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NAVY BIRTHDAY-13 OCTOBER 1978 MAGAZINE OF THE U.S. NAVY - 56th YEAR OF PUBLICATION OCTOBER 1978 NUMBER 741

Features 4 NAVY4 DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM More and better dentalcare for Navy personnel

8 ADVANCED ENERGY UTILIZATION TEST BED A new project explores energy development and conservation ram 4 12LIFE THEIN LIGHT Coast Guardsmen at Thomas Point Lighthouse

SAILORS OF THE YEAR The "best in '78" are honored

SURVEYORS OF THE SEA A look at theNavy's charting of the seas ' 32 PHILLY'SSILENT NAVY Yesterday's ships await call to active service

SOLID SHIELD TESTS RAPID RESPONSE Navy and Marine Corps units joinin an amphibious-airborne exercise

uepartments Currents Grains of Salt Bearings Rights and Benefits Currents PCS Travel Entitlements Expanded 0 In the past,Navy personnel transferred to or from deployed units traveled at government expense directlyto their next duty station.If they needed to travel through their new homeport to set up house, or their old one to pack out, itwas done at their own expense. Not any more.As of Aug. 22, Navy personnel can travel at government expenseto or from a deployed unit through their homeport or permanent station on theway to their new duty as- signment. For example, a memberassigned to a ship homeported in Norfolk, Va., who executes PCS orders to Naples, Italy, while the ship is inport in Barcelona, Spain, may be authorized travel to Naples via Norfolk at govern- ment expense. The changeto the JointTravel Regulations corrects an inequity suffered by Navy men and women ordered to and from deployed units. Full details and implementing instructions are inNAVOP 98/78.

Navy Suggestion Program To Receive New Emphasis 0 “We have only scratched the surface” of possible returns from the Navy suggestion program, Secretary of the NavyW. Graham Claytor Jr. reported in ALNAV 40/78. He said FY 77 savings of $57 million were not up to theprogram’s potential. “We must take positive steps to effect measurable improvements in thesuggestion program now,” he stated. One of those steps is the creation of aNavy task force of military and civilian managers which will recommend ways to simplify the program. “This important program merits increased recognition, publicity and use at all echelons of command,” Secretary Claytor said.“I enjoin all commanding officers and heads of activities to stress the advantages of this vital program.” Details of the suggestion program are contained in SECNAVINST 1650.24A.

5.5 Percent Pay Increase Recommended By President 0 The President has proposed a 5.5 percent pay increase ef- fective Oct. 1 this year for military personnel andcivilians employed by the federal government. The proposal meansbasic pay, subsistence allowance and quarters allowance eachwill be increased 5.5 percent. The President said there would be no reallocation frombasic pay into the allowances. The 5.5 percent pay increase goesinto effect unless either the House or Senate disapprovesof the action before Oct. 1. According to law, the President must adjust the pay of military personnel and most federal government workers each yearto keep it comparable with pay of civilians in the private sector. An 8.4 percent increase would keep the pay of military and federal employees comparable, but the President proposed the 5.5 percent increase to help halt inflation.

Many “A” School Openings For Fleet Sailors Next FY 0 Although “A” school is designed primarily to train new recruits, more than 7,800 quotas are available during the upcoming fiscal year for Navy men and women already serving in the fleet. Those ratings with the highest number of quotas available to fleet personnel include: HM, AT, RM, AE, AD, OS, MS, ETN and ETR. Navy personnel desiring to apply for “A” school must meet the prerequisites outlined in the catalog Navy of train- ing courses (NAVEDTRA 10500). A complete breakdown of “A” school quotas available and application procedures are containedin BUPERS Notice 1510 of Aug. 28, 1978.

2 ALL HANDS SGLI Rates Reduced 0 Monthly premiums for Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI)have been reduced due inlarge part to a lowering mortality rate among service members. New rate for persons with $20,000 coverage is $3 per month; for $15,000, $2.25 per month; for $10,000, $1.50 per month; and for $5,000, $.75 per month. Old rates were $3.40, $2.55, $1.70 and $.85, respectively. The new rates are retroactive to July, andwill be reflected in the Leave and Earning Statements (LES).

Uniform Wear Test Status 0 The Navy is distributing jumper style blue uniformsto selected fleet units as wear testing of thenew uniforms continues. BUPERS also announced the Navy will no longer issue the service dress blue coat to recruits after Oct. 1. At that time, wear of the coat for paygrades E-1 through E-4 will become optional. Authorized seasonal uniforms for E-1 through E-4 after Oct. 1 will be winter blue, summer blue and summer white. Recruit issue of the jumper style uniform will begin on Oct. 1. 1980. Details of the change will be announced in an upcoming NAVOP. Wear testing of thewomen’s new winter blue, summer blue and summer white uniforms is complete and materials are being selected. Wear testing of thenew khaki uniform for female officers and CPOs, aswell as coveralls for all women, will be completed on Sept. 1. Khaki uniforms should be available through the Navy Exchange next spring. Introduction of the cover- alls will be announced after the results of thewear test are reviewed.

Stateside Furniture Delivery For Overseas Exchange Customers 0 Navy men and women stationed overseas who have PCS orders to the U.S. now can purchase American manufactured furniture through the Navy Exchange for delivery in the ContinentalU.S. at government expense. Under a new procedure called the Furniture Drop-ship Program, the furniture will be counted as part of the household goods shipment and will be charged against the weight allowance. The program lets Navy Ex- change customers special order furniture while attached to overseas duty stations, including Alaska and Hawaii. The Navy Exchange will ensure the furniture is shipped directly to thenew stateside address. Further information is available from the special order departments ofoverseas Navy Exchanges.

On-Duty High School Studies Program Available 0 The Navy has developed the Navy High School Studies Program (NHSSP) for Navy men and women assigned to afloat com- mands. It is an on-duty, fully funded education program designed to improve basic skills levels. Eligible personnel are those with skillslevels below the 12th grade in English grammar and composition, reading, mathematics and science who, in the opinion of their commanding officers, can benefit from the program. Contractors - Florida Junior College for the Atlantic Fleet and Central Texas College for the Pacific Fleet - will provide instructors and materials for group or individual study freeof charge to the student. Thepro- gram is administered by the Chief ofNaval Education and Trainingas an edu- cational opportunity under the Navy Campus for Achievement. Organization of classes is the same as that now used under the PACE program. Requests from fleet units for courses may be submitted by letter or message to the Navy Campus Area Coordinator at the appropriatenaval education and trainingsup- port center, Atlantic or Pacific, Shore commands can receive assistance in organizing their basic skills development classes from their assigned Navy Campus education specialists.

October 1978 3 Navy Dental Health Program

BY J02 DAVEY MAlTHEWS

The National Institute of Dental Re- Dr. Ulreyexplained. “Today, dental decide the severity of the malocclusion search estimates that 98 percent of all impairment accounts for about one-half and in a few selectcases surgical Americans have tooth decay, begin- of one percent of those rejected. We correction can beachieved while on ning at an early age. have studied the possibility of increas- active duty.” The average Navy recruitin 1974 ing entrance standards again, but with Dental standardsfor officers and had 5.4 decayed teeth. Nine hours of an All-Volunteer Force, the Navy can- thosegoing into specializedprograms dental care would have been necessary not afford to turn away an otherwise such as diving, aviation, nuclear or to treat the dental disease found in eligible person just because his or her submarine are higher. “It’s a matter of each recruit. To complete this task, it teeth may not be in thebest common sense,” Dr. Ulrey explained. would have taken over 40 percent of condition.” “There isn’t time in a junior officer’s theentire Dental Corps’ officer Only those who have a severe mal- schedule for extensive dental work. strength. occlusion (irregular contact of oppos- Submarines go on long patrols and “If we were to do everything that ing teeth in the upper and lower jaws) don’t have the facilities for dentalcare. was needed to be done to correct the or are wearingactive orthodontic ap- If a divercannot hold a breathing dental conditionsof recruits coming pliancessuch as braces are restricted apparatus in his mouth because of the into the Navy today, it would involve from entering the service. “Even those condition of his teeth, it’s obvious that many hours to complete the 29 differ- rulings are flexible to a certain extent,” he is not suited for that job.” ent dental procedures each recruit re- Dr. Ulrey said. “For the most part, it In boot camp, a recruit is screened quires,” said Captain R. D. Ulrey, is left up to the examining dentist to and immediate dental problems are Dc, USN, head of the Dental Corps professionalbranch. Dr. Ulrey based hisfigures on a survey conducted at Great Lakes in 1976. “It is no longer possibleto get every recruit in ClassI condition (requiring no further treatment) before he or she leaves boot camp,” he said. “We just don’t have the manpowerto do it.” Dentalhealth problems go back through theyears. At the start of WorldWar 11, therejection rate for dentaldefects was about 21 percent. “You can’t fight a war without people so they had to lower the dental stand- ards for entrance intothe military,”

Right: DT3 David Hiles assists dentistduring oral exam. (Photos taken atSun Diego Naval Regional Dental Clinicby pH2 Bob Weissleder.)

4 ALL HANDS cared for. If additional treatment needs don’t know how to brush or floss their wouldlike to give each active duty to be done, it is entered in his or her teeth,” Dr.Ulrey said. “Anytime we member an examination twice a year, dental record for completion atthe see a patient whose teeth are showing but wejust don’t have the manpower,” next duty station. The recruit also gets signs of neglect, we go over the pre- Dr. Ulrey explained. “We do conduct a lesson in preventive dentistrydne ventivedentistry routine again in an annual examinationsand encourage pa- that willbe reinforced throughout a attempt to reeducate their thinking-no tients to come in if a problem devel- naval career. matter if they have been in the Navy ops.” “Whenyou consider the condition six months or six years.” Computers may soon make it easier ofthese young people’s mouths, it’s Routinecheckups are an important to remind patients that theyshould not surprisingto discover that they partof preventive dentistry. “We have annual dental checkups. “Some- day we hope to feed all dental records into a computersystem,” he said. “Whenever an active duty member is due for an annual examination, a com- puterreadout card will be sentauto- matically to his or her command. It is similar tothe system used by our medical colleagues to inform members when they are due for certain inocula- tions. ’ ’ Althoughactive duty personnelre- ceive dental examinations before reen- listment or discharge from the service, it is their responsibility to make follow- up appointments. After leaving active duty, a personcan still have certain dental problems cared for by the Vet- erans Administration. Veterans whose dental conditions or disabilities are serviceconnected but not compensablemust apply to VA within one year afterdischarge or release from active duty. “For exam- ple, if you had teeth extracted during your last tour of duty, you could be fitted for a prosthetic appliance under the VA,” CAPT Ulrey explained. Veterans who meet one or more of the followingstipulations may apply for VA-funded dental care within a longer time frame:

Lefr: DT2 Vicki Bryce prepares anesthetic.

F

October 1978 5 0 Have a dental condition or disa- fying term was not felt until the lWs, plained. “They, too, are limited as to bility thatis service-connectedand when the number of retirees increased how many retirees they cantreat.” compensable. atan unprecedented rate andtheir CHAMPUS authorizesdental care 0 Have a dentalcondition that is demands for care began to exceed the for retirees and dependents only when service-connected, resulting from com- capabilitiesof military medical facili- itis a necessary part ofmedical or bat wounds or service injuries, but not ties. surgical treatment. That policymay compensable(includes prisoners of “There are 2.1 millionactive duty change.CHAMPUS officials are war); or members in the Department of Defense studying the feasibility of some type of 0 Havenonservice-connected den- anddental treatment capabilities are supplemental dentalcare program. talconditions that are determinedby based on that figure,” Dr. Ulrey said. Normally, routine dental carefor VA to be associated with or aggravat- “The problemis thatthere are 1.1 dependentsis available only at over- ing a serviceconnected condition. million retirees vying for a dental care seas or certain designated locations in “Also, disabled veterans training un- capability that just doesn’t exist.” the United States on a space-available der the VocationalRehabilitation Act As part of their training, reserve basis. “If itis an emergency,where who need dental treatment may apply dental units are providingdental care relief of pain is involved, a dependent forcare as needed,” Dr. Ulrey ex- to retirees where possible. “However, can go to any militarydental facility plained. “The program is rather com- these unitshave other commitments and receive treatment. We also provide plex and it’s best to check with a VA such as providing annual examinations dental services if a dependent is under counselor for more information if you forreservists,” CAPT Ulrey ex- a physician’s careand he (orshe) are about to leave the service or think you qualify for the dental care.’’ Manywho stay inthe service as- sume they will receive unlimited dental care when they retire. “I’m &aid it’s a rude awakening when they discover that’snot so,” he said.“Dental care for retirees is available but the amount and type of care fluctuate from clinic to clinic. We do provide treatment for them, but only on aspace-available basis.” First priority for care goes to active duty members; dependents and survi- vorsof active duty members (when care is authorized) are second; retirees andtheir dependents and survivors come last. This policy was established bya congressional act passed in 1956. It stated, in part, that retirees could ob- tain care in military facilities “. . . based upon the space and facilities and the capabilities ofthe medical and dental staff.” The impact of this quali-

Right: DT3 Antonito Bradley shapes prosthetic device.

6 ALL HANDS I certifies, along with a consulting den- coverevery need Navy men and ficershave accessto an advanced tist, thatdental care is a necessary part women .might have. “But we are ham- dental education program.” of treatment,” the doctor explained. pered by a steady decline in the num- Such specialty fields as endodontics, “For example,a dependent devel- ber of officers in the Dental Corps,” oral surgery, prosthodontics and perio- ops oral cancer and has surgery to Dr. .Ulrey said. dontics are open to Dental Corps offi- removeaffected tissue. If thereis a CaptainC. A. Brown,DC, who cers. In addition, a limited number of dental procedure that can aid the per- headsthe personnel branch of the dentists are given the opportunityto son after surgery, and we can provide dentaldivision, explains the problem. conduct research investigations. it, that dependent isentitled to use “Currently, we have 1,704 billets to “It’s an extensiveeducational pro- military facilities.” fill with only 1,634 dentists. If current gram-we are very proud of it,” Dr. The Navyalso has a program that trends continue, we will be short 50 or Ulrey said. takes care of the dental needs of active more dental officers by the end of this Enlisted dental technicians playa duty members serving away from treat- fiscal year and, perhaps, 300 or more vital role in assisting dental officers in ment facilities-i.e., recruiters, NROTC by FY 81.” their daily practice. members, or activeduty personnel Many factors are contributing to this Master Chief Dental Technician R. attached to reserve units.A civilian decline. When the draftended, the W. Mast, head of the Dental Techni- dentist is contracted to take care of the Navylost its primary source of den- cian section of the professional branch, essential needs of these people. tists. In 1977, the dental portion of the reports that the number of dental tech- Thedental health program tries to ArmedForces Health Profession nicians in the Navy is on the upswing ScholarshipProgram was suspended, “with full quotas at all theschools.” ending a vital source of quality person- In addition to the basic class “A” nel. school,six class “C” schools in four “In recruiting dentists, we have sev- specialties are available to dentd tech- eral negative factorswe mustdeal nicians during theircareers. with, includingan increase in the ‘‘We are relying more and more on amountof obligated service to three dentaltechnicians and we wantto yearsand a slowdownin promotion make sure they get all ‘the training we opportunities,” Dr. Brown said. can possiblygive them,” Dr.Ulrey “Weare concerned with thede- said. crease in the quantity of dentists, but From its inception, the Navy Dental what ismore important is that the Corps has grown in professional stand- maintenance of quality care may be ing in terms of more and better dental affected if we cannot attract and retain care, improved educational opportuni- highly qualified dentists. There are no ties and the ability to conduct research simple solutions, but one must be programs related to the clinical needs found.” of Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Dentists receive incentive or special Thereis optimism about the state of payunder a provisionof a law that the DentalCorps today thatstems expires this year. Congress is consid- from dual reasons; the steadily improv- ering a proposalwhich, if passed, ingcapabilities andthe people who would continue special,pay and bring .make it go. Theyare the single greatest it more in Jine with a civilian dentist’s reason for confidence in the Dental i.ncome. “Of .course, this would be an Corps’ ability to meet their responsibil- asset to recruitment and retention of ities today. There still are many prob- high quality dentists,” Dr. Ulrey ex- lems to be faced, butthe Navy is plained, “but there are many others to determinedto keep thequality-and consider.In addition to opportunities caring-in its dental care program. & for travel and no private practice ad- ministrative worries, Dental Corps of-

October 1978 7 Advanced Energy Uti1i;zatio.nTest Bed

As part of the Navy's overall pro- energy-saving devices,practices and formedinto a medicalfacility or a gram to develop new sources of energy techniques. In the end, CEL scientists typical familyhousing unit equipped and new conservationmethods, a will beable to determine which with hot and cold running water. unique project was started last year at sources or devices are best suited for Anotherunique feature of the test the Civil Engineering Laboratory at use by the Navy. bedis the adaptability of its energy- Port Hueneme, Calif. Ultimate goal is At thetest bed, both approaches consuming systems. They can be pow- to make the Navy more independent. may be tested simultaneously. Byin- ered by any ofthe three available of commercial energy sources. corporating new energy concepts, test- source-ommercial, solar and wind- Known asthe Advanced.Energy ing and applying them to Navy needs, or by any combination( Utilization Test Bed (AEUTB), itis CEL scientists hope toarrive at an By switching from onesource to the onlysite in the country designed ideal power source and method of use another, or by trying different combi- and built solely to monitor and evalu- for. any type ofbuilding used by the nations, Navy scientists can monitor ate energy efficiency. Navy today. Scientists at PortHueneme areat- The' AEUTB can be configured dif- tacking the problemof energy use fiom ferently. One day its 1,350 square feet of space can be arranged into office Below: The test bed with 10 solar collectors two angles-augmenting conventional on roof. Eight are used for heating and power sources (gas, oil, etc.) with solar spgces. By adjusting movable walls cooling; two arefor hot water. Photosby pH3 andor wind power, and incorporating and ceilings, the space can be tmns- Richard Homesly. and compare each source’s efficiency, scientistscan try both to fibd out programs, they plan to apply results of either individually or in conjunction accurately which is better. The ques- their studies in California toother with other sources or methods of con- tionsthey actually ask, however, are Navyareas involvingdifferent cli- servation. more complicated. Manywill take time mates. Scientists, for example, may ask, to answer. Becausethe project is still in the “Should we supplement a convention- Within five years, it is expected the research stage, few definitive answers ally powered heating system with a scientists will be able to fine-tune the have been forthcoming. This is not to solar.heating system, or will a solar systemsand integrations tosuch a .say there has not been significant prog- heating system combinedwith good point that the test bed will be as energy ress. The researchers haveinstalled insulation work just as well?Which self-sufficient as theycan possibly complicatedinstruments which, in will cost less?” With the AEUTB, the make it. With the aid of computer time, will tell them how much energy enters the AEUTB,-how much is used andwhere the remainder escapes. From that point,technicians can de- velop ways to reduce energy losses. When the research finallyis com- plete, the Civil Engineering Laboratory will make recommendationsto the Navy concerning the use of solar en- elgy, windpower, Cost-effective con- struction and lighting techniques, heat- ing and coolingsystems and control and monitoring devices. Hopefully, the findings will result in a large reduction in the Navy’s energy bill. Eventually, such savings couid be passed on for moremission-minded purposes to supply energy for use by Navy’s sea and air forces.J, Left: Technician John Curry checks flow meter and pressure gauge leading to solar heating system. Below: Engineer John Durlak takes reading off automatic data logger. Hourly readings record 20 channels of information.

I Above: Curry applies finishing touches to I’ insulation around 300-gallon hot water tank, heated by solar collectors mountedon roof directly above.

October 1978 Grains of Salt, Birth of the ‘figure-8’rope

BY LT TOM WESTERLIN:

There are. times, even in a techno- logicalworld, when the simplest ap- proach is the best. Today’s Navy, by the nature of its weaponry, is increas- ingly dependent.upon ever more so- phisticated control andinformational; systems. Nevertheless, simplicity became the watchword among a few of us who werewith Und.erwater De.molition Teams. on islands off Fort Pierce , Fla. , in World War II. Those were the early years of under- water demolition in the United States Navy. A few teams had. been trained and shipped out to. the Pacific theater. where they blasted through coral reefs andman-made obstacles to clear the way for landing craft.! In a typical UDT operation in those days, theteams disembarked from their ship at nightinto landing craft, which took them to within a mile or so off theenemy beach. There, they slippedinto rubber boats whichthey paddled to the reef or obstacles. The uniform of the day wasface mask, flippers, swim trunks, one or more20-pound backpacks of tetritol, Primacord to link the charges for one blast, and a sheath knife for chance encounters. One man was responsible for carrying-.pmcussion caps or deto- nators, safety fuse and fuse lighters, and waterproofing-usually a supply of rubber balloons. Setting and tying charges could take all night, so. it might be dawn when the last man pulled the hse lighter. The others had by then swum offshore a B- distance and were spaced out in a line to be taken aboard landing craft. This phase was tricky, for the enemy

10 ALL HANDS. would bealerted by theblast and to obey the frantic wigglingsof the ourboat. At other times,breakers would lob mortar shells at the retrieval switcheson the control boxand ran careened our craft to starboard, lifting boats.The boats werecomparatively amuck, abandoning its target and pur- the rope out of reach. easy targets because the coxswain had suing us, in themother boat, like a Over a supply of beer ashore, we to stop for each man and maneuver to lovesick but highly dangerous walrus. reconsidered.The pipe arrangement get him close alongside so he could be And, finally, as if to convince us had to go. Why not station a manin hauled aboard. At each stop the danger that Thoreau’sinjunction to simplify the bow of the rubber boat? Why not increasedbecause the enemy’srange should be our motto, we took part in a give him a splicedfigure-eight rope? improvedand there weremore men demonstration of mass bombing off the Any demo man is a lot more versatile aboard the boat. beachnorth of Fort Pierce, Fla. Our than a pile of pipe, we agreed. Theproblem was to find a way to role was passive, we were spectators; Next day wegave it a trial run. It get the men aboardthe landing craft but we were only a hundred yards or worked beautifully. Theexperiment and out of mortar range quickly.It was so off the beach, uncomfortably close was a success! I cannot reproduce the clear the men must be recovered while to the scores of bombs that soon would chorus of joyful profanity that rose the boats were under way. rain down from highflying planes. Our among us as body after glistening body Thisproblem was given to Ensign only consolation was that we were in was torn from the waves and dumped Wade Theye and me. We were tucked the midst of a small flotilla of landing into a churning mass of shouting men away in a segment of demolition called craft bearing more admirals and gener- fighting to get aboard our craft. research anddevelopment. We found als than we ever imagined the Allies Simplicity sounds suspiciouslylike ourselvescarrying scientists, military had on their roster. Surely, we prayed, common sense-in retrospect. But the brass and dignitaries in our small boat the bombardiers wouldn’t dare push figure-eight rope worked, and a version to observe exotic methods tried out to their buttons too soon. They didn’t. of it still does today. At the heart of it clearpassages through reefs and de- Thechaos ashore was deafening, all, simplicitywas our watchword in stroy obstacles. At the time, the Na- impressive, but not convincing, be- those early days of UDT. & zis-to ward off invasionsat the cause the bomb craters were as effec- beaches-wereringing Europe with tive as the stubbornly surviving horned homed scullies, steel railsimbedded scullies in making the beach impassa- underwater in concrete at angles guar- ble. anteed to disembowel landing craft. By the time we inherited the prob- We tested a cumbersome gadget- lem of retrieving swimmers, Wade and calledthe Reddy Fox-a longexplo- I werecynics about complexity in sive-fded tubewhich was secured to combat. Withmy boat crew-Smitty, the bowof a smallboat and pushed whose foghorn voice alerted all within

over a reef before being detonated. sight, Bone, skilled at wheel and throt- 6 Thetheory was fine but, in practice, tle, and our motor “mech” who read maneuvering a boat in breakers with a our diesel’s health by its pulse-we set 75- to100-foot tubestrung out like a to work. waterlogged bowsprit was next to im- For starters, we secured a five-man possible. rubberboat off theport side of the t At another time, we stood in water retrievalboat. Then we mounted a while various underwater charges were concoction of pipe and swivel onto a detonated at varying distances.The swinging arm on the gunwale. At the P. object was to determine human toler- outer end, we slung a bight of manila ances. Our prayer was to survive with line. The idea was for the swimmer to all our faculties unimpaired. grasp the bightand be swung aboard We dallied, too, withradio-con- by the boat’s momentum. trolled boats. Once, a drone, loaded It didn’t work. Sometimes the swim- with 8,000 pounds of tetritol, refused merswere slammed into the side of

October 1978 11 became a hazard to navigation.After about 15 to three feet or less. The light yearsof deliberation, the Lighthouse itself, with the original lens, is a 2% Board decided to move the light to the watt lightbulbwhich generates 6,000 tip of the shoal, about two miles into candle power and can be seen for 12 the bay. When the light was damaged miles. If the bulb fails-and no replace- in1877, the facilitywas temporarily ment isavailable-the 150-year-old moved back to the shore until the lens kerosene lantern iscalled back into could be repaired. service and allships in the area are In 1880, to guard against vibrations notifiedthat Thomas Point Light will damaging the lens again and to protect not be flashing at its normal six-second the house from the fury of the winter interval. sea, two piles of rocks were dumped Thomas Point Light also provides a next to the structure. Still, each Suc- radio beacon calibrating servicefor l cessivegeneration of keepers had to commercial and military vessels. a hackice from her screw pile stilts, Keepers’ duties arefairly cutand polish her lens andkeep their vigil dried. They report the weather condi- while awaiting their reliefs. tions in the bay to Coast Guard Station BY JO1 DAN WHEELER “I don’t suspect lighthouse duty-at Annapolis,which relays the informa- PHOTOS BY PH1 TERRY MITCHELL least at this light-has changed much tion to other shore stations, ships and overthe years,’’ saidCoast Guard radio stations. Keepers monitor the Late one winter night more than a FiremanApprentice Edward 0. Fos- movement of aids to navigationsuch centuryago, the Chesapeake Bay ter, one of four men stationed in the as buoysand they report changes in windsdied and the temperature hexagonal,wood-frame lighthouse. position.The traditional duties of plunged into the ’teens. The two men “Sure, technology has altered some of maintaining the light, ensuring it is on off watch awakened around first light ourprocedures, but we still stand during periods oflow visibility and tothe report of crackingice as it around-the-clock watches, report the operating the foghorn are also per- crawled over the shoal and splintered weather, are relieved every two weeks, formed. Simple though the duties are, intofloes. Screw piles and beams and get just as lonesome as the oldtim- they are invaluable. screaked their resistanceas the ice ers did.” TheCoast Guard acquired Thomas pushedand shoved its way past the So forget everything Hollywood has PointLight in 1939; it is one of 453 lighthouse and out to sea. produced about lighthouse duty: the theymaintain, 75 of whichare Ina wooden tower about 40 feet bespectacled old men with an affinity manned. The vast majorityof light- abovethe shoal, a brasskerosene forrocking chairs, curvedpipes and houses are automated for economical lantern and the French-madelens it sea stories. Forget the Hardy Boys and reasons.Thomas Point Light was served both shuddered and tumbled to their trips to haunted lighthouses and slated to be one of them before it was the deck. Monthspassed before the Three Skeleton Key with its man-eat- entered in the National Register of light shone again. Below the light, the ing Norwegian rats. Lighthouse duty is Historical Places by executive order in lone keeper on watch balanced himself not thrilling; keepers are no longer old 1975, virtually assuring that it will be on slippery beams andchipped ice men; there are no ghosts that moan on maintained in its original configuration from the frozen pilings. Icewas a soupy nights; and rats don’t scurry and and manned for as long as it stands. weighthazard that keeperslike sail- scratch fromdusk to dawn. “Wetry to maintain the original ors-were loathe to tolerate. Lighthouse duty is tedious and bor- look outside and inside, too, wherever Thefreeze of 1877 had set in. ing but necessary. practical,” said Boatswain’s Mate First Thomas Point Lighthouse was embed- Thomas Point Light’s main purpose Class R. C.Owens, the officer in ded in ice just as it has been at least is to be that proverbial “beacon in the charge. “However, I’m not 103 years once every wintersince it was built. night” which ships can use as a refer- old and I don’t want to cope with the Originally, the light had been placedon ence point in navigation. Of course, it inconveniences that 19th century keep- land(1825) and had served well until also marks thearea of the shoal- ers endured. Keeping the outsidein the shoal grew too far into the bay and shallow water rangingin depth from mint condition is OK, but I can’t see 12 I ALL HANDS Above: Located about two miles from shore, present fewproblems since the six- the Thomas Point Lighthousein the Chesapeake Bay has been a beaconin the inch-thick outer walls require a coat of night for more than a century. Lefr:FA paint onlyevery several years. Edward 0.Foster demonstrates oneof his And the paint glistens from upkeep. many duties-washing the dishes dirtied on his watch. The keepers see to that because 90 percent of theirdrinking water is restricting us to living conditions inside drained off the roof into four, 300- that are inferior. We have made a lot gallon storage tanks. of improvements inside such as install- “When we know it’s going to rain,” ing a modem kitchen, a trash compac- saidFireman Apprentice Donald tor, overhead heaters and toilet facili- Franklin,“we get all of our laundry ties-the outhouseis now used as a done, take normal showers, and other- paint locker.” wise use water freely so we can empty According to the executive order, thetanks to make room forfresh theCoast Guard can modernize the water.When it’s not raining, we all interior, but the exterior must remain work together to keep the gulls off the exactly as it was when built. Further, roof-we don’t want them messing up all outside work mustbe performed our water.” with hand tools. These restrictions Asunsanitary and primitive as it 13 ALL HANDS Left top: BMl R. C. Owens, the oflcer in charge, makes some a4ustmentsto the lighthouse equipment. Most of his day, however, is spent on paperwork necessary for supplies, maintenance and logs (below).Right top: FA Foster polishesthe glass lenses of the light whichmagnify the intensity of the 250-watt bulb, thus generating 6,000 candle power. week and goes home on Fridays via a regular Coast Guard run out of Station Annapolis. “I guess the most frightening expe- riencearound here iswhen it’s time for you to leave and Station Annapolis radios that theboat might notmake her run due to high seas, thick ice or mechanicaldifficulties,” Owens said. “I leave every weekend and stay on call, but the other men get so geaEd up to go home after two weeks of isolation that I don’t think most could face another day.” On thewhole, the duty is good. Each man is expected to clean up after himself,be sociable and do his job. ‘‘Anyone who was a mess at home and thinks he can be the same way out here won’t last long,”Owens said. “Sloppiness is the kind of thing that irritates people and we do everything possible to avoid irritants.” Over the years, the keepers have developed a systemfor minimizing

15 Clockwisefrom left: FAFoster puts thefinal touches on a plaque-polishingjob outside the light tower. The original dedication plaque is still legible qfter 103 years. It says: “ATLANTIC STEAM ENGINE WORKS BROOKLYN N. Y.1875.” Three times a week, weather permitting, a small boat comes to the light from the Coast Guard Station ashore to transfer personnel and bring needed supplies.

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16 ALL HANDS friction. Rotation schedules are set up pride and we get the credit. You’d be “My main reason is self-centered,” so that no man has to serve more than surprised at some of the work we’ve Foster said. “It would give us a change one week at a time with the same accomplished. For instance, welaid of scenery ifwe could have visitors. person (someone leaves for CA every newlinoleum in the kitchen and car- We’d get to see some new faces occa- Wednesday). Usually the midwatch peted the two bedrooms and the radio sionally and that would sure relieve the hasthe head and shower to himself room. When the water pipes wentbad, monotony.” betweenweather reports and rounds. we replaced them and installed the last Except for an occasional call from a And each manhas hobbies such as water storage tank. We did it all and passing ship asking for weather infor- weightlifting or building models to keep we’re proud of it. What we do we pass mation or that a message be relayed, him busy and out of everyone else’s on to the next keepers to make their the keepers have little to break the way. jobs a little easier.” day-to-day routine. Reveillegoes at “Mostimportant,” Foster said, Fire is always a hazard at sea and it 0700. At 0800, the mid-watch is re- ‘‘each manbrings his ownfood and is especiallyfeared in a wood-frame lieved, the day watch is set, andthe cooks it the way he likes. That way no housesitting two milesinto the bay. mid-watchgoes to bed. At 1130, sta- one can complain about the cooking or Thomas Point Light has 15 fire stations tion work is secured for lunch. At the menu. If thefood is lousy-and in the six-room structure and a smoke noon, the mid-watch is awakened and mine wasfor months-it’s yourown detector in every room. Just in case, a eats. At1230, it’s turn-to until 1600 fault. We haveplenty of cookbooks, small boat is kept secured on the lower when the day watch is secured and but no cooks .” deck and there is a wet suit for each knock-off sounded. At 2345, the mid- “If you comehere with the right man. “If worse came to worse,” Fos- watch is set. attitude,” Owens said, “thingswork ter said,“we could probably survive Actually, the dailyroutine is much out all right. We hardly ever have any onthe rocks or in the water until more lax than the schedule indicates. disagreementsamong ourselves, Annapolis could geta boat here.” If there is no work to be done, each though, from time to time, we all get There has never been a fire at the man, except the watch, has free time. depressed. When that happens, every- light, but there have been some “hel- In spite of the isolation, it’s “better onepitches in and tries to take the lacious” storms. “Once we got 6Gknot than shipboard duty,”Owens said. guy’s mind off home, his girl or what- winds from the southwest with five- or “The Coast Guard tries to send only ever is bothering him.” six-foot seas,” Owens said. “Suddenly volunteers and whenwe’ve finished In fact, Owens sees his job “as a the wind shifted and the waves began our 18 months we can usuallyname tool to help get things done.” He feels splashing on the main deck. The light our next billet.” thatit ishis responsibility to keep shook and I could feel each swell hit There is one hazard to lighthouse moralehigh and superviselighthouse us. This place is over 100-years-olcL duty that couldlend credence to the work. you begin to wonder how much it will stereotyped imageof keepers being “Let’s face it, being cooped up out take. hermits: “After a while,” Owens said, hereis hard on a man,especially “There was a cutter out there who “youget used to hearing only the during the winterwhen he can’t go radioed us to find out what was going sounds of the sea and little else. You outside to fish, swim, or take our small on. No matter which direction she beginto like the solitude andkeep boat to shore for mail and provisions,” headed in, the seas changed. That ship pretty much to yourself, even when Owens said. “I try to make things, as was tossingevery which way. It’s you go home. Sometimes, it makes it easy as possible.I don’t make busy frightening when you find yourself hard to readjust to being on shore.” work.When the men have finished wondering what would happenif a ship Others welcome the solitude. “It their jobs, they are free to do whatever was blown so far off course she ended givesme a chance to get away from they like. Each man knows what has up in your living room.” the hassles on shore and spend some to be done and he does it.” Save that happening, the light looks timewith myself,” Franklin said. There is plenty to do. Unlike a shore like she will stand forever. To a man, “When I’ve hadenough time. alone station or a ship, no maintenance de- the keepers would like to see the Coast andthings start gettingto mewhen partment is handyand it would take Guardcompletely restore it, outside I’m bored to tears-there is always the Group Baltimore a while to send in and in(with a few modem conven- week off just a few days away. I like experts. “So, we do it ourselves,” iences, of course), and make it into a that.”& Owenssaid. “That way we take the showplace.

October 1978 17 went. In Vilu Village, Fred Kona, went on to capture Henderson Airfield, Guaddcand Revisited owner of the open-air war museum, and to Bloody Ridge, where the Japa- excitedly shook each sailor’s hand as nese fought unsuccessfully to retake On July 7, the South Pacific island he said, “Hello, hello, all my friends. the airstrip. The parade grounds, also of Guadalcanal gained its independence All Americans my fiiends.” on that road, were the site of the after 85 years as a British protectorate. Many Navy men followed Honiara’s official ceremonies, attended by nu- USS Harold E. Holt (FF 1074) and dusty main road to Red Beach, where merous international delegations. USS Whipple (FF 1062) were there to 11,000 U.S. Marines made their first As the ships prepared to get under join in the celebration. amphibious landing of the war and way on July 8, islanders of all ages “I wish I could describe the electric- ity that shot through the crowd when our Navy honor guard marched onto the parade ground,” a Navy witness said. “The instant the American flag came into view, followed by white- helmeted, 12-man marching units from the ships, the crowd let go the loudest cheer of the morning.” Nearly 600 sailors streamed into the normally sleepy capital town of Hon- iara, Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Is- lands on July 5, to observe and partic- ipate in public dances, parades, beauty contests, receptions, sporting events and other independence day festivities. Many toured World War I1 battle sites still strewn with wreckage from the 1942 routing of the Japanese by Navy and Marine Corps units. Others visited out-of-the-way thatch-hut villages and

mingled with mingled islanders. -, .- Holt and Whipple crew members were warmly received wherever they

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18 ALL HANDS gathered silently at: thepier. They USS Schofeld (FFG 3), designated items appear to be the same as the day stood or sat motionless. The young as a test platform for the flame-spray, they were sprayed. stared at the warships; the old had isevaluating .the process. Over two TheNaval Sea SystemsCommand their eyes fmed not on Holt or Whip- hundreditems aboard the Schofeld, has approved continued funding for ple, but on the horizon over which from lifelines to diesel exhaust stacks, research and broader use. That means similar ships had come 36 years ago to were treated at DATC/FMAG. there may yet be hope for the sailors rid Guadalcanal of the enemy. Some of the crew were skeptical who have always claimed there had to Someone in the back of a pick-up about the new .process. They doubted be a better way. truck turned on a portable tap.e re- that the benefits were worth the work corder and the tinny,scratchy sound required to deliver, pick up and rein- of anoverplayed song marched stall items ,flame-sprayed at DATC. A Golden Year through the crowd. The titleof the But now, even the most skeptical are They call it the Midas touch-and cassette was“National Songs of the firm believers, and theenthusiastic Air Anti-Submarine Squadron 38 (VS- Solamon Islands.” crew is pursuingevery possibility for 38) seems to have it. First, they won Thesong was “The Marine’s -expanding the use of flame-spray. the Pacific Fleet’s 1977 Golden Anchor Hymn.”-JOl Rich Sylvester After over four months, Schofeld’s award for their retention program. On flame-sprayed parts have held up ex- top of that, they captured the Golden tremely well. The stem capstan, which Wrench-CNO’s Aircraft Maintenance Some Were Skeptical was sprayed with tungsten and alumi- Award for air anti-submarine squad- Used to be, when a youngfellow num,no longer requires maintenance rons. joinedthe Navy, heknew one thing aftereach use. Other high corrosion Anti-SubmarineSquadron 38 was certain until he made rate. Make achieved and maintained a higher av- that two things-chipping and painting. erage of operation readiness and “full Things may be different soon, even for systems capable” rates than any simi- sailors regularly assigned those duties, lar West Coast squadron to capture the thanks to flame-spraying, an altema- coveted award during theirfirst year of tive to chipping and painting as a way operating the highly complex S-3A Vik- to preserve metal. ing anti-submarineaircraft. They re- U.sing availabletechnology and ceived their first ai~taftin November equipment, expertsat the Develop- 1976 and completed squadron transi- ment and Training Center, Fleet Main- ,tion from S-2G aircraft to the Viking in tenance Group Pacific (DATC/FMAG) February 1977. in San Diego developed a step-by-step The squadron is stationed at North instruction for flame-sprayingalumi- Island Naval Air Station, Calif., and num onto cleanmetal. This process, deploys aboard USS Enterprise (CVN lang used in private industry, virtually 65). stops corrosion and eliminatesthe need to re-treatmetal continually by chip- ping and painting. TraPac’s Top Chief The flame-spray gun, similar to a Master Chief Storekeeper Margaret painter’s air brush,uses oxygen and I. ,Gramlich recently assumed the billet acetylene to melt an aluminum wire in of Command Master Chief€or the U.S. a small combustion chamber in the Pacific.Fleet Training Command gun. High pressureair propels the (ComTraPac),San Diego-the first meltedaluminum onto the surface of woman to fill one of 63 such billets in the receivingmetal. Theprocess is the Navy. quick and relatively easy for a person As Command Master Chief, Gram- who knows the procedure. lich will function primarily as -the prin-

October 1978 19 Bearinss cipal enlisted adviser to the com- LCDR Newton and LT Rowe, then mander. She is responsible for helping Awards for Bravery on exchange duty with the Royal Aus- to keep the command awareof existing tralian Navy, in Norwa, Australia, or potential situations, procedures and The Australian government recently cited for bravery two U.S. Navy offi- took immediate action on the night of practices which affect the welfare, cers whofought an aircraftfire at a Dec. 4, 1976, following an explosion in morale, job satisfaction and utilization Royal Australian Naval Air Station in a hangar containing 12 S2E Trucker of its enlisted members. aircraft and heavy equipment. They The 28-year veteran was attached to 1976. In a ceremony on the other side of directed the removal of some aircraft the staff of the Pacific Fleet’s Surface from the burning area of the hangar, Force before reporting to her present the world-at the U.S. Naval Station, Rota. SDain-Lieutenant Commander and then led fire teams in rescuing as I1

’ I William J. Newton was awardedthe many of the remaining planes as possi- Australian Bravery Medal. At another ble. Six of the burning Truckers, some ::- ceremony held at the AustralianEm- with fuel tanks exploding, were pushed bassy in Washington, D.C., Lieutenant out by hand. James F. Rowe was awarded the Aus- The commendations recognized the tralian Commendation for Bravery. LT leadership and courage exhibited by Rowe is now serving aboard the USS Newton and Rowe in fighting the dis- Kitty Hawk (CV 63)-see below. astrous hangar fire.

duty. Previous duty stations include U.S. Naval Forces, Europe, London; Naval Recruiting Station, Richmond, Va. ; and Eighth Naval District Head- quarters, New Orleans, La. Master Chief Gramlich considers her assignment to the Human Resources Detachment, Yokosuka, Japan, as one of her most interesting-and benefi- cial-duties.“Command Master Chief is basically a people-oriented job,” she explained. “My training with the Hu- man Resources Detachment provided good background in this field.”

20 ALL HANDS S.ailorsof the Year THE BEST IN '78 BY JOC DAN GUZMAN

Sailors of the Year (L to R): UTC Craig D. Bowles, ZSC James S. Girardin and YNC Robert A. Laskowski areflanked by CNO Admiral Thomas B. Haywardand Secretary of the Navy W. Graham Claytor Jr., presenting the awards.

October 1978 21 All hadbeen first class petty os- necessarily expecting something in re- of the reason for their selection as the cers; by virtue of theirselection to turn.” Navy’s best for 1978. Sailor of the Year, they received meri- Sailors of the Year and their families “Fromhere,” said Girardin, “I’m toriouspromotion to chief.They and are flown to Washington, D.C., where going back to a SEAL team where I’ll their families received five days of rest the men are formally named Sailors of get TAD orders to the Navy parachute and relaxation (R & R) at the location the Year by the Secretary of the Navy team out of Coronado.That’s our oftheir choice in thecontinental and the Chiefof Naval Operations. special warfare group’s personal re- United States. Theythen have an opportunity to cruiting team. “We represent the Navy but we also plug the specialwarfare group, UDT and SEALS. I feel I could do more for the Navy there. I was with them once before for a year and a half.” In addition to qualifying as a Navy SEAL and UDT operator, Girardin is a parachutist, diving supervisor, heli- copterrighappel master, helicopter swimmer dropmaster, and a photogra- pher. His qualifications include several other related specialties developed as a result of his extensive military training in at least 19 different schools. Numerousduties in thepast for Girardininclude three tours inViet- nam, a year in Thailand,assignment with SEAL Team Two in Puerto Rico, and being a member of the U. S. Navy Parachute Team (West). An expert ISC Girardin is congratulated by CNO as he is presented his Pacific Fleet Sailor of the Year certificate. skydiver, he represented the Navy in the 1973 WesternConference Para- Chief Intelligence Specialist James serve a ,year asassistant to their re- chuting Championship. S. Girardin: “Sailor of the Year is not spective Master Chief Petty Officer of Girardin elected San Antonio, Texas, something that you work toward. It is theFleet. The ShoreEstablishment for his five days of R & R to be with something that can happen if you do Sailor of the Year may choose to serve his parents in nearby Longview. your job as best you can with much with the Master Chief Petty Officer of as “I always wanted to be a yeoman,” dedication you can give it. I’ma theNaval Education and Training as saysLaskowski, “It’s a diversified careerNavy manand I justdon’t Command. rating and offers me the work I want. think youcan be a careerperson ChiefUtilitiesman Craig D. Bowles: I’min thepeople business. I like to unless youput everything youhave “Initiative!Always take the initiative! work with people, to helpthem out into yourgoalshigh,keepyour Keepjob.” up the when I can.” The Sailor of the Year Program was initiative, never say ‘die,’ and always established in1972 to recognize and have a‘can do’ attitude!” An important member of the Las- reward the Navy’s bestactive duty The three Sailors of the Year for kowskiNavy team is NormaLas- Navymen and women in paygrades 1978-Girardin for the PacificFleet- kowski, who believes that a Navy wife E-4 through E-6. from SEAL Team One, Amphibious should support her husband’s career Chief Yeoman RobertA Laskowski: Base, Coronado, Calif.; Laskowski for and the Navy. “I thought all along that I was just the Atlantic Fleet-from Naval Mobile “I think a Navy wife should give her doing my job. I never expected it. You Construction Battalion 74, Gulfport, husbandher complete support. She’s justdo your job and help out when Miss.; and Bowles for Shore Establish- the closest one to him and she would something out of the ordinary comes ment-from the NavalAir Station in be the one to believe in him more than along. Don’t do just what is required. Bermuda, follow the same code: initia- anyone else. My husbandreally gets Give a little extra, take the initiative. tive and dedication to one’s job and to involved in his work. If he’s going to Give that extra bit allthe time, not the Navy! This is without a doubt part do something, he’s going to do it right

22 ALL HANDS Campus) and is certified by the State ofCalifornia to teach freshman and sophomore high school workshop air- conditioning and refiigeration. “My wife really helped me a lot,” says Bowles, “I was gone six nights a k weekteaching and studying and she nevercomplained. She kept thekids busy while I studied at home and she stillfound time to typea lot ofmy papers for me.” Inher reply, perhaps Rose Bowles bestdemonstrated why thesethree men were able to accomplish theirjobs in such a way as to bring them to this high point in their careers: “The Navy I wife is very importantto her husband’s career and to the Navy. We’re a part of the Navy and I’m proud of it!” The Bowles also took the same R & Senator John Tower (R-Tex.), who is a chief petty officer in the Naval Reserve and a member of the Armed Services Committee, meets YNC Laskowski and his wife, Norma. R trip offered.Chief and Mrs. Las- kows ki . andget totally involved,” Mrs. Las- Thatis an understatement. Mrs. A 12-year veteran of the Naval Re- kowski said. Bowlesis Navy all the way and not serve, YeomanFirst Class Gustav J. “As Navy wives, we can help our hesitantsaying so. ‘‘I was so thrilled Stanglinewas named the Outstanding husbands and the Navy byknowing and proud when he brought the mes- Enlisted Naval Reservist for 1978 and and understanding his work and stand- sage home,”she said. “I told our was advanced to chief yeoman. ing by him,” she said. daughter, ‘Your daddy made chief!’ I Stangline, an instructor at Lackawana Pastduty stationsfor Laskowski was also very excited that he had been Junior College, Scranton,Pa., drills with includeduty aboard USS Charles selected as Sailor of the Year.” the AntillesDefense Command De- Berry (DE 1035), deployment with Na- Bowleshas his Associate of Arts tachment 104 atthe Naval Reserve valMobile Construction Battalion 74, Degree in Business Management from Center, Avoca, Pa. He hasan extensive Rota,Spain; Okinawa, Japan; and the University of Maryland (Bermuda record of youth and civic involvement.J, DiegoGarcia. Laskowski has earned Fleet Reserve Association National Financial Secretary Glenn F. Glezen presents UTC Bowles the NEC of Court Reporter and Legal and his wife, Rose, with a check to cover expenses for their Sailor of the Year trip to San Clerk, as well as the NEC of collateral Diego’s Sea World,the San Diego Zoo, Hollywood and Disneyland. duty Career Counselor. In addition, he R has completed several correspondence courses and schools and taken Spanish at the University of Maryland. The Laskowskis spent R & R visit- ing San Diego’s Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, a Hollywood movie studio and a full day at Disneyland. “I originallywanted to go into the aviation field,” said Bowles, “but, un- fortunately, I wascolorblind and the Navy offered me the Seabees instead. My father was in the Seabees during WorldWar 11, so I took it; I have neverregretted it. I enjoy the travel, the work, and the people. My wife enjoys this life also.”

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October 1978 23 SURVEYORS of the SEA BY RAY HAGEN Navy ships, wereproduced and dis- see, as1 around us, in more fi tributed to the operatingfleet during continental land masses. Ifyou mention hydrographic sur- ww II. A long-range objective in ocel ln sur- veys,the first step in chartingthe Our picture of the seafloor has been vey operations is to map the st :door seafloor,you’re not apt to fre one’s fded in with many details since those as accurately as earth land area:s have imaginationwith scenes of heavyac- WW I1 yearsprecipitated stepped-up beenmapped. On land, the tatsk has tion at sea. On the other hand, when a hydrographic survey collections in op- been accomplished with greater speed battlebegins, any Navy ship, even a erational areas of the fleet. However, than in the Ocean throughaeri; al and survey ship, is fair game for a piece of the sea covers nearly three-fourths of satellite photography. The ocean yields the action. the earth’s surface and there’s a stag- its secrets far more slowly. It wasn’t her normal duty that called gering volume of seafloor acreage that Light energy, imperative to c(mven- on the USS Sumner (AG32), during remains unsurveyed and largely un- tionalphotography, and electric :al en- the attack on Pearl Harbor, to be the known to the seafarer skimming over ergy, usedin radar sighting, dis ssipate first Navy ship to “survey” a Japanese water-covered valleys and peaks. much too rapidly in the oceans to be torpedo plane right out of the Sunday Aswith many other aspects of of any practical use for unde~water morning sky. Later, in 1945, crewmen knowledgeabout the sea andits ba- survey operations. of the Sumner (then AGS5)-sur- sins, the Navy led the way in develop- The mostreliable and widel) I used rounded by sniper fire-erected the ing survey technology and skills dedi- techniquefor determining b ottom firstsurvey signal tower on Mount cated to the collection of data needed depth and features is echo-soun (ding- Suribachi only threedays after the to see what lies beneath the surface of measuring the time for a sound signal Marinesraised the American flag on the oceans. Today’s survey efforts are to travel to the bottomand ret :urn to its summit. assisted byan exciting variety of ad- the surface-which easily trarlslates Throughout World War 11, Navy vancedtechnology that reliesheavily into distance or depth. Modern depth- survey ships often operated without on the use of underwater sound for sounding sonars can delineate tfle sea- escort, carried very little armament, drawing a picture of ocean depth and floor features in detailalong 21 wide and found themselves frequent targets seafloor features. swath, while thesurvey ships steam of enemy bombing runs. Sumner was Other advancements in ocean tech- along at speeds up to 12 knots. While bombed 40 times without being hit. nology enable us to get right down to this has significantly increased tlle data Theinformation she collected was so theseafloor, to eyeball underwater valuable to Navy operationsthat a cliffs,mountain ranges, valleys, USS Sumner (AG 32), whose exploits 1‘n the plane or a PT boat was dispatched trenches and an assortment of other South Pacific during World War II hel,ped provide invaluable chart information tcP the every week to pick it up so the data features that generally imitate what we peer, continues to map the“ ocean’s floor. wouldn’t be lost if the survey ship was sunk. The Sumner went into that war as the first Navy ship to be equipped with a 24-inch fdm camera, a 17- by 22-inch offsetlithographic press, and other equipmentneeded to produce charts aboardship. She surveyed waters around more than 50 Pacific islands stretching from Bora Bora-in the So- ciety Islands-to Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Morethan 200 charts,containing information collected from Pacific sur- veys conducted by Sumner and other

October 1978 25 collection rate, only a small part of the While the civilian crew operates the Such a combination is to schedule Ocean floorhas been adequately sur- ship,scientists and Navy personnel weather observations alongwith se- veyed and much remains to be done. conduct the surveys and make initial, lected oceanographic surveys.Thus, As the survey ship’s sonar beam on-the-spot evaluations of data coming acoustic properties of an area can be sweeps along the seafloor andthe echo in. Enlisted Navy men performingjobs investigatedat the same time as a returns to the ship, the signals are fed as electronictechnicians, quartermas- hydrographic survey is in progress, or into an automated system which ampli- ters, yeomen, data technicians, lithog- between hydrographic surveys while fies and processes the signals to oper- raphers, photographers, seamen, engi- transiting to a new area. ate a chart plotter. Lines representing neers and engineer’s aids serve as part Included among the personnel of the bottom depths in contours are drawn of the embarkedOceanographic Unit survey ship’s complement are geodetic by a moving stylus on the plotter as it (OCUNIT). Commanded by naval of- surveyteams and Navigation Aids responds to data comingin from the ficers, the OCUNITs work along with Support Teams (NAVAID). Their job sonar sweep. civilian scientists and technicians as is to set up and operate signal equip- Completedcharts from theauto- part of anintegrated element of the mentand geodetic control points for matic process provide a graphic illus- survey team. the electronic navigations networks. tration of thetopography of thesea- Most of the civilian scientists and Some of the geodetic survey teams floor surveyed. technicians workingin hydrographic consist of Navy, Marine Corps and Who are the peopleaboard survey surveysare employed by the Naval civilian personnel. ships that make these road maps of the OceanographicOffice. They divide Most of the Navy’s hydrographic oceans available? First, one must real- their time between sea and shore duty. survey work is conducted in waters off ize that the product of these surveys is Two of the coastal survey ships are the coasts of foreign countries. Agree- charts, rather thanmaps. In simplest equipped with small boats which Navy ments are made with other nations to terms, charts are what one works on people man as they take soundings in surveytheir harbors and coastal andmaps are whatone looks at. An water too shallow for the mother ship waters. Thisprovides the Navy with example of work on a chartis the to enter. They are equipped with sonar finished charts needed for operations plotting of a ship’s course inwhich andautomated systems that record and, at the same time, the host nation lines as well as other notations are exact positionsand depth soundings gains knowledge of its territorial waters drawndirectly onto the chart by the along the survey’s course. and harbors. ship’s navigator. Because of costs, the Navy tries to Charting the oceans is a task too big Personnelaboard the Navysurvey plan the most productive schedule by for one nation to attempt alone. Coop- ships represent a wide variety of skills, combining as many survey tasks as erative survey and charting operations ranging from shipbuilding to scientific possible during one voyage. among nations have existed for many interpretation of Ocean data during sur- vey operations. They all work together in a closelyknit seagoing community to produce the finished charts so es- sential to mariners. Navy survey ships are operated by the Military Sealift Command which is responsible for providing an efficiently functioning platform from which to conductthe survey. MSC ships are crewed withcivil servicepersonnel P with experienceequal to and even surpassingmerchant seafarers plying the seas in commercial ships all over the world’s Oceans.

Constantly adding to the store of oceanographic knowledge, Navy survey teams update hydrographic charts so essential to worki mariners:

L 26 years. A major center for exchange of hydrographicinformation since the turn of the century is the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), headquartered in Monaco. Established in 1901, the organization is made up of representatives from many nations. The IHO works to bringuniformity intoocean charting and to provide a central pointthrough which informa- tion essential to safety and economy of operations at sea canbe made easily . available to marinersworldwide. The United States regularly provides a rep-

The theodolite measures vertical and horizontal angles. Below: At the request of the Egyptian government, USS Harkness (T- AGS 32) surveys the approaches to the Suez Canal. resentative .to .theIHO and contributes .Pmgram (HARSAP). TheNavy pro- request from the .government of Egypt funding to support.its.operations. videsadvanced technology, survey for updated charts of the approaches The Navy’s combat fleet .is the larg- platformsand skilled personnel, and to.the ,Suez Canal. Oil tankers are est in the free world. and, because of the hostcountry provides a comple- gettingbigger and the Suez Canal is its operations, has a requirement for ment of its own people to work with not deep enough to safelyaccommo- chartingthe oceans throughout the and learn from the U.S. survey team. date them when they are myloaded. world. Since many maritime countries Whendesignated harbors havebeen A solution to the problem is to offload have few, if any, survey resources, the surveyed and charted, the information much of the oil at El Sokhna, the Gulf Navymust accomplish surveys itself becomes available bothto the host of Suezoil pipeline terminus. The to obtainthe vitally needed data- nation and to the United States. Cur- lightenedship then proceeds through otherwisethe workwould probably rently, 11 Central and South American the canal while the pipeline carries the not be done at all, or at least not for nations have participated in the HAR- offloadedoil north to the Mediterra- some years to come. SAP program and a twelfth will soon nean terminus where thetanker re- A fme example of cooperative chart- join them. loadsand proceeds to Mediterranean ing of coastal waters in foreignareas is Another cooperative survey being and North Atlantic delivery ports. that of the Harbor Survey Assistance conducted at thistime responds to a USNS Harkness (T-AGS 32), a modernNavy survey ship equipped with advancedsurvey and charting technology, is conductingthe survey in the approaches to the Suez Canal and will be engaged in ‘that project for the nextseveral months. Geodesy teams from Harkness are already set up along the shoreline and the survey is under way. A f~shedchart of any coastal area is not the end of the need for further survey.Coastlines and the seafloor itselfchange with time and dynamic actions within the earth’s crust. Those fundamental changes are further com- plicated by constant man-made changes such as sunken ships andother hazards to navigation. Although charts are periodically up- dated, weekly Notices to Mariners are published and distributed worldwide to provide the mostimmediate informa- tion. In the fmal analysis, there is a con- tribution to Navy hydrographic chart- ing from a variety of Navy skills and advanced Navy technology.While it may not strike the novice as front-line Navy action, the contribution is one of the most essential elements in keeping our fleetready for action intime of need. J.,

Geodetic survey teams, set up along the shoreline, receive supplies via helicopter.

ALL HANDS Henry the Navigator

BY JO1 (SS) PETE SUNDBERG

Duringearly times, as boats grew intoships, myths of thedark and DA INDIA unknown sea dominated the minds of ORIENTAL men. Some of the most learned were convincedthat the sea couldnot be navigated and that it was a dark and fearful realm of sea monsters, everlast- ing nights and boiling waters. Fortunately,there were also scien- titically minded and practical men who had the courage tosearch out and destroy those myths. One was Prince Henry ofPortugal, better known as Henry the Navigator. He was so well- versed in the nautical sciences that he trained others, designed new ships and planned voyages that spread his fame throughout the globe. Henrywas born in 1394 in Porto, Portugal; he first appears in history in 1415 when he wonknighthood in the Crusades by capturing the Moslem fortress of Ceuta, in Morocco, on the African coast oppositeGibraltar. For his victory, he was given the southern province of Portugal,the kingdom of Algawe. A passionately religious man,he believed in a legend concerning a pow- erful Christian kingdom ruled bya man named Prester John. Supposedly, this kingdom existed somewhere southeast of the Nile Valley. Henry was ob- and material. Thenhe assembled a headwaywhen it was foul. Her hull sessed with fmding a sea route around faculty of astronomers, mathematicians, had to be deep, yet shallow enough to Africa, outflanking the Arabs and join- cosmographers,chartmakers, ship de- operate safely among unknown shoals ing forces with this man. signers, master mariners and pilots. and reefs, and she had to have speed The search for thelegendary king- Henry's next concern was finding a and maneuverability. dom not only played an important role suitable ship.Until then, navigation Whether it was luck or sound judg- in Henry's life, but led to some of the consisted offollowing known coast- ment, Henry found a ship that met his most important maritime discoveriesof lines. He conceived the idea of sending basicneeds right there in Sagres-a the time.' a shipwhere no man had been lateen-riggedcaravel. Backed by the Henrywent tothe small port of before a ship large enough to survive best ship designing brains and the most Sagres, tucked under the cliffswhere the roughest seas, capable of support- skillful shipbuildershe could find, he Cape St. Vincent fronts theAtlantic ing a crewfor up to two years, yet redesigned the craft. In fact, during 40 Ocean. To accomplish his dream, small enough to be easily handled by years of work at Sagres, Henry contin- Henryknew he first had to improve that same crew even if weakenedby uouslydesigned and redesigned ships the methods of navigation. illness or reduced by death. and their rigging. First, he established a navigation His ship had to carry enough sail to Having solved the problem of ships, school at Sagres (the world's first) drive her at a reasonable speed when Henrythen faced the task of finding where he collected all available charts the wind was fair and also maintain a crews. Here again,he was lucky, or

October 1978 29 maybe just a littlemore perceptive served other interests only when they Forevery offense, Henry had a than other .organizers; he was able to coincided with hisown. punishment. A ship's clerk was liable choose his crewsfrom seamen of Henry was aware of the type of men to branding on the forehead, the loss Sagres. hehad to deal with, but he was of his right hand and the forfeiture of 'The average seaman wasclever with convinced that throughdiscipline he his.property if he willfully made a false his hands, a greatimproviser and could change them. He did. The Prince bookkeeping entry. A sailorwho fell tough. What he lacked in culture and made his ships and their crews the best asleep on watch was put on bread and social graces, he made up for by being disciplined the world had known and, water. If the offenseoccurred in en- shrewd. Not overscrupulous, he owed in.doing so, he changed the whole emy waters, he was stripped, flogged allegiance to fewmen. Generally, he .status of the seafaring profession. and ducked three times. If he were an

30 ALL HANDS I officer,he had a pail of waterflung not barriers but great highways for timewith a different crew. Whenhe over his head-not a bad punishment commerceand that sea powercould saw the water off the cape boil- as he unless you consider thatwater was also meanworld power,Henry was had seen previously-he sailed bravely veryunpopular in non-bathing times. ready to send his men to sea. on, skirting it. He discovered the boil- While vessels and crews were being In 1418, Henry ordered Joao Gon- ing water was caused by an ebb tide readied,,Henry’s men at Sagres calves Zarco, the first sea captain to racing over coastal shoals, and thus worked to improve charts, compasses use artillery on boarda ship, to sail the ended the foolish legends and supersti- andshipboard instruments. They also Western Ocean in search of new lands. tions concerning Cape Bojador. devisedastronomical tables. The first Zarcodeparted, but wasdriven off It had taken Henry 19 years to get statesman to realize that Oceans were course by a storm and came upon the his first ship past Cape BojadorAess island’of Port0 Santo. When he re- than a thousand miles fromSagres. turned in 1419, he informed Henry of Continuinghis explorations was his discovery.The following year costly. Most of the revenues of his Zarcowas sent back to the same province went into financing his voy- region and discovered another island, ages. From 1444 to 1446, for example, Madeira.Henry soon sent settlers to the Prince licensed30 voyages. colonize and farmthe island. Thecolonization of therich and On orders of the tirelessscientist- fertileislands of Madeiraand the prince,his sea captainscontinued to Azores, the discovery of gold dust on probethe ocean. New lands were theGuinea coast, the beginning of discovered, the west African coastline trade- all these provided new means wasexplored and, above all, new of finance. But all this also caused his methods of navigation were tried. captains to take more interest in turn- Although the discoveriesof Madeira, ing a profit than in making discoveries. and, later, the Azores were triumphs, To Henry, explorationwas the only Prince Henry considered it of second- thing. aryimportance within the overall And explorehe did. Cape Verdes framework ofhis projects. His sights was colonized and Henry’s small ships were seton what laybeyond Cape pushed on. They rounded the bulge of Bojador,southeast of theCanary Is- Africa, past Cape Palmas and east- lands. ward, past the Ivory Coast, Ghana, When the Navigator began his work, and still further. the African coast fronting the Atlantic Though he died in 1460 without had been explored from the Pillars of ever going tosea himself, Henry’s Hercules to Cape Bojador. According work continued on a grand scale. His to sailors’ tales, no one had penetrated seamenexplored and mapped the and returned from beyond that point. coastline of West Africa to a point Bojadorwas the limit, a mystical, beyond the River Gambia. His captains magicalpoint beyond which no mere became the best trained and most ex- mortal could pass. periencednavigators in Europe.Nau- Convincedthat the landsand seas tical science developed to such a de- he searched for really existed, Henry gree that it allowed the Portuguese to explained his calculations to one of his navigate without fear. captains, Gil Eannes.A vessel was All the Navigator’swork culmi- equipped and manned and Eannes was nated, finally, in a long-sought-after sent on the first of two attempts to goalachieved by others shortlyafter reach beyond Bojador. The first voy- his death- the Portuguese discovered agefailed-Eannes came in sight of the water route to India. The dream of thecape but his sailorsrefused to finding the mythical kingdom of Prester round it. Again, in 1434, Eannes sailed John went by the boards, a small price back tothe much-feared cape,this to pay for the riches of the Orient.

- Courtesy of National Geographic. I October 1978 31 PHILLY’S SI NAVY

BY PH1 TERRY MITCHELL forever at rest as they wait the call Without the crews to give them life, back to active service. their paint blisters, curls and finally They wait, in clusters of twos and Battlewagons, cruisers, carriers, tin peels off. No man-made noise disturbs threes, retaining their strength only in cans, subs, auxiliaries-they are the the silence ofthe passageways. numbers. Pigeons roost in hawse pipes ships of the Inactive Ships Facility Then a metallic click of a switch over missing hull numbers, painted out Detachment, at the Naval Base Phila- breaks the stillness. The whirring of a as if to conceal their embarrassment. delphia. For many of them, the only Below: Ships which saw action in World War Once they proudly sailed with the call is likely to be a wrecker’s yard, make UP part of the nation’s mothballfleet best of the world‘s fleets. Now they lie in this 1947 photo taken at the Philadelphia where they’ll be tom apart bit by bit. Naval Shipyard.

32 ALL HANDS fan gaining speed says the dehumidify- ing machines are on again. The dehum- idifiers are the first line of defense for the ships, now in their only war-the war against corrosion. Keeping the internal air at 30 percent relative hu- midity drastically reduces rust forma-

Lejt: Their hull numbers paintedout as if to conceal their embarrassment, the cruisers Newport News, Springfield and Northhampton have only the gentle lapping of the basin’s water against their sides to remind them of the sea.

Belolr~:The Wisconsin (center)und the Iowa (right), are ironically flanked by the Shangri- La, one of the carriers that made the battleship a weapon of the past. I

I tion. Boiler tubes, fire mains, compart- to a panel on the quarterdeck of the not unlike a camouflage scheme. ments, offices, gun mounts, voids and USS Everglades (AD 24). Cables snake across decks, diverge even some of the interiors of kingposts Selectedoffices and machinery into smaller wires and disappear over out on deck receive the dry air treat- spaces on the mothballed Everglades the side into the water. Connected to ment. serve as headquarters for the Philadel- underwater anodes near the hull, they Small, white Styrofoam balls dot the phia detachment. The rest of the ship are part of the cathodic protection bilges. The balls are actually the sim- is sealed and dehumidified like her network. The anodes’ minute electrical plest part of an elaborate warning sys- sister ships in the basin. current flow toward the hull, curtailing tem. Should the compartment flood, The appearance of the Everglades underwater corrosion. the balls would float and rotate to their isn’t much different from the rest of The days are a blur; occasionally a weighted side, tripping an internal mer- the ships. Sealant, long since oozed former crew member will come by and cury switch. and dry, covers every crack, hatch, try to capture a part of his past. He Heatsensitive cable is wound gun barrel, port hole and chink. It acts walks up and down the pier, squinting arounddehumidifying machines and as a barrier to the deadly moisture- at “his” ship to see if something is still active electrical panels to detect fire. laden air. Painting, done for preserva- there. As he walks away, he turns The flooding and fire warning systems tion and not for the sake of appear- around and looks back-one last time. on all mothballed ships are connected ance, results in a patchwork of grays The scene becomes silent once more. r Port of Call-New York

BY JOSN HOWARD SAMUELSON phibious assault ship. The tour route led crowds from the hangar bay up a steep vehicle ramp to the flight deck. It was the beginning of Independ- On theflight deck the visitors ence Day weekend as USS Saipan viewed a static display of three Marine (LHA 2) steamed into the mouth of helicopters (CH-53 Sea Stallion, CH- New York Harbor and slowly sailed 46 Sea Knight, AH-1J Sea Cobra) and up the channel. Saipan’s own UH-1H Iroquois. Saipan dipped her upper mast to Main attraction however, was an allow passage under the Verrazano- AV-8 Harrier, a jet which can lift-off, Narrows Bridge and then lifted it as a land and hover like a helicopter, but is passing greeting, as it were, to the able to fly more than 600 miles per Statue of Liberty. hour. With a successful month of battle- Special visitors-New YorkCity readiness training in Guantanamo Bay, Mayor Edward Koch, six of Radio Cuba, tucked under their ball caps, City Music Hall’s Rockettes and movie Saipan’s creweagerly anticipated actress GloriaSwanson-were given some well-deserved rest and relaxation guided tours of the ship’s medical, in New York. The Navy’s newest berthing and dining facilities. amphibious, assault helicopter carrier Late each afternoon, as the last of had been chosen as the Navy’s Inde- the visitors left the ship, the crew pendence Day representative for the members who missed the morning lib- New York City Harbor Festival. She erty call quickly prepared for their own was the city’s major attraction during visit to the city. In addition to the the holiday weekend. manyactivities the cityhad to offer, Saipan lowered her brow for general the US0 on Broadway, along with the visiting on July 2 and thousands of New York Naval Support Activity, tourists, in a line which extended for sponsored a dance for the crew at a several city blocks, entered her hangar local facility. deck. Although July 3 and Independ- On July 5 Saipan got underway for ence Day were rainy and cold, visitors the short voyage back to her homeport continued to visit the mammoth am- at Norfolk.

F

October 1978 37 Shield

BY LCDR JOE MANCIAS PHOTOS BY PH3 JAMES L. JONES

Atlantis, the legendary island in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar, stopped being legendary for Navy and Marine forces of the Atlantic Fleet when it became an assault area for 18 days last May. Atlantis, actually Camp Lejeune, N.C., wasthe focal point for the Atlantic Command’s amphibious and airborne operations in a joint service exercise named Solid Shield 78. Sailors in Atlantic Fleet ships and Marines of the Fourth Marine Amphibious Bri- gade responded to a simulated, but realistic, sequence of events designed to test command and control. Solid Shield also tested the rapidity of employing our forces in response to an international crisis. The situation-according to the ex- ercise’s scenario-that prompted our response came as Atlantis, deteriorat- tests rapid response

ing from terrorism and the guerilla rines, set up an integrated anti-subma- Evacuation procedures and the es-. warfare tactics by subversive agents of rinewarfare (ASW) screen. Using tablishment of a naval. quarantine/ an enemy country, requested help in LAMP§ helicopters, sonar, sonobuoys blockade also were employed as part accordance with our mutual defense and other ASW equipment, the task of the training exercise. Under the treaty. The military objective for Joint force detected an “enemy” submarine threat of a simulated wartime condi- Task Force 122 was to prevent enemy and kept it at bay. tion, evacuation of U.S. citizens was buildup of military supplies in Atlantis. At the same time, the task force also carried out. Concurrently, along a 300- This was accomplished by establishing had to defend against air attacks. The mile arc seaward of Atlantis, four de- control of seaward approaches, a tactic Kennedy’s radar and aircraft provided stroyers set up a quarantine. which prevented the enemy from cap- the early warning necessary to inter- According to CaptainG. M. Carter turing Stewart Island (Ft. Stewart, cept the incoming aircraft. Jr., Commander Destroyer Squadron Ga.). It also repelled enemy forces and In the amphibious operating area, 11 36, “You need three things to carry insurgents operating in Atlantis. ocean minesweepers kicked off the out an effective quarantine: aircraft, A reality during the exercise was the largest coordinated mine countermea- good ships’ radar,. and good communi- presence of a Soviet ship which moni- sures operation in recent years (see cation. ’’ tored various phases of Solid Shield. accompanying article). According to Since no enemy vessels transited the The joint service amphibious assault Captain Edward F. Jardine, Jr., Com- barrier set up by the destroyers, all went off on schedule, however, with a mander of MINEROW Twelve, Solid three commitments were met. smooth meshing of supply and troop Shield covered a broad spectrum of Early on May 21, Commander Task movements. mine countermeasures, fi-om traditional Force 124 passed the word to “land The USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), surface minesweeping to state-of-the- the landing force.” Flight quarters with six surface ships and two subma- art equipment and techniques. were sounded at 2:30 a.m. It was D- Day off Atlantis and the USS Guadal- canal (LPH 7) and USS Znchon (LPH 12) were ready. On the Guadalcanal, Commander John Thurston, operations officer, re- marked with the confidence born of fivesimilar exercises, “We’ve never gotten the feet of the Marines wet yet.” Visibility was the main concern of Captain A. W. Crandall, commanding officer of Guadalcanal. As it turned out, ground fog limited visibility to 1.5 miles but only two helos in the first wave momentarily couldn’t find their landing zones.

Far left. A. trailer is loaded aboard a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter on the flight deck of USS Guadalcanal, (LPH 7). Lefi: Marines board a CH-53 to take part in Solid Shield 78.

October 1978 39 L-~ For Commander David McCulloch, cosm of Navyand Marine Corps the ship’s air boss, timing was essen- activity throughout the operational tial. Then,, a pilot ready to launch forces. Sailors and Marines, using signaled for 1,500 pounds of fuel-a Solid Shield as a -practice exercise to request certain to delay the first wave sharpen personal. and fleet readiness, of helos. But tension quickly turned were a study in team cooperation. into relief when the fuel gang .reported Solid Shield proved that the ability of a faulty fuel gauge. On time, Marines the Navy to respond rapidly to any ran across the ship’s flight deck to the threat depends in great part on the turning helos. capabilities of our ships and personnel. As the exercise progressed, the As Solid Shield 78 came to a close, ship’s medical teams received their Vice Admiral Wesley L. McDonald, first simulated casualties. For Hospital CommanderJoint Task Force 122 on Corpsman Second Class John D. Win- boardUSS Mt. Whitney (LCC 20), chester, it marked the beginning of said, “Across the board, the air, sub- testing medical procedures proven to surface and surface responses by our have saved lives. forces showed outstanding and signifi- The work carried out with profes- cant efforts. I was very pleased with sional assurance on board the Guadal- thefull spectrum of trainingwe canal during the landing was a micro- achieved.” J,

c

Above: USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20). Top and bottom right: Scenes taken during Exercise Solid Shield.

40 ALL HANDS

”. ”. . . ’if ce BY LCDR JAMES A. McCLURE

“General Quarters. All hands man This submersible vehicle goes down to reserve component supported opera- their battle stations. take a closerlook at a mineand tions at the squadron’s headquarters in “Setmaterial condition zebra neutralizes it either by laying an explo- Charleston, S.C. throughout the ship. sive charge or by cutting the mine’s “Solid Shield confiis that the One- “Now set condition One Mike.” mooring cable. Navyconcept works-and works For the Reserve Force ocean min- In addition to the extensive surface well-in the mine force,” CAPT Jar- sweepers of Mine Squadron Twelve, mine countermeasuresoperations, dine said. Solid Shield was under way. MINERON Twelve units also coordi- The Reserve Force minesweepers In their traditional roleof leading the nated activities with a helicopter mine are commanded by active duty offi- fleet, the wooden ships escorted the countermeasures unit. cers. Each has an active duty comple- advance force command ship, USS “We could not have undertaken ment of three other officers and 36 Austin (LPD 4) to a safe anchorage in such an ambitious mine countermea- enlisted men. The reserve crews, de- the practice minefield. Seven mine- sures operation without the support of signed to bring the ships up to wartime sweepers streamed gear to sweep a 10- our reserve units,” Captain Edward F. manning levels, consist of an executive square-mile anchorage for the amphib- Jardine Jr., commander of MINERON officer, two other officers, and 44 en- ious assault fleet. Twelve, said. “The ships depend on listed men. Taking part in the three-day sweep their reserve crews to keep their watch “These ships have the same opera- were: USS Dash (MSO 428), USS sections up to strength, and reserve tional commitments as an active ship,” Detector (MSO 429), USS Exultant officersplay a keyrole in the com- CAPTJardine said. “By steaming (MSO 441), USS Fearless (MSO 442), mand and controlof the operation.” every reserve drill weekend-and very USS Impervious (MSO 449), USS Zn- Two reserve officers served with the often steaming with only the nucleus flict (MSO 456) and USS Exploit (MSO MINERON staff embarked in USS crew aboard-the minesweepers are 440). Theycleared 45 magnetic and Austin. Another reserve officer and meeting their commitments.” J, acoustic mines. They streamed a com- four enlisted reservists from the staffs bination sweep to simulateboth the

magnetic“signature” of a deep-draft # ship and the sound of its screws. Once the minefield had been swept, they laid buoys to mark the limits of the swept area. A separate minefield seeded with shallow-moored mines was the target of USS Affray (MSO 511) which used its mine-hunting sonar to locate and identify the mines. EODpersonnel, dropped by parachute, assisted the minesweepers. Farther out at sea, USS Adroit (MSO 509), USS Engage (MSO 433) and USS Fidelity (MSO 443) cleared mines from below the surface. Fidelity, the only active-duty minesweeper in- volved in the exercise, used an experi- mental mine neutralization vehicle.

October 1978 41 Rights & Benefits

0 Maturity-Maximum maturity of an FHA-insured Mortga.geInsurance Saves Cash mortgage is 35 years, orthree-fourths of the FHA estimate

42 ALL HANDS Navyfor the Buff BY JO1 DAN WHEELER

Hereagain, especially for those who are incurably On April15, 1942, Phelps was once again in action off hookedon nautical trivia, is another installment of FOR Guaddcaal. Fromthere, she steamed to the Coral Sea, THE NAVY BUFF. where, in May,it became necessary for her to sink the heavily damagedcamer Lexington. Q. Which American ship was responsible for sinkingthe FollowingCoral Sea, Phelps participatedin many actions heavily damaged USS Lexington (CV2) afer the Battle of in both the Atlantic and Pacific and was decommissioned the Coral Sea?Coral the on Nov.1945, 6, monthsa few afterJapanesesurren- the A. That sad task fell to USS Phelps (DD 360), named for dered. CivilWar Admiral Thomas Stowell Phelps and commis- sionedon Feb. 26, 1936. Q. In H.C. Christy’sfamous World War Z Navy recruiting Following Phelps’ shakedowncruise, she escorted USS poster bearingthe caption,“Gee!! Z wish Z werea man Indianapolis (CA 39, which carried-President Franklin D. . . . I’djoin the Navy,” who was the model? Roosevelt to the 1936 Inter-American Peace Conference in A. The 13-year-old model for the 1918 poster is today Mrs. Buenos Aim. ingrandmotherE. living Leroy a Finch, Centerport on Undergoing repair in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941,Long Island, New York. As ateenager, Mrs. Finch acted Phelps was under way in less than five hours and remained in movies and posed for several noted artists. on patrol and search missions until Jan. 31, 1942, when she Navy officials credited the Christy poster with attracting joined Task Force 11, built around Lexington. Constantly thousands of young men into the sea service. Perhaps some under attack, Phelps wascredited with helping destroy 16of the credit for theposter’s success rightlybelongs to enemy planes before returning to Pead Harbor.

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October 1978 43 have earned that appellation for Cape Hatteras. Alexander Hamilton, who sailed past the area while still a young man, was said to have dubbedthe area “Graveyard of the Atlantic” and, later, while Secretary of the Treasury, used his influence to have a lighthouse erected there. In recent times, due to modem navigational aids, consid- erably fewer casualtiesoccur near the cape, but,being open to the sea for more than 180 degrees, CapeHatteras is susceptible to severe storms with little warning.

Q. There has been much talk in recentyears about the “law of the sea.” When wm the first time that laws of the sea were actually compiled and observed? A. The first recorded law ofthe sea was called LexRhodia and all subsequent maritime jurisprudence is based, at least inpart, on this text written in Rhodesaround 500 B.C. Rhodes, an island situated at the crossroads of Mediterra- nean trade routes, was a nation of seafarers whose judgment in maritime matters was considered final. Though some of the laws enacted by the document have Navyrecruiters who addedto the poster’s challenge by beenlost through numerous transcriptions, most ofit is including the words “BE A MAN AND DO IT.” intact and considered so reliable that the British High Court The original poster was first presented to the battleship of Justice referred to it in a case tried near the end of the USS Texas and todayis on exhibitin the U.S. Naval 19th century-2,300 years afterLex Rhodia was written. Academy Museum. Q. Lighthouseshave always been important to safe Q. I’veoften read about and heard sailors talk about coastal navigation-when and where was the jrst light- “sailing the seven seas.” Whatare they? house erected? A. The expression“seven seas” dates to ancienttimes A. Around 280 B.C., Ptolemy I1 of Egypt erected a 400- and usually refers to the seas known to the Mohammedans foot-highmarble tower on a peninsulacalled Pharos of before the 1400s. “Seven” being a magical number thought Alexandria. That structurebecame the world’sfirst light- to indicate completeness, ancients thought their seven seas house and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The included all major bodies of water in the world. They were lighthouse, which became known as the Pharos of Alexan- theMediterranean Sea, Red Sea, East African Sea, West dria, acted as a point of reference for shipping during the African Sea, China Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. day and, at night, a fire in its top was a leading mark for Rudyard Kipling used the term “seven seas” as a title for ancient navigators. abook of poems and thus popularized the expression. Today, the seven seas generally are taken to mean the Q. On the ancient galleys propelled by sails and oars, how Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South many men did it take to man a single oar? Pacific, Indian and Antarctic Oceans. A. It dependedon the size of the oar. On the double TheInternational Hydrographic Bureau at Monacolists quinquereme Syracusa, built for PtolemyPhiladelphis of 54 seas in the world and some of the seas are seas within Alexandria around 250 B.C., there were 10 banks of oars seas. For instance, the Mediterranean,according tothe on each side-800 oars inall-manned by 2,000 men. bureau, contains seven seas within itself. (Single quinqueremes had five banks of oars.) The longest oars, 84 feet, were manned by four men simultaneously; the Q. Why is the Cape Hatteras area known as the “grave- shortest were 20 feetand manned by one. Syracusa is yard of ships”? A. Sudden storms, shiftingsandbars and strong currents

44 ALL HANDS believed to have been capable of carrying 4,000 troops in morethan two hours later, Titanic stoodperpendicular, addition to her rowers. Interestingly, no ship of this size is with her stem silhouetted against the North Atlantic sky, ever mentionedin ancient records of sea battles,leading and slid into theocean. Fifteen-hundred-and-two persons most historians to conclude that Syracusa-class ships were died in the iceberg-ship collision. simply showpieces built to enhance Alexandria’s prestige in the ancient world. Q. What is the fastest that a modern ship of considerable size has ever been built? Q. What are the Rules of Oleron? A. Tendays. She was the Liberty ship Joseph N. Teal, A. Around 1200 A.D., Richard the Lion-Hearted of Eng- constructed by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Port- land revised the Lex Rhodia (Rhodes’ law of the sea). Some land, Ore. major contributions to sea law listed in Richard’s Rules of Oleron are: owners, masters and merchants are warned not Q. What is the origin of the “Pledge of Allegiance to the to overload ships; valuableshad to be declared to the Flag”? captain or there could be no replacement or reimbursement A; Thewording of thepledge used today varies slightly in case of loss or damage at sea; ships anchored in port from the original written in 1892 in the office of The Youth’s were required to have the crew sleeping aboard; if a crew Companion magazinein Boston. It was firstused in the membermissed movement, he earnedno payuntil he publicschools in celebration of Columbus Day, Oct. 12, rejoined the ship; all crew members participating in a cruise 1892. had to vow to remain with the ship until the voyage’s end; Thepledge received official recognition by Congress in and captains were legally responsible for the safety of their an Act approved June 22, 1942. The phrase “under God” crews and admonished not to mistreat ship’s company. wasadded by a CongressionalAct on June 14,1954. At that time, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowersaid that “in Q. Whatwas the mostdestructive storm at sea ever this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious recorded? faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall A. No way of telling for sure, but one of the most constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever destructive occurred in 1703 in the English Channel. In 24 will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and hours, the English lost 150 merchantmen and 13 warships, war.” most of whichwere wrecked on the infamous Goodwin Sands. Q. Is ittrue that the national ensign flownfrom USS Missouri’s (BB 63) flagstaff during the formal Japanese Q. Whywere the 19th century “clippers” called by that surrender ending World War I1 was not her own, but a flag name? brought in especially for the occasion? A. By the mid-l850’s, steamships had come into their own A. Yes. It wasthe flag which flew over the Capitolin right and were able to attain respectable speeds while Washington the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. This same carrying heavy cargoes. Ifsailing ships were to compete, flagwas raised again on Dec. 8, 1941, when war was shipbuildershad to build bigger andfaster ships. The declared on Japan, and three days later at the time of the clippers wen designed to “clip” days off the time required declaration of war on Germany and Italy. President Roose- for voyages by earlier sailing ships, hence the name. velt called it the “flag of liberation” and carried it with him to the Casablanca Conference and on other historic occa- Q. When was the international distress signal “S.O.S.” sions.That very flag was the one whichflew from USS Jirst used? Missouri’s flagstaff on Sept. 2, 1945, the day Japan formally A. At about ten minutes past midnight on April 15, 1912, a surrendered to the Allies. wireless operator namedPhillips transmitted the official An even morehistoric flag was used in the Japanese “C.Q.D.”“Come Quick, Danger-followedby “MGY”- surrenderceremony than the onewhich flew from Mis- Titanic’s callsign. Next, the radio operator transmitted souri’s flagstaff.Fleet Admiral William F. Halseysecured “S.O.S.,” a newdistress signal never before used. Little the loan of a special flag for the event from the U.S. Naval

October 1978 45 Academy in Annapolis, Md., and used it as a backdrop for the ceremony’ssigning table. It was the flagflown by CommodoreMatthew C. Perry on hishistoric voyage to Japan in 1853 to open that nation to world trade. (Still another historicflag is the one which flew over Ped Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. It also flew above the United Nations Charter meeting at San Francisco and over the Big Three Conference at Potsdam. This flag was flying over the WhiteHouse on Aug. 14, 1945, the day Japan accepted surrender terms.)

Q. When were automatic dishwashers first used on Navy ships? A. Mess cooks on duty on USS Missouri (BB 11) in 1904 were, no doubt, jubilant when Paymaster George P. Dyer brought the first dishwashing machine aboard a Navy ship. Later, he also added the first automatic potato peeler, ice creammixer, and meat slicer. Thoseitems seemed like godsendsto overworked messmen at theturn of the century.

Q. I’ve heard that in the early days of the 20th century, “conductclasses” were held aboardNavy ships. What were they? A. In those days, conductclasses were in effectaboard Navy ships, but they weren’t classes in the sense of school call. According to a man’s conduct, he was rated special first class, first class, second class, thirdclass or fourth class. A man’s conduct rating affected the amount of shore liberty and the amount of pay he could draw. Special first class men were entitled to get liberty every day while in port; firstclass received liberty every other day; second class, twice a month; third class, once a month; and fourth class, once every three months. This system was a forerun- ner of the liberty card system.

Q. What was the purpose of therattan cane carried by boatswains in the “Old Navy”? A. Early boatswains were appointed by warrant and were among the more important men in the ships. The boatswain wasusually a grizzledold salt who wasn’ttimid about giving orders. He was assisted by his mates and carried a and radio technicians. Later, some radio technicians were silverboatswain’s call and rattan cane that identifiedhis transferred to the new sonarman rating. Before World War position. 11, there were 30-odd ratings; byVJ day there were nearly His call(the actual notes are called the pipe)was the 200 wartime categories. sailingship’s PA system, or IMC. It could be heard 120 Because there were so many jobs, the specialist ratings feet up in the rigging and down in the deepest, darkest hold. were established,and the famous Specialist (X) rating Hiscane was an instrument of persuasion which, it was eventually became the catchall for jobs which could not be said,“cured more scurvy than the doctor, made cripples fittedelsewhere into the rating structure. Therewere the take up their beds and walk, and made the lame skip and Specialist(PXVM) for V-Mail, theSpecialist (P)(MP) for run up the shrouds like monkeys.” Motion Picture Production, and Specialist (XXKP) for Key Punch Operator. Q. What is a Specialist (X)? Many of these ratings eventually were removed from the A. At the outbreak ofWorld War 11, the Navyhad so X ratingand became job specialties of today. One-the many new, emergency ratings that adjustments were neces- Specialist (X)(PI)-didn’t survive the transition. SPX(P1)s sary to meettechnological advances and the specialized werepigeon trainers and, appropriately,were assigned to needs of a Navy at war. Construction battalion ratings were the aviation branchof the Navy. added and various existing ratings were split into subspe- cialties. For instance, radiomenwere split into radiomen Q. Is it true thata Navy plane-nd not Lindbergh’s

ALL HANDS . .- =,X

Spiritof St. Louis-made the first solo, non-stop flight Q. USS Constitution has beenrestored and refurbished across the Atlantic? many times during the last 150 or so years. How much of A: No, not true. However, it was a Navy plane, the Navy the original ship still exists? flying boat NC-4, which was the first plane to complete a A. Today, only about eight percent of the original Consti- trans-Atlantic flight. She landed in Lisbon, Portugal, on tution still exists and much of that is the live oak which has May27, 1919, and continued on to Portsmouth, England, virtually held her together and made restoration possible. the entire trip taking less than 71 hours’ actual flying time. Though neither solo, nor non-stop, it was still quite a feat Q. Thefamous photograph of the flag-raising on Zwo for the early days ofaviation. Jima-was that the firstattempt to raiseour national ensign on Mount Suribachi? Q. Just out of curiosity, how much did it cost to build and A. OnFeb. 23, 1945, Marine Colonel Harry Liversedge outfit USS Constitution? sent a @man detachment fiom the 28th Marine Regiment A. On Oct. 21,1797, USS Constitution sliddown her to scale Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. The detachment was ways, just three years after her keel had been laid. Total attacked by Japanese survivors stillholding out on the cost of the ship, her guns and furnishings was $302,718. opposite side of the volcano and a fierce skirmish devel- We’ll leave itto the mathematicians and economists- oped. In the midst of the battle, a Marine lashed a small considering inflation anddollar value-to determine if American flag to a length of iron pipe and nised it. The Constitution wasactually considerably less expensive to flag, which the Marine had carried in his pocket, was too build and outfit than today’s modem destroyer. small to be seen from a distance.

October 1978 result of LT Allen’s accusations against Barron, Barron was court-martialed in 1808 for negligence and cowardice. Ac- quitted of the cowardice charge, Barron was convicted of negligence and suspended from duty for five years, during which time he served in the French navy. When Barron returned to the U.S. Navy, he found that he was denied command at sea and advancement in rank. Frustrated and bitter about the Leopard affair and what he consideredunwarranted stifling ofhis career, Barron ac- cused Commodore Decatur of leading the intrigue against him. Subsequently, Barron challenged Decatur to a duel in which Decatur was killed and Barron badly wounded. Barronrecovered from his woundsbut found himself universally condemned and an outcast. He was on inactive status in the Navy until his death in 1851. The one good thing that did come out of Barron’s duel with Decatur is that followingthe death of Decatur, the Navy outlawed dueling in the service.

Q. Is it true that commanding oflcers in the early days of Commodore Stephen Decatur steam had to pay for the coal used for ofjicial purposes on Navy vessels? Meanwhile, a larger flag was on its way up the mount; it A. Yes and no. Within one year following the Civil War, was the battle ensign from LST 779, beached near the base. the Navy was reduced from 626 vessels to a paltry 30. The A Marine carried it up the mountain and an AP photogra- ensuing 20 years are often referred to as the doldrums of pher,Joe Rosenthal, arrived just in time toshoot the the Navy. Most of its ironclads were scrapped or sold, and famouspicture of the second flag-raising on Iwo Jima. steamship captains were ordered to use sail power exclu- Three of the six Marines who raised it died in subsequent sively unless circumstances dictated the use of their ship’s fighting. steam engines. If, uponreturn to port, the Navy Depart- mentdidn’t agree that the useof the ship’sengines had Q. How large was the US.Navy, in terms of manpower, been justified, the commanding officer was charged for coal when WorldWar II ended? his ship had used. A. WhenWorld War I1 began, the Navy had a total manpower strength of about 750,000; the Marine Corps- Q. Why is it considered not nautical to whistle on Navy part of the Navy in time of wardbout 28,000. On Aug. 31, ships? 1945, the Navy had 316,675 maleofficers, 8,399 female A. There’s an old Navy saying:“Only damn fools and officers, 2,935,695 enlisted men, and 73,685 enlisted women; boatswain’s mates whistle.” Though Naval Regulations do the Marineshad 36,851 male officers, 813 female officers, not forbid whistling aboardships, it has always been 427,017 enlisted men, and17,350 enlisted women. considered unseamanlikeand contraryto tradition and custom to whistle while on duty at sea. So strong was this Q. What isthe story behindthe Decatur-Barron duel in admonition that some Navy officers even forbade it on which Decatur was mortally wounded? land, as in thecase of Captain W. W. Gilmer, naval A. The duel which was fought on March 22, 1820, between governor of Guam, who issued this order: “The practice of Commodore Stephen Decatur and Commodore James Bar- whistlingis an entirely unnecessary and irritating noise ron actually was precipitated by an event which occurred in which must bediscontinued.” 1807. Barron was the CO of Chesapeake. En route to the Authorities generally agree that whistling was originally Mediterranean, Chesapeake was stopped by the British forbiddenfor a goodreason. In sailing ships,it was frigate Leopard which demanded the return of several necessary to Emain as quiet about the decks as possible to alleged deserters fiom the British navy. Barron refused to hear orders above the sound of the wind, especially if comply and Leopard opened fire. The Americansailors sailors were aloft. Another reason for the prohibition wasto were thrown into confusion and Barron surrendered Ches- prevent a sailor from hearing a few notes of someone else’s apeake to prevent her destruction. tune, think it was fiom a bosun’s’call, and, consequently, Before Chesapeake struck her colom, Lieutenant William take action endangeringthe crew. H. Allen fired a single shot and protested the surrender of There were times, however, when whistling was allowed. Chesapeake without a fight. The British seized four sailors When a sailing vessel was becalmed, sailors were encour- and Chesapeake limpedinto Hampton Roads, severely aged to “whistle up a wind.” The theory was that whistling damaged. incited the wind gods and caused them to make the wind The impressment caused a public outcry and was one of blow. Once the sails began to billow, however, the order the more important events leading to the War of 1812. As a was immediately passed to “belay whistling” and turn-to.

‘48 ALL HANDS Stern Shots This is a month for naval "firsts." In the photographs below, see how many of the historical occasions you recognize. Each took place for the first time in October. We've made it easy by putting the photographs in chronological order,so name the naval ship as well as the event.

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