Sea Stories

My first assignment was as Operations Officer of the minesweeper USS ENGAGE [MSO 433]. This lovely ship was homeported in St. Petersburg, and later Mayport, Florida. It was a reserve ship, and with a full-time crew of only about 43, we all worked like dogs every time we went to sea. Typically, as Ops Boss, I'd stand bridge watches 8, 10, or 12 hours long while most of the crew -- cooks and everybody -- did sweeping operations from the fantail. Then after a day of fun like that, me and my gang would spend half the night awake doing minehunting (everyone needs sleep, so go ahead ... you can't do any harm!) Let me tell you how much fun it is to drive a ship at 1 to 1 1/2 knots in the open ocean, from below decks, using only phone circuits, a plot, and a sonar. The goal was ship positioning within a 25-yard criteria ... and no backing bells, because the prop wash would blank out the sonar if you did. Try it sometime! I loved that ship!

The lovely little ENGAGE was decomissioned at the close of 1991 and finally scrapped in May 2002 (despite efforts to save her as a musuem). They say you never do get over your first love.

From there I went to be the CIC Officer of the frigate USS ANTRIM [FFG 20], also out of Mayport, Florida. Shortly before we deployed my boss was fired and I had to "fill in" for sixty days while some other sucker was located to take his place. The new guy arrived two months before we sailed. Hey, no problem, the only place we went to was the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war. Now that's fun, let me tell you: going into a shooting war where you are not allowed to shoot. Remember, folks, this was way before Desert Storm, before Saddam Hussein even knew how to spell CNN. We had fun, but somehow the sight of shot-up merchant ships and bleeding crew dampened our enthusiasm. Anyways, I was happy to get out of there, and as it turned out, we left just a month before the USS STARK was hit.
 

This photo shows a ship of that class, USS THATCH [FFG 43] (a good ship, I worked with her once) firing a Standard surface to air missile. Boys play with guns, but if you don't want to carry around a pop gun .45, my choice is always a Standard. Or, if you really want to leave your mark: Harpoon. Nice weapon.
 
Like so many frigates of her class, ANTRIM had a fairly short service career. In 1997 she was transferred to Turkey and sailed as TCG GEMLÍK (F 492). As recently as March 2016 she was still going to sea.

The next ship I went to sea in was USS JOSEPH STRAUSS [DDG 16], which was absolutely the hardest job I've ever had. (This picture shows her entering port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.) My assignment was as Operations Officer, but before it was done the Captain had given me a stint as Chief Engineer as well. Here's how the new Ops Boss reports aboard in style -- that's me -- by helo drop in mid-ocean. The crew called her "the warship" and she was well fitted out, with two 5"/54 Mk 42 naval guns, Standard and Harpoon missiles from a Mk 13 launcher, surface-launched as well as rocket-thrown torpedoes from two triple-tube mounts and an ASROC launcher. All this sat on top of a twin-screw 1200-lb. steam plant: two enginerooms, two firerooms, four boilers. What a ship!

I found the strain was eased somewhat by releasing my fragile hold on sanity, and once I crossed that threshold, everything was bearable. This rigorous work load was fully compensated by the opportunity to live in Hawaii. The ship was homeported in Pearl Harbor and our own house was less than 100 yards from the water's edge. Sigh. Every day was just "another day in Paradise." I'd go back there in a heart beat! We decommissioned ol' Smokin' Joe in February 1990 but she was acquired by the Hellenic Navy and sailed as HNS FORMION (DDG-220) until July, 2002. There is now an association of former JOSEPH STRAUSS crew and you should check them out.

The last ship I had the honor of going to sea on was USS BELLEAU WOOD [LHA 3] as Navigator. This multipurpose amphibious assault ship carries a crew of 800, but could load a Marine landing battalion, their gear, and an air assault element. All told, with staffs aboard we'd get up to about 3,000 happy sailors and Marines sharing the same ship, weight room, and chow lines. I definitely had some unusual adventures with her, had a great Captain, a great crew, and the busiest year and a half of my life ever. We took BELLEAU WOOD from her former homeport of San Diego, California to participate in a permanent overseas basing in Sasebo, Japan. Here's a rare shot of us in homeport in Sasebo, which is subtitled how to put 10 pounds of ship into a five-pound sack. Once there, the ship was away from homeport for some reason or other 74% of the time. Ask me someday to tell you about rescuing the island of Kauai from Hurricane Iniki, or being the last U.S. personnel in the Phillipine base closing. Unbelievable!

BELLEAU WOOD was decommissioned in October 2005 and Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific prepared a decommissioning web page. What I find most interesting thereon is the page titled "Reflections" in which my own former CO, CAPT Doug Bradt, USN (Ret.) recalls two stories that I remember oh so well. Read his musings and you'll see what I mean. Eventually the BELLEAU WOOD was sunk as a target in an exercise. I don't know. Yeah, war ships are built to go to sea, to fight, and maybe get sunk. And, well, we do need exercises that are realistic for training. Still, it hurts a little to watch her slip under the waves.

I just have to say that, from minesweeper to assault ship, I've seen different sizes, different missions, and different places in the world. I'm glad I went to sea. I worked very hard and had a lot of fun.

PS. Ever seen a mermaid? I have.
PS. Take a moment to look at my salute to Old Ironsides.

If it's numbers and statistics you seek, check out the excerpt from Combat Fleets of the World that I've prepared.
Note: I cannot possibly keep all of these links current. If you find one that doesn't work, I'd appreciate you .

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