USS Saratoga CV-60

Executive Officer
USS Saratoga CV-60

October, 1983 through January, 1985

Last Updated: March 3rd, 2025

This is a work in progress
Estimated completion in March

Training Prior to Assignment as Executive Officer USS Saratoga CV-60

SWOSCOLCOM (Surface Warfare Officer School Command), Newport, Rhode Island (Basic Course)

Cathy, Jessica and I moved from NAS Jacksonville and bought a house on Tilefish Court in Pablo Point off of San Pablo Road. The house was located close to Saratoga at Mayport. I knew that the working hours as XO would be long and it would enable me to have more time at home if we were living close by.

Reported for Duty as Executive Officer on October 29th, 1983

In 1984, during our successful deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, Captain Jack Ready proclaimed that USS Saratoga would be known as "Super Sara". That was not the nickname previously used to describe the Saratoga. During several years previously, Saratoga had the derisive nickname "Sorry Sara". She had be known to have an unusually poor reliability of her engineering plant and an even worse reputation for her Supply Department. In the late 70s she had to be tied up to the pier in Mayport during a planned type training at sea. The CAG was forced to deploy his squadrons to NAS Mayport and conduct type training as if he was at sea! Many thought Sara was a disgrace!

Service Life Extension Program (SLEP)

SLEP was intended to provide significant upgrades to our remaining fossil fueled aircraft carriers while establishing an improved capability at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Saratoga was the first aircraft carrier to go through SLEP. There were significant problems in the initial portion of SLEP. There was not a sufficient labor pool of experienced workers or the required shops to support the needs of SLEP. They had to hire many workers who were untrained and many proved to be unreliable. It took awhile to establish small business shops to support SLEP at the Philadelphia Shipyard. SLEP was a great strategic idea to establish an improved capability in Philadelphia but Sara paid the price of being the first SLEP carrier. Unreliable workers stole valuable hardware such as brass valves. Significant work proved to be either unsound from a design or engineering aspect or was poorly accomplished. Some of the work that was reported to have been done had not actually been accomplished. When Sara made her initial attempt at sea trials following SLEP, she had to be returned to the pier because the rudders wouldn't work. Live wires were arcing on her sides.

Captain Len Perry was the Commanding Officer during SLEP. He was knowledgeable and patient; the right man for the job! He and his officers, chief petty officers, and enlisted personnel did their best under very trying circumstances. I reported to Sorry Sara" shortly after she returned to Mayport after SLEP. On the trip south from Philadelphia, it was discovered that there were significant leaks in her high pressure steam lines in all eight of her boilers. So, I would find myself immersed in post SLEP controversy.

Change Of Command

Captain Ready relieved Captain Len Perry on November 11th, 1983

Captain Ready relieved Captain Perry

Captain Ready and I changed the shoulder boards for newly selected Rear Admiral Perry

I only had the pleasure of working with Rear Admiral Perry for a short time. But, it was clear to me that the Navy selected the right officer to lead the Saratoga through through the SLEP process. SLEP required a man of intelligence and the ability to lead the ship through the process with great patience.

My Initial Challenges Upon Arrival as Executive Officer

I checked in as XO when Sara arrived at Mayport following SLEP. During her time at sea transiting from Philadelphia to Mayport, it was discovered that there was a serious problem with all the high pressure steam lines in her boilers. The "astro arc" welding process that was used to repair the steam lines during SLEP was intended for the repair of new material not for used material. All these steam lines had to be redone along side in Mayport. Welders from all over the world came to be interviewed to do the very exacting work. Inspectors from every conceivable level arrived to determine who was responsible for this situation. Fortunately, Saratoga's Chief Engineer, Mike Landon, was an experienced, dedicated, and talented post sea commanding officer who handled all the engineering aspects of the welding operations.

Post SLEP Administrative Mess

About a week after reporting for duty as XO, I decided that I would review the folders of sailors who had been recommended for Captains Mast (XO Inquiry) in my spacious second deck cabin on Monday nights with Monday Night Football on the TV. My plan was that I would handle the less serious cases at my level and recommend the more serious cases for Captain's Mast. Imagine my shock when there were almost 500 hundred cases covering about the last six weeks of SLEP. After working to about midnight, it was obvious there was no way that I could properly handle that number of cases. The next morning, I called for my first formal Department Head's Meeting at 1500 in the afternoon. At 1500, I convened the meeting in the 2nd deck officers mess. I think that most of the departments were represented but not by the Department Heads. I disbanded the meeting and told the representatives that were not Department Heads to report back that I would reconvene the meeting the next day, Wednesday, and that I expected Department Heads to attend Department Head meetings. I expected to make decisions at Department Head meetings and if they didn't have a good excuse, they better send someone in their stead who the had confidence could represent them at the decision making level. I knew I was on solid ground with Captain Ready as he had told me that he wanted me to "run the hotel" so he could "think big thoughts" on the bridge :-) The next day all of the Department Heads showed up, even the Chief Engineer who was very busy with the super heater tube issue and the Navigator,who had no where to navigate. The Navigator had pass when we were underway. That set a precedence lasted for the rest of my XO tour.

I told the Department Heads that I was returning all the discipline records to the individual departments and only wanted to review the cases that they thought appropriate for my review the next Monday night.

Chief Petty Officer Review Board

The Chief Engineer, Mike Landon, suggested that we might want to consider establishing a Chief Petty Officer Review Board (CPORB) to handle some of the cases especially those involving disrespect of a petty offer. The review board would consist of E8 and E9 Chief Petty Officers and be chaired by the Master Chief Petty officer of the Command and be held in the Chief's Mess. The CPORB could refer the cases back to me for to Captain's Mast or handle them at their level with a "tongue lashing" or reasonable punishments such as extra duty. They could not award reduction in rate or pay; only the Captain could do that.! He reported that this approach had been effective in surface warfare commands that he had observed. We decided to give it a try. It turned out to be very effective and reduced everyone's work load. Many of the sailors would rather face the Captain than the Senior and Master Chiefs in the Chief's Mess.

Reserve Temporary Active duty JAG Officer/Naval Intelligence Service (NIS) Cases

We had a agent new NIS agent assigned to the ship. The previous NIS agent had left behind two three drawer file cases behind when he departed. Fortunately, we had a LCDR Reserve temporary active duty JAG Officer assigned for six weeks. He was a prosecutor from from the Memphis District Attorney's Office. I asked him to review all the cases and recommend which cases to handle and which to destroy. After his review, we destroyed most of the cases due to insufficient evidence or other reasons. But, he said that we we had a serious homosexual situation that involved a couple of officers, chief petty officers and numerous enlisted personnel especially in the Aviation Fuels Division of the Air Department. His reports resulted in numerous Captain's Masts and Summary Courts Martial that removed many personnel in the Fuels' Division.

He also said that we had a potential serious security issue involving the Cryptology Officer the Communications Department. It was complicated by the fact that this officer was the #1 LtJG in the most recent ship's fitness reports. I reported the situation to the Captain and we removed this officer from his position pending further investigation. I also requested that the Captain release me from the normal prosecution of the case so that I could get the facts in the case and determine if we had as serious security issue. He approved my recommendation. I asked the current NIS agent how he would proceed in the case. He recommended that I interview the officer at length and repeat my questions over and over to get to the truth. Initially, the young officer denied any involvement but after an hour or so, he demonstrated a significant personality change and finally related that he had been a homosexual prior to his commissioning and had been involved in homosexual behavior on Sara but that it had not affected his work as the Cryptology Officer. I reported my findings to Captain Ready and the NIS Officer took over the case The officer was awarded a Special Courts Martial. The result of the Special Courts Martial was that he was allowed to resign his commission.

Hurricane Incident

We were alongside Charlie Pier with no ability to get underway due to our boiler problems and were in the path of of a late season hurricane. The Chief Engineer, Captain Mike Landers, the First Lieutenant, CDR Bob Micken an active reserve CDR and I came up with a plan to protect Sara and the pier if we experienced high winds.

Sara was alongside starboard side to Charlie Pier. The plan was to remove the starboard anchor and attach it to the port quarter. Next we would run out the Port anchor using a barge and lower it to the center of harbor and then run out the anchor from the port rear quarter to the harbor. Once both anchors were in place, we had them winched in to pull the Saratoga away from the pier using reinforced spring lines. The goal was the keep the Sara off the pier and as stable as possible during high winds. The Captain approved the plan and it was successful.

The Chief Engineer, the First Lieutenant and I worked well together for the rest of my tenure as XO.

Damage Control Training

Our next challenge was to get the entire crew trained at Mayport in damage control procedures. This included participating in shipboard firefighting with real fires at the facility at Mayport. Of course, I was selected to be at the front end of the hose as pictured above!

GTMO at Guantanamo Bay Cuba

By the time we completed our Mayport based damage control training, most of the engineering issues had been resolved, the Fuels personnel and the Cryptology Officer had been replaced, and some underway time had been conducted. We were ready to go to Guantanamo Bay Cuba to conduct more challenging damage control training and achieve a satisfactory grade for certification.

Now that our time at GTMO was successfully completed, we were ready to get the airwing aboard and begin type training before our deployment.

The Saratoga/CAG 17 Team

The next section outlines the organization of various departments aboard Saratoga. I have added this to record this organization and relate a few special events of interest. If you are not particularly interested in the organization but might be interested in the special events, I have used a different text color for them.

Captain Ready

As Captain Perry was the right officer to the lead Sara through the challenges of SLEP, Captain Ready was a great choice to make the transition from SLEP to underway carrier operations.

Fighter pilot (F14) and Test Pilot.

Under his leadership, Satra made the transition from "Sorry Sara" to Super Sara". Engineering passed the OPPE Operational Propulsion Plant Exam) on the first try and the Saratoga/CAG 17 team had an outstanding grade on the ORE(Operational Readiness Exercise).

Captain Ready established a great working environment for me and the heads of the various departments in that we understood what kinds of issues could and should be addressed to the CO and what kinds of issues should be addressed directly with the XO.

Captain Ready gave me the authority and a wide latitude to "run the hotel" so that he could concentrate on crew morale, Operations and Operational Readiness.

The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Command

MCPOC James Courson was an essential member of the team. Not only did he represent all the Chief Petty officers assigned the Saratoga, but he also worked closely with MCPOCs of the Airwing.

He met with the Senior and Master Chief Petty Officers in the Chief's Mess to hear their complaints and comments.

He met regularly with Captain Ready on the Bridge to discuss the results of those meeting and advised him on what action was being taken at the XO/Department Head level.

MCPOC Courson attended regularly scheduled Department Head meetings and worked closely with me on a regular basis.

My job as the Executive Officer was to run the "hotel" so that Captain Ready, CAG 17, Kent Ewing, and the Operations Officer, Butch Christie could conduct operations without worrying abut the "small stuff".
I did this by establishing an Executive Department to handle the various personnel related issues and to work with the Department Heads to keep Sara as "ship shape" as possible.

Commander Air Wing 17

This is a work in progress

Squadrons of CAG 17


VMAQ 2 EA6B	HS-3 SH-3H	VS-30 S3-A	VF-74 F-14A	VF-103 F-14A	VA-81 A7-E	VA-83 A7-E	VAW-125 E2C	VQ-2 EA3B	VMA (AW) 533 EA6B

Air Wing Missions

Air superiority including defense of the ship: VF-74 and VF-103- F-14 Tomcat
Power Projection: VA-81 and VA-83- A7E Corsair II
Anti Submarine Warfare: VS-30- S3A and HS-3- SH-3H
Air Warfare Coordination- VAW-125- E2C
Electronic Warfare: VMAQ-2 and VMA (AW) 533- EA6B
Surveillance: VQ2- EA3B

Note: The airwing works directly for the Captain and the embarked staff in accomplishing these missions.

Air Wing/Executive Officer Responsibilities

There are approximately 2500 officers and enlisted in the ship's crew. When the airwing is aboard, that number increases by about 3000 to a total of 5500 people. More people means more berthing and more people to feed. When the airwing comes aboard, each squadron sends personnel on Temporary Additional Orders (TAD)to the ship as either compartment cleaners or mess cooks to help with the additional work load. In addition, the air wing is responsible for the upkeep of their assigned work spaces. The Executive Department monitors this by conducting "Zone Inspections" on a routine basis.

Due to the requirement to be on station during underway operations CDR Ewing rarely attended Department Head meetings. But he normally sent a representative. CAG Ewing had an A7 background at Cecil Field so I knew him well before coming to Sara.

Ship's Operational Departments and their Relationship with Working with the XO

Navigation

The Navigator did not normally attend Department Head meetings due to the requirement to be on the bridge during underway operations.
He normally sent a representative due to the requirement to be on station during underway operations

Stu Fitrell, had an A7 background and was actually senior to me according to date of rank. Stu and I never had an issue with getting along. He pretty much stayed on the bridge and sent the Assistant Navigator to my meetings. Stu did well as the Navigator and later in life, Captain Ready arranged for Stu be the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Pax River, Maryland when Admiral Ready was the Commander of the Test Center.

The sailors of the Navigation Department work together as a team to determine the exact position of the ship and steer her on the correct course to arrive at her destination.

Operations

CDR Christie normally attended Department Head meetings or sent CDR Robb, the Strike Ops Officer in his place.
CDR Christie had an A7 background at Cecil Field and knew him well before coming to Saratoga.

I knew Butch Christie from our A7 days.

Doug White relieved Butch Christie toward the end of the cruise.

The Operations Department is a large department composed of many divisions which I will outline briefly below. Images and modified descriptions are from the cruise book.

OPS Administration
OA Division: Meteorology covered every aspect of weather not only including surface based observations, but also satellite tracking and weather balloons to gather data in the upper atmosphere. The also bathythermograph equipment to monitor the temperature, salinity, and currents in he deep ocean in the vicinity of the ship.
OC Division: The Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) was responsible for monitoring the status and and coordination of all airborne aircraft except for those under control of the Combat Information Center (CIC)
CIC (Combat Information Center): CIC was composed of several modules which support the search, identification, and tracking of all surface, sub surface, and air threats to the battle group. The Tactical Air Officer (TAO) in CIC provided Captain Ready and the embarked staff with timely tactical information and recommended courses of action based on Battle Group tactical plans and training.
OX Division: Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) The ASW module provided the TAO in CIC with recommended tactical options to counter sub-surface threats based on analysis of acoustic data and established battle group tactical plans. All members of the ASW module team were well trained in detection and acoustic analysis and tactics.
OW Division: Electronic Warfare (EW) The primary mission of the OW Division, the EW module in CIC, was to utilize all aspects of electronics in military action, both friendly and non-friendly to determine, exploit, prevent, or reduce the enemy's use of electronic equipment and to ensure Saratoga's ability to exploit that information to our advantage
OS Division: Naval Security Group (NSG) The primary mission of the NSG was to provide direct cryptologic support to Captain Ready and the embarked staff. Additionally, they were responsible for providing tactical SIGSEC (Signal Security) to the ship and airwing as well as providing cryptologic intelligence support to CVIC.
OZ Division: CVIC Intelligence Center CVIC provided intelligence processing and support upon which the ship and airwing used to project power and maintain control of the sea. CVIC produced intelligence briefings via the ship's Closed Circuit TV System (CCTV) which was used by aircrew to plan their missions.
Strike Ops Division: (Strike Operations): Responsible for Saratoga's strike weapons employment organization which included development of plans for both conventional and non-conventional warfare. In addition, Strike Ops was responsible for coordinating the ship's schedule both underway and inport, for underway replenishments, and all related plans and schedules.
OM Division: Responsible for the operation, repair, and maintenance of Saratoga's NATO Seasparrow Surface Missile System, a rapid-reaction surface to air missile system capable of engaging a wide range of surface and air targets. The division was also responsible for the operation, repair, and maintenance of the three Ship's CIWS (Close- IN-Weapons Systems)
OE Division: Highly diversified electronics technicians responsible for maintaining communications and inertial and satellite navigation equipment, complex computers, terminals, and displays, surface and air search radars in CIC as well as the navigational aids for aircraft in addition to the radars and display systems for CATCC.
OP Division: Photo Lab OP1-General Services lab responsible for all official photography aboard the ship; ID cards, award ceremonies, cruise book photos etc. OP2-The CVIC Photo Lab which processes and prints all imagery generated by the embarked air wing.

LCDR Matt Moffit

I was first aware of Matt when he was in VA-174 undergoing A7 training. I was also in VA-174 on my way to be the Executive Officer of VA-15. I was on the lookout for top students and tried to get Matt orders to VA-15. However, BUPERS refused my request because Matt's brother Mike was already in VA-15. Instead, they sent Matt to VA-87 our sister squadron in the airwing.

I was able to fly with Matt on an interesting adventure during my time as XO of VA-15. I was assigned to lead a division of A7s composed of two aircraft from each squadron on a "cross country" flight to visit the Greek A7 Base on Souda Bay, Crete. Mat was #4 flying wing on the CAG Operations Officer in VA-87 aircraft. My wingman was "Cactus" Jack" Sheehan; is the V2 Officer aboard Sara. See below.

Matt went on to command and squadron,an airwing, and an aircraft carrier. and a Command of a Carrier Group as a Flag Officer.

I see Matt and his wife Megan occasionally at Golden Eagles reunions.

Air Department

Saratoga had two outstanding Air Department Heads (known as the Air Boss) during my tour as XO.

CDR Ralph Staplin was the Air Boss for the first half of my tour.

He did an outstanding job of organizing and training the officers, chief petty officers and enlisted personnel after SLEP. The Air Department was in great shape when he handed over the Air Department to the Mini Boss, CDR Pat McGovern.

Ralph moved on to the AIRLANT staff where he was able to put his experience to work while monitoring all the Air Departments aboard all east coast carriers.
Ralph was also an active participant on the Saratoga Tennis team.

CDR Pat McGovern was an exceptional Air Boss during our Med deployment.

Pat was one of the first if not the first officers selected to be an Air Boss with a helicopter background.

Pat was well qualified for the job as he was a graduate of the Navy's Test Pilot School and had aircraft carrier experience in a deployed helicopter squadron.

Pat and I would work together both when I was the CO of Austin when he was at the Test Center at PAX River and and during my tour as Chief Of Staff of COMCRUDESGRU 12 when Pat was the Helicopter Wing Commander at NAS JAX.

The Air Department is a large department composed of many divisions which I will outline briefly below.

V1- Division Flight Deck	V2 Division - Catapult and Arresting Gear	V3 Division Hangar Deck	V4 Division Aviation Fuels	V4 Division Administration

V1 Division Officer Lcdr Pelz	V2 Division Officer Lcdr McCrillis	V3 Division Officer Lt Nolan	V4 Division Officer Lt Andrews	V5 Division Officer Lcdr Mulholland

V1 Flight Deck	V1 was manned by the proud and Hard working Aviation Boatswains Mate (handling) ABH rating; responsible for spotting and moving aircraft on the flight deck under the supervision of the Aircraft Handling Officer. The directors wore "yellow shirts", the plane handlers wore "blue shirts", and the crash and salvage personel wore "red shirts"- each color representing the unique job each were assigned.
V2 Catapults and Arresting Gear	V2 maintained and operated the 4 catapults, 4 arresting gear, the barricade, and the Pilot Landing Aid Television (PLAT). The supervisors wore "yellow shirts", workers wore "green shirts" who were composed of Aviation Boatswains Mate Equipment (ABE), Electricians Mates (EM), and Interior Communication Mates (IC)
V3 Hangar Bay	V3 was responsible for moving and spotting aircraft in the hangar bay. The workers (ABH) wore "blue shirts, the supervisors "Yellow shirts".
V4 Aviation Fuels	The "grapes" as the men of V4 were called because they wore "purple shirts). They provided aviation jet fuel (JP5) for the aircraft. Receiving JP5 from tankers alongside during underway replenishment, they pumped thousands of gallons of JP5 through transfer pumps, purifiers, and filters they ensured that only high quality fuel was provided for the aircraft.
V5 The Air Office/Primary Flight Control (PRIFLY)	V5 - The Administrative Office. The 500 men of the Air Department not only required management and coordination within the Air Department but also among other departments. V5 also operated the tower (PRIFLY) and were responsible for recording, displaying,and communicating pertinent information for the Air Boss and Assistant Air Boss (Mini Boss) could could conduct safe launch and recovery operations.

The Fresnel Lens
(New Air Boss, Pat McGovern (left) with new Assistant Air Boss (Mini Boss) on the right

Three very special people in Sara's Air Department when I was XO


Ralph Staplin in Pri Fly tower directing the "ballet" on the flight deck. His next tour was to the Airlant staff where he became the chief of the air bosses.	Pat McGovern relieved Ralph as Air Boss becoming the first Air Boss of an aircraft carrier from a helo backgound. Pat was a Test Pilot School graduate he and I worked together when I was the CO of USS Austin and he was back at the test center. He chose Austin as the LPD test deck for some flight tests. I also worked with Pat when I was Chief of Staff COMCRUDESGROUP 12 to deploy our HS helos in detachments from the carrier.	"Cactus" Jack Sheehan, V2 Cat & Arresting Gear Officer and my wingman in VA-15. He was an Instructor pilot in VA-174 when I was the Commanding Officer!

Safety Department

Safety Department Head

Cdr Mulholland

The Safety Department aboard Saratoga was established in 1981.
This small but exceptionally important department monitors virtually all evolutions aboard Sara.

Cdr Mulholland and his assigned personnel work with safety personnel from each department to accomplish their mission; to keep Sara safe!

Note: Cdr Mulholland was also the Air Department's V5 Div (Administration) Officer

The White Shirts

Safety Department assigned personnel:

ABEC- Flight Deck Safety
AO1- Flight Deck weapons evolutions
ET1- Electronic Safety including electrical hazard
inspections and correction
MM!- Engineering Spaces safety
BM1- Deck Department evolutions
YNSN- Administration

Weapons Department

The Weapons Department Department Head, CDR Hank Zambie was an active participant in every aspect of life on Saratoga. He was an exceptional leader in his department and was an active participant in my Department Head meetings.
I'd known Hank for many years as an A7 Corsair pilot.
He was an active member if the Sratoga Tennis Team

The Weapons Department was composed of five divisions.

G1 Aviation Ordnance	The largest division (100 men) responsible for the receipt, stowage, test, and assembly of all ordnance aboard Saratoga and also responsible for all ordnance magazines, associated sprinkler systems, alarms, and the ship's armory.
G2 Flight Deck Ordnance	Supervised by the "Air Gunner" responsible for providing bombs and missiles to meet daily flight requirements. During underway helo replenishment G2 was responsible for unloading and properer loading of helos.
G3 Hangar Deck	Responsible for the maintenance and operation of the ship's weapons elevators, aviation weapons support equipment and forklifts and for the safe movement of weapons to and from the flight deck.
Weapons Administration	Utilizing the Aviation Control Station (AOCS), the Weapons Admin Division was responsible for the coordination of the safe movement, handling, staging, and storage of of 400 type of aviation ordnance.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal	The EOD team of divers was responsible for the location and recovery of ordnance as required. See EOD Officer Note below
W Division	W Division was responsible for the proper assembly, test, maintenance, and stowage of "special weapons" and the upkeep of associated systems and handling systems and equipment. All personnel in W Division had to be exceptionally well trained and reliable which was determined through thorough background checks to receive the high security clearance associated with dealing with "special weapons!

Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department

Introduction

I am providing a brief introduction for those of you who are not familiar with the Navy's aircraft maintenance system. There are three levels of aircraft maintenance in the Navy; organizational, intermediate, and depot. Organizational level maintenance is performed by the squadron maintenance department personnel. Intermediate is handled by an AIMD (Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department) located on the naval air station where the squadron is based when the squadron is ashore or on the aircraft carrier when the squadron is on the ship. Note; Each squadron was manned by the proper personnel who were intended to be sent TAD to the AIMD whether ashore or deployed. Depot level maintenance is accomplished at a Naval Aircraft Rework Facility (NARF) designated by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM).

Lets look at a couple of examples. Lets say an aircraft Heads Up Display is not working or not working properly; the squadron avionics shop personnel determine that the problem is with the control box ("black box"). They remove the "black box" and turn it in to the Supply Department for a new or repaired one which hopefully fixes the problem. The Supply Department sends it to the AIMD for repair. AIMD has test benches and highly trained technicians. If they are able to fix the "black box", they repair it and turn it in to Supply to be issued another squadron who needs one. Repairs which are beyond the capability of AIMD are forwarded to an appropriate NARF.

Part of my job as the A7 Class Desk Officer at Airlant was to coordinate with NAVAIRSYSCOM the issuance of changes in equipment as a result of new technology or failures during flight operations. For Example; the A7 nose landing gear were coming down during the 4 G pull off at a target. The remedy was determined to be that the nose landing gear uplock needed to be replaced with a stronger material. The new uplocks were produced at a depot level facility and issued to the supply system. NAVAIRSYSCOM issued instructions on the procedure to be used by the squadron which included jacking the aircraft up to replace the upllock. It was the responsibility of the Class Desk Officers to determine the conditions that the uplock could be change board the carrier or whether it had to be changed ashore (or at anchor).

It was also critical that each type aircraft (F14, A7, A6 etc) aboard a carrier have the same "configuration" (the same generation of a particular pieces of avionics equipment) so that AIMD on the carrier had the proper test equipment to work on that generation of avionics. Otherwise, they might not be able to fix the equipment that didn't match the AIMD test equipment.

Saratoga AIMD

During SLEP, Saratoga did a complete upgrade of the AIMD spaces which included getting the proper test equipment aboard that would be needed for the specific equipment expected to be aboard the ship for the deployment. The ship's AIMD personnel were trained on that equipment. The ship's AIMD was manned with 7 Aviation Officers and 210 ships personnel which were augmented by 220 squadron personnel who TAD to the ship.

;

AIMD Officer

Saratoga's AIMD was organized into Five Divisions

IM 1 Maintenance Material Control	Inducted and tracked repairable components through the repair cycle. Assigned priorities based on data from the Supply Department and embarked air Wing.
IM 2 General Maintenance	Supported the repair of non-avionics requirements of the airwing. Composed of three branches; Power Plants (9 kinds of engines), Airframes (aircraft structural repair and hydraulic systems), and Life Support Systems (oxygen regulators, safety equipment, and parachutes) Maintained the D-704 Air Refueling Stores, performed oil analysis, an tod non-destructive testing
IM 3 Avionics and Armament	Largest and most diverse AIMD division. Tested and repaired all avionics and armament equipment using the latest computerized automated test equipment. Maintained the Calibration Laboratory which calibrated everything from steam gauges for the Engineering Department to multi functional complex missile test set.
IM 4 Ground Support Equipment	Maintained equipment used in the hangar bay such as aircraft starting units, liquid oxygen servicing equipment, mobile hydraulic test stands, and aircraft jacks fire fighting equipment such as "Tilly", the flight deck crash and rescue crane.
Quality Assurance Analysis (QA/A)	Was responsible for ensuring that all maintenance and repair actions performed by AIMD met the highest standards and were correctly documented. IN addition, QA/A was responsible that all required technical manuals were aboard and that they were properly and updated.

Now that I've outlined the operationally oriented departments, I'll discuss the departments I worked with on a daily basis.

The Administrative Department

The Admin Office	Provided administrative assistance to the XO
The Captains Office (AKA The Ship's Secretary)	Handled official mail to and from the ship and maintained officer records
The Personnel Office	Maintained enlisted records
The Legal Office	Handled courts martial issues and processed Non-Judicial Punishment (Captain's Mast) cases
The Educational Services Office	Offered career counseling and provided advancement and correspondence course materials Saratoga University offering official Florida High School graduation certification (better tan a GED) and CLEP (college course while in port and underway See Note
WSAR TV and WSAR Radio	Provided television and radio programming for the crew and provided live television programing for the Captain or XO (See note)

Lt Paul- ESO

He was qualified by the State of Florida to grant high school graduation certificates rather than just a GED.

One of my favorite moments as XO was to observe a group of about 40 chief petty officers get their high school graduation certificates during a ceremony on the forcastle!

Lt Paul was also certified by Florida Community College Jacksonville to conduct college level courses offered by FCCJ.

Live TV- Captain ready was able to address the crew via live television.

Also, as XO I gave briefings prior to entering liberty ports which included expected weather, boating procedures,
information about ship activities such as picnic and information about tours.

Executive Department

The Indoctrination Division

The indoctrination of newly reported personnel was coordinated by LCDR Shughart. I tried to personally attend each initial indoctrination session and answer whatever questions the new arrivals may have.

Special Services Division	Maintained weight rooms aboard Sara Coordinated in port services with the USO Arranged tours in liberty ports Arranged tournaments for Sara sport teams
Counseling Services Division	Provided stress and substance abuse counseling

Law Enforcement Division	Maintained the Master at Arms Force Maintained the ship's brig Investigated violations of policy and regulations Maintained the ship's drug dog
	Our drug dog was not afraid to be lowered down into voids expected to contain drugs. During flight operations and adverse weather, she lived below decks in an area near the brig. But in fair weather during non flying periods, she had a dog run in cat walk on the starboard side aft.
	I spent a lot of time as XO working with our Law Enforcement Officer, Art Catullo. In liberty ports, he arranged for German Sheppard explosive detection dogs from local authorities to be stationed at liberty boat landings. The troops probably thought these were drug dogs As a result, there were lots of drugs thrown into the water at the boat landings

We had a full time Naval Investigative Service (NIS) agent

Our NIS agent was responsible for coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and for running our responsibilities in Counter Intelligence. Captain Ready delegated his role in the NIS counter intelligence program to me as XO.

Unfortunately, we had a murder on Saratoga while I was XO

One of our junior enlisted personnel in our Communications Division killed his 1st Class Supervisor. He chased his supervisor from the 3rd deck Communications Division compartment up the ladder to the 2nd deck stabbing him numerous times in the head and neck with a pair of sharpened scissors.I recommended to Captain Ready that I work with our NIS agent similarly to the homosexual incident with our Crypto Officer.
I agreed and I went to work with the NIS agent. The NIS agent told me that the 13 stab wounds some deep into the brain were a sign of a great deal of stress and anger. But when I visited the accused in the Brig, he was very calm. It turned out that the supervisor was harassing the young sailor at morning quarters making exceptionally derogatory comments about the young sailor's wife. The young sailor was flown off the ship for a General Courts Martial.

The Marine Detachment (MARDET)

MARDET
Commanding Officer
Major S.W.Dade

The primary mission of the MARDET was to provide an armed and well trained force to ensure the security of "special weapons".

I had very little daily interaction with the MARDET except for an occasional note to Major Dade if there were any issues concerning "zone inspections".

I did coordinate with him on occasions when we wanted the MARDET to provide a color guard for official functions or provide the MARDET drill team for hangar deck receptions in liberty ports.

Color Guard Drill Team

The Dental Department

The Saratoga Dental Department provided dental care for the entire Battle Group from routine exams and cleaning to crowns, root canals, periodontics, oral surgery, and prothodontics; services you would expect to have available in a large city.

Our goal was to achieve a high rate of dental readiness aboard Saratoga. I think we achieved a minimum dental readiness 3 with many achieving levels of Class 1 or 2; not an easy task considering that a large percentage of our sailors came from backgrounds were dental health was not a priority and in many instance not available.

Unfortunately as XO, I spent more than my fair share of time in a dental chair aboard Sara.

During my time on Sara, the Dental Department replaced a few of my old amalgams with gold crowns. I choose gold because the crowns were all in molars and not visible and the fact that gold was inert chemically. Those crowns have lasted 40 years and show no sign of failing.
Also, I had to have my remaining two wisdom teeth (an upper and lower on the same side) removed by the oral surgeon, Doug DeGroote. It went well except that I suffered a very painful "dry socket in the bottom location and had to meet up with Doug every morning for about a week ans have Doug administer warm in the socket to relive the pain.

Doug and his family were good friends as they were my a cross the cul-de-sac neighbors on San Pablo Road. Doug couldn't believe that of all people to have a problem, it would be me, the XO!

This Chief Petty Officer ran our full service Prothodontics Laboratory. He was an outstanding alchemist and artist. Many of our black sailors who needed replacement front teeth were amazed by the gold star in the center of the white tooth he made for them!

The Medical Department

With personnel specialized in laboratory, x-ray, pharmacy, aerospace medicine, anesthesia, surgery, and health care administration, the department provided services to over 500 personnel seeing over 1800 patients a month and admitted over 40 in "sick call", admitting an average of 40 people a month in the medical ward while at sea.

Our preventative medical technicians monitored the sanitation environment aboard the ship by conducting inspections and monitoring compliance with our required changes.

Our Medical Response Team was capable of reaching any part of the ship in a few minutes. Medical corpsmen manned the flight deck during flight operations prepared to render aid any shipmates injured in this dangerous environment!

Preventive vaccines were required!

Bedside care was compassionate and was conducted with a high standard of care!

The Medical Response Team was manned by exceptionally well trained personnel!

The CHAPLAIN Department

Command Chaplain-CAPT Leumke

Catholic Chaplain
LCDR John Wise

The Ship's Library was operated by the Chaplain Department

Protestant Chaplain
LT Steven Bird

Church Services were normally held on the Foc'sle. We had both a Catholic and Protestant Chaplains who provided the services for most of the Saratoga crew.

The Command Chaplain provided general services for non-Christian and Christians who wanted to go to the general services.

But the Chaplain's Department was way much more than just conducting church services!

The Chaplain's Department was involved in every aspect of life aboard Saratoga. As shown below:

Bible study and related meetings were usually held in the library.

Chaplains provided individual giving counseling and compassion for those in need.

Chaplains visited sailors in the ship's medical ward.

When in port, the chaplains led tor to local churches. When in Naples, Italy, a trip to Rome, St Peter's cathedral and The Vatican.


Bible Study	Counseling	Visiting in the Medical Ward	Presenting a Saratoga plaque

Command Chaplain CAPT Bob Leumke represented not only the "heart and soul" of his department, but also of the officers and men of Saratoga.

His engaging personality and compassion encouraged us all to be a little better.

My bet is he had some time with combat troops. I wish I had been able to know him better.

Deck Department

Bob Micken left Sara sometime during the deployment. He was a joy to work with starting with the kedge anchoring scheme we came up with back in Mayport. He was a credit to the active reserve concept.

LCDR Holdredge came aboard sometime during the deployment. Saratoga was my first exposure to the world of Boatswain mates. I learned on Sara and later on aboard Austin that boatswain mates are among the hardest working sailors in the Navy often times in arduous conditions.

The Deck Department was divided in to five Divisions.

Personnel from all he divisions stood bridge watches such as helmsmen and as lookouts. In good weather, we normally had one lookout located in on the starboard bridge wing and a second lookout located in the starboard catwalk aft near the drug dog kennel. In poor weather with reduced visibility such as foggy conditions, we stationed a lookout in each catwalk forward in addition to the two normal lookouts.

In addition, all divisions provided personnel during underway replenishment operations. Unreps were an " all hands" evolution for the Deck Department!

In addition, each division was responsible for the operation and maintenance of specific equipment.

1st Division	Manned Sea and Anchor Detail Maintained anchor windlass below Forcastle Kept Forcastle in immaculate condition
2nd Division	Maintained and operated the Boat and Aircraft Crane (B and A Crane) Operated and maintained accommodation ladders
3rd Division	Stood bridge watches and manned underway replenishment stations
4th Division	Stood bridge watches and manned underway replenishment stations
5th Division	Maintained and operated the ship's boats

B and A Crane	Forcastle
Underway Replenishment	Ship's Boats

Supply Department

Capt Dave Walker was the Supply Officer for all of my tour as XO. We spent a lot of time together during the deployment managing the various vendors that came aboard the ship providing various products on the mess decks during liberty port visits.

More about the "Vendors" later!

Dave was a top professional as a supply officer and became a close friend.

The Supply Department was organized into eight divisions.

S1 Supply Operations	Responsible for inventory management (ordering and financial accounting)
S2 Food Service	Plan for prepare and serve 20,000 meals daily served in the Chief Petty Officer's Mess, 1st Class Mess, and general mess deck.
S3 Ship's Services and Sales	Responsible for the operation of the ship's stores' (retail sales for items such as clothing, cameras etc) and operation of the ship's laundry.
S4 Disbursing	The Sara's Bank; responsible for conducting two pay days a month, processing travel claims, conducting foreign currency exchanges before and after ports visits as well as providing financial counseling to the crew.
S5 Wardroom	Officer's services- Operated 3 dinning areas: Wardroom 1- relaxed cafeteria style with self service. Known as the "Dirty Shirt Mess" because flight crews could eat in flight suits Wardroom 2- relaxed cafeteria style with wardroom personnel providing the service Wardroom 3-more formal sit down style meals with wardroom personnel providing table service; uniform of the day dress required. The S5 Division was also responsible 221 officer staterooms and bunk rooms for 533 officers and technical representatives (contractor tech reps) including cleaning once a week and laundry and dry cleaning service twice a week.
S6- Aviation Support	When the air wing is aboard, 41 Aviation Storekeepers (AKs) from the squadrons are sent TAD to S6 Division to join the 30 Sara AKs responsible for receiving, locating, and delivery of items ordered from the squadrons from storerooms aboard the ship. When the air wing is not aboard, the 30 ship's AKs are relegated to planning and facilities maintenance.
S7- Data Processing	Using a Honeywell DPS6 computer processing system which was the prototype for the "B-1" Configuration, S7 Division coordinated and maintained 50 terminals located throughout the ship with a remote processing system aboard the ship. The various terminals allowed the users to generate and monitor their own data.
S8- Material Division	Responsible for the receipt, storage, and shipping of all outgoing and incoming materials and supplies for the ship.

Support for "Vendors" while the ship was located in Liberty Ports

When inport in the Mediterranean, "vendors" would set up sales on the general mess decks. It was the responsibility of the Supply Officer to accommodate and regulate the "vendors". These "vendors" operated under contracts issued by 6th Fleet legal officers. However, despite these contracts, the "vendors" were actually assigned to the ship by a senior representative of the "vendors". The Sara Supply Officer, Dave Walker and I worked closely with the "vendors" and their supervisor to ensure the crew had a chance to purchase items from the liberty port area without having to leave the ship.

This is a work in progress
The Engineering Department

The Chief Engineer

Capt Landers

Capt Mike Landers was the Engineering Department Head when I reported for duty as XO. Mike was aboard Sara during SLEP and lead the Engineering Department during the challenging post SLEP/GTMO period and during the initial portion of the Mediterranean deployment.

During Saratoga's transit from Philadelphia to Mayport following SLEP, it was discovered that there was a serious problem with all the high pressure steam lines in her boilers. The "astro arc" welding process that was used to repair the steam lines during SLEP was intended for the installation of new material not for the repair of used material. All these high pressure steam lines in Sara's eight boilers had to be redone along side in Mayport. Welders from all over the world came to be interviewed to do the very exacting work. Inspectors from every conceivable level arrived to determine who was responsible for this situation. Fortunately, Saratoga's Chief Engineer, Mike Landon, was an experienced, dedicated, and talented post sea commanding officer who expertly handled all the engineering aspects of the welding operations.

SLEP's Cathedral Gold tile

The decks from the 2nd deck down and from the O2 level up were covered during SLEP with an awful colored tile we termed "Cathedral Gold".
I worked with Mike Landers and the Supply Officer, Dave Walker to purchase enough red and green tile to retile the 2nd deck and 02 and 03 levels with red tile on the port side and green tile on the starboard side. Much better!

Department Head Meetings

Captain Landers and Captain Walker somehow made the time to personally attend most of my Department Head meetings. Their contributions at these meetings concerning ideas about ways to improve life aboard Saratoga were extremely helpful. An example of this was the establishment of a Chief Petty Officer Review Board as a way to handle disciplinary cases involving disrespect of a superior enlisted supervisor. Their personal attendance also set an example that influenced other key department heads to personally attend these meetings.

Cdr Shanahan

Cdr Shanahan relieved CAPT Landers as the Chief Engineer during the Mediterranean deployment.

Operating out of four Main Machinery and associated spaces, Boiler Technicians (BTs) and Machinist Mates (MMs) operate and maintain
eight 1200 psi boilers, four 70,000 shaft horse power main engines, four 1500 kw ship's turbo generators (SSTGs), four100,000 gallon per day evaporators, and associated equipment in the boiler feed, fresh water, and lubrication systems. In addition, the Machinist Mates maintain and operate a very capable machine shop.

COMMANDER CRUISER DESTROYER GROUP TWELVE
Embarked Staff During Type Training

Although I had little contact with RADM Joseph Donnell during Saratoga's type training, that would change dramatically when VADM Donnell was Commander Naval Surface Forces Atlantic.

VADM Donnell would determine my future in the Navy at an Admiral's Mast. I plan to go into the details in my chapter as Chief of Staff of COMCRUDESGRU 12!

Underway Type Training

After the satisfactory completion of training at GTMO, it was time to get the airwing aboard and work on melding the airwing and ship team!

After the satisfactory completion of GTMO training, it was time to demonstrate that the Saratoga team was ready to be certified for deployment.

Opeational Readiness Exam (ORE)
Operational Propulsion Plant Evaluation (OPPE)

The ORE and OPPE were conducted in association with Exercise READEX 1-84 in the Roosevelt Roads Operating Area, Puerto Rico.

St. Thomas Liberty

After the exceptional completion of our ORE and OPPE, it was time for a few days of relaxation in St.Thomas,
a popular tourist destination and liberty port in the US Virgin Islands.

Guest Cruise

After St. Thomas, we headed back to Mayport to make the final preparation for deployment in xxx. But before we left Mayport for deployment, we had a one day guest cruise for families to get a glimpse of what their boyfriends, husbands, and fathers would be doing for the next six months

We had lots of coordinators and escourts on duty to make sure that everything ran smoothly.. But I had a "bird's eye" view to make sure that everything ran smoothly

The COD launch off catapult 2 was a little dicey with guests on the flight deck.

It was a long day but well worth the effort!

Underway for Deployment- April 2, 1984

Our Mediterranean Cruise

Super Sara

Operational Tempo

The number of days a Battle Group is at sea is called Op Tempo which is determined by the availability of jet and ship fuel. When fuel is not available for underway operations, the ships of the Battle Group are in port. When Super Sara was underway, the ship and the airwing operated in an outstanding manner during various NATO exercises. But, I think that there was shortfall for OP Tempo for our deployment which resulted in a lot of time spent in liberty ports.

As the Executive Officer, I worked closely with the Supply Officer and occasionally with the Chief Engineer and Deck Department when in port. I will devote most of the description of our deployment to the ports we visited and some of the events that took place that I can remember!

Rota Spain

When feasible, the incoming battle group would meet up with the out going battle group at anchor to meet with various counter parts to exchange lessons learned, cross deck appropriate items from the outgoing ships to those just starting their 6th Fleet deployment. This was usually a short stop and wasn't intended as a liberty port.

A US Navy P3 squadron was routinely deployed at Rota from either NAS Brunswick, Maine or NAS Jacksonville Florida.

Rota Airfield

US Navy P3 Orion

The Straits of Gibraltar

When you passed through the straits, you felt like the deployment had begun!

Commander Battle Force Sixth Fleet (CTF 60)

RADM Jerry O. Tuttle

Jerry Tuttle was an exceptional leader, well organized but aggressive and had creative tactical ideas based on experience. But he was also a master mentor. He was compassionate and was considerate as long as you worked hard and listened to what he had in mind for you to do. "Determine the problem and fix it"
I had little official contact with RADM Tuttle while underway. That was Captain Ready's job. He knew I was the Saratoga's XO of course and we did have some contact which I will discuss later!

My History with RADM Tuttle

Besides flying, my job in my first squadron, The Valions of VA15 was as the Aircraft Division Officer; LCDR Tuttle was the Maintenance Officer.
On one day, I asked for his advice on how I should go about my job. His responses were; determine the problem and fix it.. yesterday. He was dead serious about not waiting around to fix a problem, research it and fix it. He loved to tell me that regulations are for mediocre naval officers.

Note: Admiral Rickover stated similarly "creativity is limited by regulations".

I tried to follow his lead throughout my naval career. I saw him ans his wife Barbara (Babs) at our regular VA-15 Circa 1966/67 reunions and had the opportunity to discuss my career and to continue to get his advice.

Some pictures you might find interesting.

Officers of VA-15 aboard USS Intrepid CVS-11 going through the Suez Canal in 1966 enroute to Vietnam


Me removing stitches in Tut's head after he cut it on a bomb rack sway brace.	Tut receiving his first DFC from Captain John Fair after leading a successful strike against Phu Ly.	End of the line party in the ready room after one of our line periods in 1966.

If you are interested there are lots of Tuttle stories in my memoir chapter about our second Vietnam deployment in 1967.

Because of the limited funding for underway operations, our deployment had many more liberty ports than normal. My challenge as XO, was to handle all the non-judicial punishment cases while underway from the previous port before arriving in the next port. The good conduct of the crew and use of the CPO Review Board generally made this task achievable. Captain Ready did not have to handle many cases of Captain's Mast while underway and never in port and I can't recall any courts martial cases!

Our First Liberty Port

Barcelona,Spain

Lets Go on Liberty!


Get off the liberty boat, walk past the Columbus statue (one of many in Barcelona) and soon your walking down Las Ramblas where the action is!	Las Ramblas; no cars, many flower stalls, great restaurants, bars and clubs with lots of entertainment such as Flemenco Dancing.

Las Ramblas in the daytime- Nice stroll in the sun

Las Ramblas at night- Where the action is!

Flemenco anyone?

How about some great food and atmosphere ? Los Caracoles is not far from Les Ramblas; Let's go!

Calamari

Paella

These are Los Carocoles

I've been to Barcelona many times in my Navy career and I never missed a chance to have meal and spend some time in Los Caracoles.
It's a must do if you are ever visit Barcelona!

The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

spend a pleasant day Spend a pleasant day exploring the Barcelona Gothic Quarter where you will find many excellent examples of Roman Gothic architecture!

missed a

Then spend a pleasant evening enjoying fine dining and of course sangria in the cafes and fine restaurants in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter.
Spend a pleasant day exploring the Barcelona Gothic Quarter where you will

Spend a pleasant day exploring the Barcelona Gothic Quarter where you will

How would you like your sangria served?

Straight from the pitcher was popular in 1984

The next thing on our Barcelona to do list is to investigate some Gaudi architecture!

Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) is known for the very colorful ("gowdy") appearance of his projects. Also, you have a hard time finding any straight lines in buildings. He is most famous for his design and engineering genius for his Bassilica de la Sagrando Familia.


apartment building	apartment building	Basilica de la Sagranda Familia	Gaudi Park

Now Last but not least for me was can we play tennis in Barcelona on this visit

I had been to Barcelona three times during previous Med deployments and had been able to find the Barcelona Real Tennis Club. It was located not far from the Antonio Gaudi's Basilica de la Sagranda Familia. The management at the club headed by Manuel Orantes, a famous international tennis star, had been very accommodating not only allowing us to play on the practice courts but also giving us locker and restaurant privileges at the club.


Club Real facilities; locker room and restaurant	Manuel Orantes	Club Real practice tennis courts

I can't remember if we were able to plat tennis at the Barcelona Tennis Club Real on this visit because I was very busy with XO stuff like fleet landing, security, any liberty boat issues etc.


The winter uniform indicates that this was our first port; I think!	Our Marine Detachment provided personnel for the shore patrol.

Naples, Italy

This was our first of three visits to Naples on the deployment. I think we anchored Sara outside the breakwater on this first visit.This meant a long and sometimes rough trip to and from fleet landing. I've shown the location of the bolllards because we came inside the breakwater on our second and third visits and tied up at the bollards. This meant a much shorter and safer trip to fleet landing for the crew and great experience for me learning how to coordinate with the pilot and tugs inside the breakwater

The primary purposes for the initial visit was to load on supplies, make the appropriate calls on local officials and for me as XO, review any issues we had in Barcelona with security at the fleet landing and shore patrol. We had some vendors come aboard to sell merchandise to the crew on the mess decks in Barcelona. Being in Naples meant that the Supply Officer, Dave Walker and I could discuss any issues we had with the coordinator of the vendors, Alphonso Maglia!

Even if we were in port Naples for a few days, I'm certain that I would have found the time to get some tennis court time at The Circolo Canotieri Tennis Club. It was about a 45 minute walk from fleet landing. But, It was usually an exciting stroll.

The Tunnel della Victoria entrance road train tracks had an occasional train car on it heading into the tunnel usually surrounded by cars going every which way including the side walks. I was always relieved to be heading up the hill a way from the chaos!

Tunnel della Victoria

Circolo Conotieri Tennis Club

I don't remember whether whether I had a chance to check out Mergelina on this visit so I'll discuss it on a future Naples visit.

Palma de Majorca (First Visit)

There are two parts of Palma that are of interest to most Navy visitors; Old Town and Palma Nova

Old Town: Old Town is good description of the main city in the vicinity of the fleet landing. It consists of buildings and spectacular cathedrals some of which are 500 years old. There are many excellent restaurants. The streets are narrow and somewhat foreboding. Many parts of town are off limits to Navy personnel and are patrolled by the Shore PatroI. In my experience, most folks on their first liberty in Palma find a nice restaurant in old town but soon spend their time in Palma Nova which features excellent restaurants, tapas bars and night clubs frequented by Scandinavian tourists. There is one unique place on old town that is a favorite for those who discover it; The Rose Bar. The Rose Bar is actually located in an "off limits" part of town. But it is patrolled by the Shore Patrol who know about the The Rose Bar and ,in my experience, will escort you there if you contact them. The Rose Bar is located on one of those foreboding narrow streets lined with stone featureless buildings. If you know what to look for though, you can find a large wood door which when knocked upon will lead you to a unique experience.

The Rose Bar


Note the large wood door from the street along the wall. It leads to an incredibly decorated dining area. The menu is impressive, the food delicious. What you don't see in the picture is there are balconies around the room which contain very private tables for two. It's called the Rose Bar because at midnight, red rose petals descend from the ceiling; very romantic.	Off one side of the dining area is an open air garden beautifully landscaped, a great place to take a break after the main course before returning to your table in the main room before the rose petals come down while you're having desert.

You can use this map If you want to try to fine The Rose Bar. I know it was there in 1988 and it's been there a very long time so it's a good bet that it' still there!

Palma Nova

Palma Nova has everything you would want to find in a destination tourist destination; beautiful beaches, nice hotels, great restaurants, tapas vendors, and night clubs.

Majorcan Food

It's worth the effort to find a restaurant that specializes in Majorcan food

Sobrasada

Sobrasada is either ground pork as a sausage or as a joint of pork (my favorite) served with Basque style vegetables

Majorcan food includes tapas, seafood paella and sauteed seafood dishes, special pastries, specialty dishes such as ---- , incredble vegetable dishes including specialty mushrooms, desert cakes; the list goes on


Tapas	Paella	Vegetables	Mushrooms

Saugage and Pastry	Seafood Casarole	Similar to a Cornish Pasty	Gatto Ametla

Club Playa de Palma de Majorca

Club Playa de Palma de Majorca was a perfect venue for the Saratoga tennis team. It was located in Palma Nova so it was convenient for some tennis in the late afternoon after completing required work aboard the ship. And when the tennis was completed, we were right where we wanted to be in Palma Nova for some dinner, tapas and night clubs!


The club had a beautiful outdoor bar and restaurant. I made many friends out here over the years.	There were lots of beautiful red clay courts available so it was a great place for the Sara tennis team to play.	The pool had a spectacular view and was a great way to cool off after a great set or two of tennis.

Judy Ready and Cathy's Visit to follow the Saratoga

Judy Ready with Jack and John Ready and Cathy with our 18 month old daughter Jessica joined us in Palma as a part of their trip to follow the Saratoga for our first visit in Palma and our second visit to Naples.

This was their itinerary for the trip. They flew commercial from Jacksonville to Barcelona and flew to Palma in a small plane. After our Palma visit, they flew back to Barcelona and rented a car. They drove through Basque country of Spain to Marseille, France and then to Tolon through the French Riviera to Monaco. They spent the night somewhere in France along the way Monaco. The they drove to Genoa and on to the vicinity where they spent the night south of Pizza in Livorno. From Livorno, they drove southeast through Rome to Naples.

Their Visit to Palma

I think they must have arrived in Palma before the ship. Cathy thinks they stayed in a hotel in Palma Nova. Cathy had followed the USS America during my 1977 cruise as XO of VA-15 when she lived near Naples. One of the ports she followed us to was Palma so she was familiar with Palma Nova. To be honest. I don't remember much about their visit. I think we must have just enjoyed the beach, the fine restaurants and night life. I feel pretty sure that I took her to my favorite Majorcan restaurant possibly with Captain Ready and Judy.

Their Visit to Naples, Italy

The Ready and Smith families stayed at the dal Tedesco hotel and restaurant which is located in Baia Bay to the left of Naples Bay. Dal Redesco is Italian for "The Germans". The restaurant operation was run by the Rupelt family; the restaurant was operated by Trudy (a "world class" chef). The management of dal Tedesco was run by her husband, Wolfgang. They were assisted by their two teanaged sons Manuel and Roberto.


dal Tedesco logo	dal Tedesco layout

This is the view from the dal Tedesco restaurant.

From the terrace of Dal Tedesco's restaurant you can see the ancient town of Pozzouli on the the left and the Archeological Park on the right.


Pozzouli- Sophia Loren was born here!	Roman baths are found here in the Archeological Park

An ancient Roman road from Old Pozzouli to the own of Baiae which is located near Nero's Famous summer palace ("while Rome burned") runs under water across Baia Bay. The ruins of many buildings and some intact statues are located along the road. Any vessels which cross this road have to be aware of their draft to keep from damage these artifacts and anchoring anywhere near the road is forbidden. However, free diving, snorkeling, and scuba diving is a popular but collecting is illegal.

Julius Caesar's Summer Palace Amphorae

The water near the shore off Julius Caesar's Summer Palace are just as short boat ride from the dal Tedesco boat dock. It appears that in Caesar's time when the amphorae containing olive oil or wine were empty, they were thrown off a balcony into the water below. Over the years many amphorae were stacked up in the deep water below. Many of were broke but many were preserved by the cold deep water and are almost perfectly intact . The Rupelt sons are excellent scuba divers and have located some beautiful amphorae.

While staying at dal Tedesco, The Ready and Smith group had many opportunities nearby dal Tedesco to investigate antiquities.

Sulfatara

Sulfatra a stable semi active volcano known for it's steam and strong sulfur odor. Some say it was the inspiration for Dantes' Inferno. As you can see, Sulfatara is only a short drive from dal Tedesco and has safe public access for observation. However we decided to skip it and I must admit as much as I am interested in geology, I have never visited Sulfatara.

The Roman Baths at the Archeological Park

I think it is very likely that we visited the Roman baths at the Archeological Park. It is very pleasant walk and the tile mosaics on the walls and floors of the baths are magnificent!

Ancient Ruins in Old Pozzouli

I think it is very likely that we visited the ruins that are everywhere in Pozzouli. They are everywhere in the town. In fact, if you live near Pozzouli and want to dig a hole for a swimming pool, you are likely to discover an old ruin and have to stop work on the pool.

I think he most interesting ruin is the nautical amphitheater in Pozzouli (pictured on the left) where they used to fight ship battles for the amusement of the spectators.

Ancient Ruins of Greek settlement at Cumae near Naples

Not far from dal Tedesco is the 350 BC
Geek settlement of Cumae. You can walk this site and spend an entire day here and
and not see all of it.

Exceptionally fine samples of Greek pottery have been fond here!

I visited Cumae with Manuel from dal Tedesco on a subsequent visit to Naples..

The Cameo Factory Naples

The head vendor, Alphonso Maglia, invited Judy Ready and Cathy to join him for a tour of the Cameo Factory in Naples so they could observe the Cameo making process. Cameos are carved from the inner layer of an Abalone shell which are abundant in the Mediterranean. Beautiful cameos have been made for hundreds if not thousands of years with this process.

I warned Cathy not to allow Alphonso to give her or Judy an expensive cameo or cameos during the tour. But I also told her that they could accept an inexpensive one, otherwise he wold be insulted. I learned a lot about the Italian way of doing business over the years which I will discuss in more detail later.

I hope that while Judy and Cathy were at the Cameo Factory, Jack and I were able to go to the Circolo Tennis Club and enjoy some relaxing time there.

There were lots of other places we might have visited; Pompeii, Sorrento, and maybe even Capri. But, I think we probably stayed closer to dal Tedesco enjoying the great food and relaxing. I think Captain Ready had his Gig (The Captain's dedicated small boat) positioned at the Dal Tedesco dock and that we used it to go to and from the ship in the mornings. I also think we used the Gig to spend some time touring Baia Bay checking out the Acheological sites from the water; perhaps even the underwater Roman road!

I think that RADM Tuttle joined us at dinner one night at dal Tedesca!

Judy and sons John and Jack Ready and Cathy and Jessica departed Naples for JAX on a commercial flight.

Toulon, France (First Visit)

We would have two visits to Toulon (each lasting about10 days) during the deployment!

I'm confident we took the route south of Sardinia and then north north west to Toulon. I base this opinion because the cruise book chart shows that Sara didn't use the straits between Corsica and Sardinia during the deployment. Also, there is more airspace south of Sardinia to operate our aircraft during NATO exercises.

However, I wasn't paying much attention to the operations. I was busy debriefing my Executive Department Division Officers and Department Heads concerning any issues we experienced in Naples and to discuss the Toulon port visit. Of course, I wanted to handle any Non Judicial Punishment (NJP) cases and get them resolved before entering Toulon. I also needed to closely monitor my "pet project" that I was conducting with the assistance of Mike Landon (the Chief Engineer) and Dave Walker (Supply Officer). See Below!

Manuel's Trip to Toulon

Sometime toward the end of our stay at dal Tedesco, I came up with the idea that "wouldn't it be great if we could improve the quality of the food on Sara by giving it the dal Tedeso touch! I discussed it with Trudy and she liked the idea and thought that Manuel would be the perfect choice to spend some time with the Saratoga cooks. I'm not sure whether I discussed my idea with Captain Ready or not; I probably did but he might have said, you never asked me!

So, when we left Naples, Manuel was aboard. I offered him a one person stateroom (any good XO always has one tucked up his sleeve) but he refused saying he wanted to stay with the Sara cooks in their compartment. I coordinated with Dave Walker (Supply Officer) so his people were aware that Manuel was aboard and would be helping out with the preparation of the food produced in the general mess. Dave and I also brought Mike Landon (Chief Engineer) into our scheme as we would need the help of the machine shop to manufacture some changes to existing equipment such as making colanders to fit the existing boiling pots to switch from boiling vegetables to steaming them. Manuel enjoyed working in his classic chef's checkered trousers similar to the Navy's cook pants making suggestions on how to improve the taste of cooked vegetables using only the canned tomatoes and fresh vegetables normally available in the supply system! He also taught the Sara cooks how to make genuine Four Seasons Pizza (without the anchovies) which was a big hit with the crew. Manuel moved on to bring his expertise to the cooks in the Officer's Mess with similarly great results.

Our Coupe de Grace though was to have Manuel work with the CTF 60 cooks and waiters to serve RADM Tuttle ad the his staff with a genuine dal Tedesco dinner the night befre our arrival in Toulon.

The menu began with bruchetta followed by small Italian egg plants stuffed with sauteed calamari and a main course of grilled fresh fish with a sausage pasta and steamed vegetables.

We had to cheat a little by bringing the egg plants, calamari, fish and dal Tedesco bread for the bruchetta with us from Naples.

RADM Tuttte of course realized that this meal was not prepared by his Philippino chefs without a dal Tedesco chef's assistance. I suspect that he had a good idea who was behind it! But, I don't think he asked Captain Ready as he never asked a question that he wouldn't want t hear the answer.

I think ADM Rickover would have approved; "Regulations limit creativity"

Manuel left the ship in Toulon and returned to Naples by train without an international incident!

Toulon

As I had never been to Toulon before, I knew only a little bit about it. I knew that it was located in an area known as Le Prevance and was famous for its excellent food and wines. I understood that it was the southern most extent of the "French Rivera" which extended from Toulon through St.Tropez to Cannes. The beautiful city of Nice famous for it's perfume industry marked the end of the "French Riviera". For this Toulon trip, I will confine my comments mostly to Toulon itself with an introduction to nearby Lemoron Beach with a little side trip to the quaint fishing village of Cassis.

Beautiful Toulon Harbor

Toulon was particularly important to Battle Force Sixth Fleet and USS Saratoga as it was the home of the French Navy. We would return to Toulon later in August after some underway exercises with the French Navy between our visits.

Now on to Sara's Visit to Toulon


It was not a long boat ride to the landing!	And once there, you were near many places to eat or have a beer (or wine)

As we were not familiar with Toulon and the proximity of the fleet landing to restaurant and bars, it was a challenge initially to formulate plans for Shore Patrol positioning, fleet landing security, and drug screening.

However we got some good information from our embarked NIS agent and from the French Navy who coordinated with our advanced party.

Also, I learned in the past that it was very important for me to attend any consulate or embassy receptions early in any port visit. You often met the right people to help solve any issues that developed during the visit but also learned about good points of interest in the port.

USO Show

Five members of the Redskinettes (Washington Redskin's cheerleaders) entertained the crew in Hangar Bay One

Lessons Learned for Our Next Visit to Toulon

The Supply Officer, Dave Walker arranged for a car similar to this 1985 Alpha Romero as the the XO rated car in port to investigate potential liberty port options.

We learned there was a beautiful beach community just to the east of Toulon. It was decided to anchor Sara off this beach on our next trip to give the crew a taste of the French Riviera!

We learned there was a beautiful fishing village community to the west of Toulon on the road to Marseille
that was perfect for a relaxing overnight stay to enjoy the best of Provence seafood!.

Image of generic red clay tennis courts

I learned there was a nice tennis club in central Toulon that would provide a great place for the Saratoga Tennis Team to play tennis ring our next visit to Toulon in August.

Naples, Italy (Second Visit)

This time Saratoga tied up to the bollards inside the breakwater. This resulted in a shorter route to the fleet landing in less rough water. It was also very good for me to learn how to wok with the pilot and the tugs which was a very good experience for me!

We found more things to do in Mergillina during this Naples visit

Tennis in Mergellina

Saratoga Tennis Team in Naples

The public tennis courts located in the park as shown in the image of Mergillina above gave us the first opportunity to get most of the members of the tennis team to play tennis during this inport visit.

Image of generic red clay tennis courts

The Egg Castle and the Hotel Vesuvius in Mergillina

Castle del Orvo

The Egg Castle marked the beginning of Mergillina and was a popular place to visit.

The Hotel Vesuvius had a great bar and restaurant and offered relatively inexpensive rooms. I made numerous stops here in the bar and restaurant and even spent the night during my visits to Naples.

Hotel Vesuvius

Umberto

Umberto was a popular night spot in Piazza d'Martini in Naples. Umberto had a guitar and violin player who entertained the customers. It was a also a favorite night spot attended by members of the Neapolitan Opera who were frequent customers at Umberto. The opera stars entertained the crowd and expected the members of the crowd to participate. One of the vendors who I got to know quite well had a magnificent tenor voice and performed opera and Frank Sinatra songs.

Carney Park

Carney Park was situated in an extinct volcano crater near the NATO Base at AV South.

It was a popular place to hold athletic competitions associated with picnics.

Saratoga had a great time there during this inport period. It required a lot of planning to pull it of but it was well worth the effort!

USO Tours

The USO had a large organization had permanent representatives in many ports or sent sent representatives which coordinated tours in almost every liberty port in the Mediterranean. The USO's main base of operation was in Naples and was headed up by Jo d'Martino. I got to know her quite well during my Saratoga XO, USS Austin CO, and COMCRUDESGRUP 12 Chief of Staff tours even to attending her marriage reception which was held at dal Tedesco. The USO coordinated tours during this inport to the following locations.

Mt Vesuvius

Mt Vesuvius in modern times

Artist rendition of the disastrous eruption in 1631

Herculaneum

Herculneum was a small fishing village on the coast below Mt Vesuvius. The entire population was lost due to the eruption. Many of their bodies are still preserved in the rubble.

Pompeii

Pompeii was also totally destroyed in the 1631 eruption of Mt Vesuvius. If you visit Pompeii, you can see the remains of some of the humans caught in the rooms. A word of warning to visitors, as you walk the streets of Pompeii don't be surprised when you see some pornographic writings on street signs.

Sorrento

Sorrento is a beautiful location. The are nice hotels and great restaurants and lots of things you will want to purchase there. Of particular interest to me where table tops and other articles made from beautiful marble.

Sanzia Sebastiani

I bought this beautiful painting of Mergellina from Bruno, one of the vendors who sold his paintings on the mess decks. It is mounted in my dining room as I am writing my memoir.

It reminds me of a very important phase in my life which began in a restaurant located not far from the location where Bruno painted it!

It began with an invitation to a popular restaurant up the hill from Mergellina Harbor. A Brit named David was a vendor who sold encyclopedia sets which included a custom made bookcase (many families had encyclopedias for reference sources before the Internet). David had invited Dave Walker and me for dinner which also included David's very wealthy Neopolitan "girl friend" (actually she was middle aged) and the "girl friend's" niece. David sat at one end of the table with his "girl friend" to his right and Dave to his left. I sat next to the right of David's "girl friend" with the niece opposite me next to Dave. The seating turned out to be very important as David, the "girl friend" and Dave Walker mainly conversed together leaving me and the niece to spend most of the time talking together.
The niece's name was Sanzia Sebastiani. Sanzia was in her late twenties and I would describe her as a"liberated Italian woman". Liberated because she resisted the traditional role of an Italian woman whose goal was instead of being subservient to a husband or boy friend was well educated and financially independent. In Sanzia's case she and her father operated the last of the Sebastaini wine operations left in Italy; the previous generations of Sebastiani's had moved their winery operations to California. In addition, Sanzia had a job and owned several apartments in Naples. Sanzia and I discussed many topics; wine making, my daughters, her ideas about educating young children, family dynamics etc etc. She seamed to to enjoy our relaxed conversation. Dave and I left about midnight so we could get some rest before work the next day. I enjoyed meeting Sanzia but didn't expect to see her again.

Imagine my surprise the next day when I receives a note from Sanzia addressed to Saratoga #2. It read "If you want to see me again give me a call" and she left her phone number. Apparently she had given the note to someone at fleet landing asking them to forward the note to me! I called her that afternoon and we met that night at at the Hotel Vesuvius for drinks and dinner. It was surprising night to say the least. After dinner I attempted to hold her hand and she told me that she didn't know me well enough to hold hands. Instead, she got us a room at the Vesuvius and we got to know each other well enough to hold hands after that!

We spent as much time as we could together for the rest of the inport period highlighted by a drive to Sorrento and then over the hill to spend the night in Positano.

Positano

The beach below was stony instead of sand. There were plenty of great restaurants to choose from along the road.	We stayed at a small apartment up the hill. I was a challenging drive to find the apartment. It was quite was windy drive up the hill to the apartment.

	We had as small balcony(similar to the image on e left). The view from there was magnificent. We enjoyed a continental breakfast there in the morning before driving back to Naples.

Our second visit to Naples was a success!

The operations at fleet landing went well, there were no major incidents, the vendor operations went well, the Saratoga Tennis Team was able to play at the Mergellina public courts, the picnic at Carney Park was a huge success, the USO tours went well and we got to know Jo d'Martino and some of the other USO folks, and of course I met Sanzia Sebastiani.

Our Second Visit to Toulon was in September This time Saratoga anchored just off shore of Lemreon Beach

The Lemoreon Beach anchorage location was close to the dock at the beach so the crew had the opportunity to leave the ship and spend a day at the beach and return to the ship or find a hotel in Lemoreon for an overnight trip.


We could send ship's liberty boats to the dock at Lemoreon Beach or for a longer trip to fleet landing from the Lemoreon Beach anchorage.	We chose the Lemoreon Beach anchorage so that the crew could experience the French Riviera beach atmosphere!

The French Riviera begins at Lemoreon Beach near Toulon and continues through Cannes towards Nice.

Once I was confident that our boating arrangements and Shore Patrol plans were working well at both the beach and fleet landing, I headed to fleet landing to pick up my red Alpha Romero. I remember attending a reception featuring local a artists where I had an interesting time, so interesting that she she gave me one of her paintings the next morning. I'll add the small painting to the memoir I find it. I also remember playing tennis at the tennis club in Toulon.

Tennis in Toulon

Saratoga Tennis Team

The tennis club in Toulon was located in a beautifully landscaped setting on the edge of town. The members of the club were very hospitable and welcomed our interest in playing there.

I don't remember how many Saratoga tennis players were able to play there but I'm sure I did my best to set it up at the beginning of our 10 day stay in Toulon.

Image of generic red clay tennis courts

USO Show

Seven former Miss America contestants entertained about 1,000 crew members in Hangar Bay One.

USO Tour of Paris

The USO sponsored a tour of Paris which was very well attended. Those who attended the tour reported that it was the highlight of the port visit.

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triumph

Cathedral de Notre Dame

The Louvre Museum

Typical Paris Street Scene

We couldn't end our tour of Paris without taking a stroll along the River Seine

My next recollection is that I found a nice hotel with lots of sun and a view as I was expecting Sanzia Sebastiani to arrive by train from Naples about the third day after the Sara's arrival.


This is not the actual hotel but it had lots of sun and shade for Sanzia to relax while I was at work. The actual hotel was beautifully landscaped.	Sanzia arrived in the early evening. I remember three things about her arrival. 1. She was wearing a very nice yellow and white outfit (very yellow!) 2. She ran to me and flung her arms around my neck (so embarrassing!) 3. The people on the platform cheered and clapped their hands (so French!)

I don't remember many specifics about what Sanzia and I did for her first few days in Toulon. I got up early and worked during the mornings and maybe got in some tennis in the early afternoon before getting to the hotel about 1500. When I arrived at the hotel Sanzia was usually enjoying the sun while reading a book. We had dinner at the hotel or at one of the restaurants in town (I had the red Alpha Romero) and went to bed early as I had to work the next morning. I would usually get a boat to the ship by 0800 to put in about four hours before going ashore.

We didn't ride the tram to the top of the hill. I wish we had. What a great view. If you look to the left of the red tram car, I've drawn a line under where I think the tennis club was located.

Lemoreon Beach
(AKA Lemon Beach)

This is one of my favorite views of Lemoreon Beach

We found a great hotel above the beach	With a nice patio with a view

We would drive down to the beach parking and then walk down the beach and enjoy the sun where it was less crowded. We would listen to Lionel Richie who was very popular.

After the beach we would get dinner and get back to the hotel to enjoy the sunset.

It was a great couple of days before Sanzia would have to return to Naples by train.

There was one near disaster while the Saratoga was anchored off Lemoreon Beach

After a couple of days at the Lemoreon Beach anchorage, it was discovered that human waste was floating around the ship. Fortunately, the wind was blowing off shore. We deployed fuel spill containment booms and launched as many boats as we could to remove all the "floaters" as possible. The Chef Engineer and I took one of the boats and coordinated the clean up. Fortunately, no one on the beach suspected that there was a potential disaster!

Note: All US Navy ships have CHT systems that process and store solid human waste in CHT tanks aboard.in. This CHT can be off loaded when the facilities exist ashore. When the ships make long transits across oceans this waste is pumped over board when the CHT tanks are full. In this case either the CHT tanks were full and the excess leaked over board or there was an inadvertent leak or human error which resulted in this near disaster!

After leaving Toulon we steamed south and began operating west and south of Sardinia in the central Mediterranean Sea and perhaps in the Tyrrhenian Sea before heading south southwest towards Tunisia and our next port, Tunis.

Tunis, Tunisia (August, 1984)

For most of us, this was our first visit to Tunis

We were excited to check out the bazaars in the old city

The initial price was just a start for the final price

Just about everyone brought some kind of a beautiful golden trinket back to the ship as a souvenir

There were few to none young attractive girls available unless you would want to chance loosing part of your anatomy to a father or brother

o, So, once the shopping was completed, it was time to take a tour of an archeological site or the location of a World War II tank battle

There were numerous WW II tabnkk engagenent sites to fvisit from Tunis.There were numerous WW II tabnkk engagenent sites to fvisit from Tunis.There were numerous WW II tank battle sites you could visit from Tunis. As you can see from the map below, Patton remained to the south of Tunis and had a major engagement with with Rommel in February. Later in May, Omar Bradley pushed Rommel away from the coastline and cleared the area from Bizerte, Tunis, and Kelibia. Bradley might have engaged Italian tank units in the vicinity of Tunis.

This reminds me of a story that you might find interesting.

This story took place on one of my previous deployments to the Mediterranean. We were in port Catania. I went ashore one morning and stopped by to have a cappuccino. While I was there, one of the locals came up tome and asked me if I was from the American ship n the harbor. I said yes, and he told me this story.

He told me he was in an Italian tank unit that captured by Patton near Tunis in WW 2. He was transported as a POW to America. He said that passing the Statue of Liberty in New York was the best day of his life. As he continued his story, he got more emotional and the tears started flowing. He was sent somewhere in the west working in fields growing some sort of crops for the duration of the war. He couldn't believe that he actually received wage for his work, was well fed, and felt respected. He said he loved America and Americans.

The most surprising part of our Tunis visit

While I was checking out the hotels along the beach, I ran into a large gathering of obviously important Arab men in traditional dress holding some sort of a conference. I found it interesting that they would be holding a conference while Saratoga was in port Tunis. They were having a great time.I left that hotel and found a restaurant in a different hotel. I did report my observations to the NIS agent back aboard the ship.

Our next port was back to Naples for our final visit there.
Again we tied up to the bollards which was a another great experience for me!

I can only remember two specific new Naples stories from our last Naples visit.

I think I went to Umberto at least once but again no specifics come to mind. I probably played tennis at the Circolllo Club and at the Mergellina public courts but by this time the individual Saratoga players able to play at the Mergellina courts without my assistance. I expect that Dave Walker and I spent some time on the mess decks talking with Alphonso Maglia and the vendors about our next liberty port in Palma.

think I talked quite a bit with Ernesto Polidero about how the Silvio Polidero Taylor business was going and making plans to meet up in Palma for some liberty; Ernesto and I were about the same age and enjoyed the same music (Neil Diamond) at a specific club in Palma.

I think I saw Sanzia during the visit but I don't recall any details.

Dinner with Alphonso Maglia and his family at their home.

Dave Walker and I were invited to have dinner with Alphonso Maglia and his family at their home in Naples. This was very unusual as the Italians kept their business and their personal lives separate. So, being invited to Alponso's home for dinner was was a sign of great respect which is very important to an Italian. Alphonso prepared most of the dinner by himself and his wife and daughter served the courses in an octagonally shaped room with beautiful paintings on each wall. However his wife and daughter joined us for desert and coffee and friendly conversation. This dinner sealed my friendship with Alphonso which existed during my USS Austin and CONCRUDESGROUP 12 later on.

A Special Request by Trudy Rupelt at dal Tedesco

Background: Long before I had met the Rupelts at dal Tedesco, they had been harassed by the local Mafia to pay protection. The Rupelts refused resulting in Trudy' car being forced off the road by the Mafia as a warning. Trudy was injured but recovered. Then the Mafia threatened to kidnap Manuel and Roberto and hold them hostage until the Rupelts paid for protection. Trudy asked Cathy's father, Captain Don Hull-Ryde who was Chief of Staff at Strike Force South, for if he could help. Don immediately drove Manuel and Roberto to Germany in his new Mercedes where they joined the Hull-Ryde sons Ted and Brett who were attending a DOD school there. When Don returned to Naples, the Mafia stole his new Mercedes in retaliation.This apparently satisfied the Mafia and it was safe for Manuel and Roberto return to dal Tedesco. Trudy gave Don credit for saving her sons' lives!

Now for Trudy's Special Request: Trudy asked me if I could take an amphora back to Jacksonville to give to Don who had retired from the Navy and was teaching economics at Middleberg High School and living in Middleberg, Florida.

The amphora was from Julius Caesar's summer palace and was in perfect condition. I think Manuel and Robert had discovered it while scuba diving in the deep water off the coastline probably having been town off a balcony when empty of olive oil or wine.

The problem was that is was quite large standing about 3 to 4 feet in height. I had the Saratoga First Liutenant make a wood crate for the amphora to transport it. Dave Walker stored it in a void or storeroom and we delivered it to Don in Middleburg after the deployment.

Trudy was pleased and happy that Don had such a beautiful amphora for rescuing Manuel and Roberto.

Our Third Visit to Palma

Palma Majorca

Palma Nova

I spent most of my liberty time in Palma Nova. I think I might have made a visit to the Rose Bar with one of my new friends from the Club Playa de Palma in Palma Nova. But I spent most of my time at the club playing tennis and socializing with my new friends at the bar or having dinner.

One of my new friends at the club was a middle aged wealthy woman who had a some political influence with the Spanish government. She asked me if I had ever been to Grenada to visit the Alhambra. When I told her that I had never been there, she asked me if I would like to go. I knew that Saratoga was going to Benidorm and Malaga at the end of our deployment She told me that Spain ran a pensione in the Alhambra itself and she thought she could arrange a reservation for two if I wanted to to go. We discussed some dates and before we left Palma, she had arranged a reservation during our port visit to Malaga as it was a much shorter drive than from Benidorm.. I will discuss my trip to the Alhambra between the sections about Benidorm and Malaga.

A Work In Progress

Our route from Palma Benidorm Malaga and Gibraltar

Benidorm, Spain

Fleet Landing with Sara in the background

All ashore who are going ashore

Most of the crew hit the beach

Where there were plenty of ladies awaiting

But many preferred some food and drinks

Good for American British relations

The coast of Spain was popular with British and German tourists while Palma was preferred by Scandanavians.

Tours of Saratoga were very popular

Shore Patrol was often a good deal

What can I say about this one

Many of the crew actually made it into the city itself and enjoyed touring, browsing the shops for gifts and experiencing some of the best Spanish food in the restaurants there.

At night there were many clubs and discos where he crew could socialize with people from all over Europe.

But there was also the opportunity to rent a car and drive to Valencia.

Valencia

Valencia also had a beautiful beach

Valencia's architecture was interesting

Great food at Valencia's restaurants

But if you go to Valencia, a visit to the LLADRO factory is a must!

The coastYou can take a tour of the LLADRO factory and watch the artisans at work!

Some examples of LLADRO

The first LLADRO's were plain white like the nuns on the left. The also made many angels in the white version.

But later on, they began making LLADROS in an opaque version with colors.

LLADROs began becoming more and more complex and more expensive.

LLADRO began adding flowers to their LLADROs and as you see they are incredible works of art. They also can be an excellent investment.

I have purchased many LLADROs over the years. All the white nuns and angels currently reside with my second wife Cathy. My daughter Laura loves LLADROs and I have given her my collection of opaque colored figures of Hispanic worker class women. I also gave Laura a beautiful LLADRO of a young woman seated among an array of flowers.

I have retained one LLADRO for myself.

I purchased her in the Rota Navy Exchange in 1971. She is about 24 inches tall. I paid $300 for her fifty years ago. She has somehow survived many moves probably because I moved her only in my car.

I expect that she is now worth over $3,000!

Malaga is one of the most popular beaches along Costa del Sol for tourists from all Europe.
It was the first week in October so the weather was perfect.

But, just behind the beach are hotels, restaurants and clubs with entertainment and lots of disco clubs.


There was lots of interesting architecture such as this cathedral.	There were shops and restaurants in the streets.	And entertainment in the clubs

The USO sponsored Tours to Gibraltar and Morocco

The Gibraltar Tour


Gibraltar as it looks today	Gibraltar in 1984	Gibraltar in 1984

The cruise book did not have any pictures of the tour to Gibraltar. So. I don't have any pictures from the tour about what they did there. I found the two images on the right above on Google from 1984. But there were no images that were not copy right protected of what the interior of Gibraltar looked like in 1984. From the 1400s through World War 2, Gibraltar was strategically important as it could monitor what ships were entering and leaving the Mediterranean Sea. During the spice trade era (1400-1800), Portugal and Spain competed for control of Gibraltar. In the 1900s, Britain managed to control Gibraltar until Germany captured it in World War 2. Today, Gibraltar has become a tourist destination with a runway suited for commercial jets to hotel accommodations, restaurants, and clubs within the rock of Gibraltar itself.

Gibraltar Today


Gibraltar is British	Gibraltar has beaches for European tourists	Gibraltar has walkways for tourists


Gibraltar luxury hotel room	Gibraltar hotel bar	Gibraltar street shops and restaurants

The Tour to Morocco

I don't know what route the tour group took from Malaga to Morocco. There might have been a ferry. But, if I were planning it, I would use a bus to go to Gibraltar and then take a ferry to Morocco. Also, I don't know what part of Morocco they visited. I don't think they went to Tangier as there are no pictures of a city in the cruise book. I suspect the tour was somewhere I have indicated with an "X".


They must have started at some sort of a building	A group picture of the Sara portion of the tour group	Then on a bus for the exciting part


A tour group member tries a camel	A Sara tour member gets ready for the ride	And they're off for an exciting ride

The Alhambra

I drove from Malaga to Grenada to stay at the Alhambra Palace Hotel.
You might recall from my last report from Palma that a friend at the Palma Nova Tennis Club had been able to get me a reservation there.

Spectacular view of the Alhambra Palace


Alhambra Palace Hotel's beautiful entry area.	Palace Hotel rooms are along the sides of this traditional Moorish style area.	Palace Hotel rooms have a more modern decor today. In 1984 they were more traditionally decorated in the Moorish style.

Note the desk near the widow in the image of the room. I signed the register before I left. The signature above mine was Henry Kissinger!

Straits of Gibraltar

Good Bye to CTF 60

RADM Jerry Tuttle

I will see him again after I completed my tour as CO of USS Austin LPD 4 and he tried to get me assigned to a billet in Washington to get me back in consideration for Flag rank. However that would not happen as COMCRUDESGROUP TWELVE needed a Chief of Staff who had to be an aviator and have had a deep draft command and I was the only one available!

We stopped briefly at Rota for turnover with the incoming Battle Group.

It was a short stop but it was a great opportunity to go to the Navy Exchange and pick up a gift or two!

Great Job Super Sara and Crew

Let's Head Back Home to
Sara departed Rota on October 10th,1984

Tiger Cruise

Return from Deployment
Sara arrived in Mayport on October 20th, 1984

Homecoming Cecil Field

Retu

Homecoming
Homecoming

My Relief as XO by Captain Morey Kemple

Training Pipeline Prior to Reporting to USS Austin LPD-4

Senior Officers Shipboard Engineering Course (SOSMARC), Idaho Falls, Idaho

The Navy expected Commanding Officers of Navy ships be well trained in the operation of their ship's propulsion and related systems. The three month course in Idaho Falls accomplished that requirement.

SOSMARC Engineering Training in Idaho Falls, Idaho (Feb-June,1985)
SOSMARC Class training at the Navy's Engineering Training Center in Glenview, Illinois
SWOSCOLCOM (Surface Warfare Officer School Command), Newport, Rhode Island (with SOSMARC Class)
Large bridge simulator training at Toledo, Ohio and Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York

Next Chapter

Commanding Officer USS Austin LPD-4

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