The Bureau of Naval Personnel Career Publication 1
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*All HANDS* ~ THE BUREAU OF NAVAL PERSONNEL CAREER PUBLICATION 1 - 1966 1 JANUARY 1966 Nav-Pers-0 NUMBER 588 ~~ VICE ADMIRAL BENEDICT J. SEMMES, Jr., USN The Chief of Naval Personnel REAR ADMIRAL BERNARD M. STREAN, USN The Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel CAPTAIN JOHN W. HIGGINS, Jr., USN Assistant Chief for Morale Services TABLE OFCONTENTS Features First Combat Mission-AnEyewitness Report .................... 2 How to Build a Fighting Unit in the Air Navy ..................... 4 TheCOB: Man with a Big Job ............................... 8 USS Intrepid: FRAM for the"Fighting Eye". ...................... 10 RoundupFrom the Vietnam Front .............................. 12 A Blueprintfor Goodwill .................................. 17 SeabeesLearn to Protect What They Build .................... 18 South Pole Sailors Have a Real Cool Sense of Humor .............: . 20 CravingFun in the Sun? You'll Find It on Guam ................. 24 SpecialFeature SeventhFleet FlagDuty ..................................... 30 Centerspread: Navy Flagships,Past and Present-ASampling ....... 32 Departments Lettersto the Editor ........................................ 26 Four Star Forum: Suppose You Were CNO for 60 Minutes .......... 36 Servicescope: Newsof Other Services .......................... 44 TheWord .................: .............................. 46 Decorationsand Citations ................................... 59 BulletinBoard MaiorRevision of Seavey-Shorvey Will InterestYou ...............48 tributionas necessary; where specialcir- cumstances warrant sendingdirect to sub- Educational loansfrom Navy Relief Society ..................... 53 activities the Bureau should be informed. Check Your Chances of Advancement ......................... 54 Distribution to^ Marine Corpspersonnel is effected by theCommandant US. Ma- list of New NavyEnlisted Classifications .................... 55 rine Corps. Requests from Marine Activities EligibilityRules for VietnamService Medal ..................... 56 should be addressed to theCommandant. PERSONALCOPIES: This magazine isfor New Regulation Allows Certain Dependent Travel ................57 sale by Superintendent of Documents, US. TheBackground Investigation: Its Significance ................... 58 Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The rate for ALL HANDS is 25 NavyNew Year's log cents per copy(except for theDecember 1963 Rights andBenefits issue, which is You or Your Ship May Be One of the Winners ...................60 50 cents per copy); subscription price $2.50 a year, domestic (including FPO and TaffrailTalk .............................................. 64 .APOaddress for overseas mail); $3.50 foreign. Remittances should bemade to theSuperintendent of Documents. Sub- John A. Oudine, Editor scriptions are accepted for one, twoor three years. Associate Editors G. Vern Blasdell,News JerryWolff, Research . Don Addor, Layout & Art French Crawford Smith, Reserve 0 FRONTCOVER: LOW OVERHEAD-Navyjets ofCarrier Air Wing One, U.S. Sixth Fleet, operatingfrom USS Franklin D. Roosevelt(CVA 42) roarthrough Mediterranean skies as they pass in reviewover SixthFleet ships. The review followed a demonstration oftheir striking power,held forfellow teammembers of the Fleet.-Photo by J. H. Perkins, AN, USN. At LEFT: TIME SAILS ON-Comparison ofthe metalsail of a Skipjack class nuclear- powered submarine with the canvas sails of the wind-powered Argentine train'ing ship Libertad pointsout not only the passage oftime but also the advancements that havebeen made in seapower. 0 CREDIT: All photographspublished in ALL HANDS Magazineare official Department of Defense photos unless otherwise designated. CARRIER USS Constellation (CVA 64) was operating base for VA-144. Center: Skyhawks prepare for carrier landing. First Combat Mission NLESS YOU’RE AN AIRDALE, you’ve following day had also been can- first combat mission. They talked probably never heard of light jet celed and the ship was scheduled to about flak and how to avoid it, for- Attack Squadron 144. It consists of put to sea at 1000 on 4 August. The mations, and procedures on the tar- 150 or so Navymen who fly and day of 3 August passed slowly. get.One hour before launch, VA maintain a dozen stubby-winged A4 Constcllntion departed on sched- 144’s primary target was cancelled SkyAatoks. ule and headed into the South China by higher authority. In September the squadron wrap- Sea. Eight Skyhawks were launched The squadron was then reassigned ped up its training cycle and headed toward NAS Cubi Point in the Philip- a target south of the original one. for the Western Pacific. Once with pines; four fromAtkron 144 and There were to, be 23 strike aircraft ComSeventh Fleet, it may well be four from its sister squadron Atkron launched: 10 A4 Skyhawks, two F4 called to launch air strikes against 146. Their absence made room for a Phantoms, one RF8 Crusader photo North Vietnam. If so, it won’t be the photodetachment which wassoon plane, and 10 prop-driven Skyraid- first time. flown aboard. em. Many of the Navymen attached to Word came down thatthe de- 144 wear relatively new Navy Unit stroyers uss Tzrrner Joy (DD 951) THE VA-144LAUNCH went perfectly Commendation ribbons. They are and Maddox (DD731) had been at- and the group left Constellation the old hands who were with the tacked by North Vietnamese PT en route to the rendezvous point al- squadron a year ago last August, boats. Throughout the night of the most as a unit. aboard the uss Constellation (CVA 4th, Constellation launched sorties “We were in so close to the clouds 64) in the South China Sea. Their (including seven aircraft from all the way that instrument flight -story is best told by Lieutenant Atkron 144) in support of the two was necessary,” recalls LCDR Alex- Commander H. W. Alexander,who destroyers. ander. “Since there were no naviga- was there. tional aids, it was strictly dead reck- Connie was anchored in Hong HE FOLLOWING MORNING at 0930, oning, complicated by the necessity Kong harbor. Her crew, who had Atkron 144 pilots reported to air of dodging the larger thunderstorms.” been away fromSan Diego since intelligence for briefing and assign- As the Skyhawks neared the target May, were enjoying their first liberty ment of targets: PT boat harbors in they passed the slower Sk!/raidcrs in two months. The men planned on North Vietnam. Atkron 144 pilots with their heavy load of ordnance. being home for Christmas. were briefed for a target near the Their first contact with the ground It wasn’t going to work out that maximum range of the Skyhawks was the planned coastal entry point. way. At midnight, 2 August, the which they flew, and the mission was “We were descending from 20,000 senior shore patrol officer ordered complicated by bad weather. feet when Commander Nottingham everyone to return to the ship. The At lunch the pilots were in a good ( Atkron 144’s executive officer) only information available to the ar- mood and looking forward towhat sighted the target. riving crew was that liberty for the would be, for most of them, their “The weather was good and clear 2 ALL HANDS NAVY Skyhawk fires at NorthVietnamese train. Explosionknocks out boxcars, damaging train and railroad bed. An Eyewitness Report below 12,000 feet. I could see the some rough air or had taken a hit. I feet.There were a millionsmall boats in the harbor and most of them zoomed high, still at full throttle, rocky islands and boats below and were stationary. When the first di- but reduced power as my oil pressure many puffs of flak. visionrolled in, the flak started. It went from high to out. The reduction varied from white puffs to dark grey. of power caused all readings to re- s THE NEEDLE swung again, I It was so heavy I began to wonder if turn to normal and I looked around A came around as the beeper I’d get my run in before I was hit. to find my division leader. All I saw stopped for a few seconds and then “The flak was very close and I was flak and two aircraft off to port. beeped again for a few moments. I could see puffs surrounding Com- “CDR Nottingham called for a knew he was down, but I could not mander Bolstad’s (144‘s command- strafing run, and I rolled over on my see him. The Skyraiders were rolling ing officer) section as he rolled in. back and pulled below the flak. The in and I watched the flak following “I went in as a single and followed skywas becoming overcast at 7000 them down. I moved eastward out of the section. The flak wasfollowing feet with flak busts. We had been the flak area and scanned the sur- untilabout 5000 feet,but getting in the area now about four minutes. face for Alvarez. It was like watch- thinner. I watched the first section I drove in until I saw men on the ing a movie except the sound of Al- fire, and realized I was in the wrong pier firing and the lighter guns of the varez’voice put a knot in my attitude for a hit. I made a violent PT boats were flashing. My guns hit stomach. correction as their rockets tore into in the water aft of the boat and up “All the jets had left except CDR one of the boats. into the gun mount. Nottingham and as he called that he “The firstdivision went infrom “My speed was above 500 knots as was leaving, I noticed my fuel gauge two directions for their reattack.I I flew low past the pier. I stayed low and decided I had better get out of aimed my rockets a little high to and rolled into a high G right turn there, too. I was still at high speed compensate for my attitude which .as Lieutenant (junior grade) Alvarez and remembered my rocket pod. was still not right. As I fired, I turned called: ‘I’ve been hit. I can’t control From habit I started lower to drop the guns on and strafed untilthe it. I’ll have to bail out. I’m going. it and noticed a PT boat leaving the rockets hitthe boats. There were I’ll see you guys later.’ harbor at high speed.