and served aT Sa- sebo. ln 49416 YOSEMITE headed back for The UniTed STaTes and began service as an ATlanTic F-leeT Tender wiTh iTs assignmenf To NewporT, Rhode Island as homeporT. AfTer 23 years in NewporT, The YOSEMITE shifTed her homeporT To lvlay- porT, Florida in 4969, where she has been resi- denT Tender ever since. Though supporT ships like The YOSEMITE seldom geT The aTTenTion Their fighTing counTerparTs do, The YOSEMITE has had her share of honor and recogniTion over The years. ln 4946, she was named The flagship of Commander De- sTroyer Force, U.S. ATlanTic FleeT - a job held almosT conTinuously for The nexT 46 years. She served as flagship for The famous Admiral Ar- leigh Burke before he reporTed To WashingTon as Chief of Naval OperaTions in 4955. When The ATlanTic FleeT cruiser and desTroyer forces merged inTo a single Cruiser-DesTroyer Force, U.S. ATlanTic FleeT in 4962, YOSEMITE was named flagship of This combined force. She laTer served as The flagship for The com- manders of Cruiser-DesTroyer FloTillas TWO and,TWELVE. AfTer compleTing a sucessful five monTh lvledi- Terranean Deploymenf in June 4980, YOSEM- ITE received a well deserved resT and facelifT during, a-oneyear overhaul period aT The Ala- bama Dr'y'Dock and Shipbuilding Company in Mobile, Alabama',-,During This overhaul period, The YOSEMITE underwenT renovaTions To en- able-herfouprovide The mosT up-To-daTe re- pairservices foLTTl3e Navy's modern and in- creasingly complex desTroyers. 2 QC, ln April 4982, YOSEMITE welcomed aboard The firsT conTingenT of enlisTed women as a pan of The crew. Since Then, The number of female crewmembers has grown To include nearly every raTing presenT aboard YOSEMITE. ln 4983, The l'Busy Lady had a busy year. In January, while deployed To Tend ships in Nor- folk, Virginia, orders were received for her To make preparaTions for an Indian Ocean de- ploymenT scheduled for The fall. From Norfolk, YOSEMITE parTicipaTed in REDEX-83 in The Ca- ribbean and underwenT refresher Training aT The FleeT Training Group, C-uanTanamo Bay, Cuba. AfTer reTurning from GuanTanamo Bay, The YOSEMITE commenced pre-deploymenT workup and lefT for an indian Ocean deploy- menT on 9 SepTember 4983. She reTurned To lVlayporT on 24 March 4984. During June 4985, YOSEMITE again enTered an overhaul period aT The Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company in lVlobile, Alabama, To upgrade Engineering and Deck DeparTmenT areas To enable The llBusy Ladyf' To meeT The upcoming deploymenf schedule. ln February 4986, afTer a record-breaking' REFTRA conducTed in GuanTanamo Bay, Cuba, YOSEMITE once again reTurned To May- porT To begin preparaTions once more, for de- ploymenT. YOSEMITE began This Indian Ocean deploy- menT on 34 lvlarch 4986. She Travelled halfway around The world To provide repair services To ships proTecTing our inTeresTs There and in The surrounding areas. During This Time, The YOSEM- ITE refueled aT sea for The firsT Time in hisTory. YOSEMITE has been recognized for her hard work by being awarded The BaTTle Efficiency UE C4Th consecuTive awardy, Engineering E Q3rd consecuTive awardy, Green Communi- caTions Gold NDC Csixfh consecuTive awardy, and The FleeT SupporT Excellence and Navigafion and Deck Seamanship Award. The T'Busy Lady reTurned To lVlayporT, Florida in SepTember 4986, wiTh her head held high afTer complefing one of The mosT successful deploymenTs in her 42 proud years of service. I A