U.S. Naval Operations in 1983

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U. S. naval operations in 1983 broke the patterns of the recent past in several ways. U. S. Navy and Marine forces were in combat in 1983 for the first time in years. Combat operations in Grenada and in Lebanon were limited in nature but very significant in the challenge they made to established training and deploy­ment procedures and painful in the casu­alties that were inflicted. Naval forces fully and successfully supported the oper­ation in Grenada, but success in carrying out the mission of peacekeeping may have been out of reach of any reasonable commitment of U. S. military forces. President Reagan’s decision of 7 Febru­ary 1984, to withdraw Marines ashore back to their ships at sea, together with the step to make naval gunfire and tacti­cal air strikes more readily available in

An SH-2F LAMPS I helicopter is shown just above the stern of the cruiser Sterett (CG-31) during search operations for wreckage from the downed Korean airliner; a Soviet ship is in the background.

support of the established government of Lebanon, ended some of the frustrating aspects of the situation for U. S. forces that prevailed throughout 1983.

The rotational cycle of naval force deployments described in last year’s Naval Review article on 1982 naval oper­ations (pp. 50ff.) has been modified somewhat by the adoption of more flexi­ble deployment patterns that are called “FlexOps.” Secretary of the Navy John Lehman stated to the House Armed Ser­vices Committee on 17 February 1983 that:

“. . . we have completely reor­dered our method of peacetime de­ployment of naval forces to add much more flexibility for theater command­ers, and far more useful training, while at the same time reducing the ratio of time out of home port for our Navy and Marine Corps personnel. This new method of deployment, called ‘FlexOps’ has resulted in multi­ple carrier exercises in the Norwegian Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Aleutians. It has significantly enhanced the readiness, morale, and diplomatic flexibility of our naval forces.”

The Navy’s fiscal year 1984 budget re­quest reflected this change in adding un­derway time at sea for “non-deployed” ships training from U. S. ports while holding underway time for “deployed” ships operating with the Sixth and Sev­enth fleets constant at fiscal year 1983 levels.

Naval force participation in training exercises continued with little disruption caused by the Lebanon and Grenada con­tingency operations. Certain exercise ac­tivities were cancelled, such as Marine Corps participation in the NATO south­ern region exercises Distant Drum and Display Determination as had taken place in 1982. Both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets carried out major transoceanic mar­itime exercises during 1983, and signifi­cantly increased exercise—and contin­gency—operations were accomplished off the Central American coasts as well.

Outline

This compilation follows the layout initiated in the Naval Review last year. Basic information on ship movements, exercise activity, and contingency opera­tions has been assembled to serve as a preliminary reference source. Informa­tion has been drawn from publicly avail­able, unclassified sources. Official news releases provided much of the material presented on exercises and much of the ship movement news. On the other hand, the contingency operations—Lebanon, Grenada, Central America, etc.—reflect the unofficial news media to a much larger degree. Accordingly, the descrip­tions provided on contingency operations should be regarded as the least authorita­tive in nature of the information pre­sented here.

Coverage here emphasizes the carrier battle groups, amphibious forces, and, to a lesser extent, major surface combat­ants. Space limitations prevent compara­ble coverage of many surface combatant and support ship activities. Aviation unit operations are considered in less detail, in part because published information on their activities is easier to find (see dis­cussion of sources toward the end of this article).

Frequently U. S. Navy ships are listed

here only by their hull number classifica­tion, for example “CV-66” rather than America (CV-66). Space constraints made it seem preferable to include as much information as possible this way, with all due respect to ships that may thereby go, to some degree, unmen­tioned.

The Exercise Program in 1983

The Navy’s fleet exercise program was accomplished successfully in 1983, with the patterns of major and minor exercises Proceeding much as in the previous year (background and conceptual patterns of exercises are given in the Naval Review 1983 account of 1982 exercises). The Atlantic and Pacific Fleets each carried out one very large, transoceanic exercise, FleetEx 83-1 in the north Pacific during spring 1983 and the sequence United Ef- fort/Ocean Safari in the Atlantic about a month later. Amphibious force exercises m the Atlantic area were reduced some­what because of the commitment to maintaining the Marine Corps elements of the multinational force (MNF) ashore m Lebanon throughout the year. Atlantic Command amphibious forces conducted landing exercises in the continental United States and Puerto Rico as Navy/ Marine forces prepared for Mediterra­nean deployments but did not participate in the annual NATO Southern Region exercises Distant Drum and Display De­termination as they had in 1982. On the other hand, Atlantic forces conducted a battalion-sized landing in north Norway during NATO exercise Cold Winter in March and also carried out a battalion­sized landing in Honduras during exer- eise Ahuas Tara II on 18 November.

Revelations of Navy carrier-based tac­tical air force capability came in both United Effort and in the later U. S. Cen­tral Command-directed exercise Bright Star ’83. During United Effort, an S-3A ASW aircraft was employed as a long- range reconnaissance platform, flying a combat mission radius of about 1,300 miles from the John F. Kennedy (CV- 67). The S-3A of Squadron VS-22, Car­rier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) was fol­lowed by A-6E attack aircraft and KA-6D tankers, hitting the target ship too quickly for effective defensive measures to be taken. According to CV-67’s public af­fairs office:

“Essentially, United EffortlOcean Safari was to be a confrontation be­tween two forces, the Orange and the Blue. Kennedy was an element of the Blue force, while the forces of the other three NATO nations were di­vided according to a prearranged sce­nario. Kennedy and her complement had no information concerning the size and disposition of the Orange forces, except the knowledge that America was leading the opposition. America was instructed to conduct herself in a way so as to simulate as closely as possible the capabilities of a Soviet Kiev class ship . . .

“Kennedy launched a late after­noon ‘attack’ in early June that stretched across 1,000 miles of open sea and took America completely by surprise. According to CDR James Kidd, Kennedy Strike Operations, ‘Previously, 500 to 800 miles was considered as feasible for undertaking an operation of this sort but, in re­sponse to new developments in Soviet air, sea, and subsurface cruise missile technology, the Navy has re-exam­ined its long-range punch.’” (The Hook, Fall 1983, pp. 45-46)

Two crewmen from the USS Midway (CV-41) shield their faces from cold weather during FleetEx 83-1, held in Pacific waters reach as far north as the Aleutians.

The John F. Kennedy’s A-6 strike air­craft performed other notable extended- range attacks later during the Ocean Sa­fari phase of this operation. She steamed well into the Bay of Biscay in mid-June, launching A-6 missions that hit simulated targets in the Federal Republic of Ger­many in support of Allied Command Eu­rope ground force exercises there.

Extended aircraft mission radii in de­fensive operations were practiced later in 1983 in the Mediterranean Sea. CVN-69/ CVW-7 conducted a “strike CAP inter­cept”—a long-range combat air patrol (CAP) projected well out toward oncom­ing aircraft—during exercise Bright Star. Two VF-143 F-14 fighters flew out 1,000 miles, with an escort of A-6 and A-7 tankers, to intercept U. S. Air Force B-52 bombers as they entered the Mediterra­nean. The bombers were “later met by two more waves of F-14s” as they con­tinued toward Egypt (The Hook, Fall 1983, p. 49).

The Pacific Fleet’s FleetEx 83-1 also included significant participation by Air Force land-based aircraft, including KC- 10s, fighters, and E-3A surveillance air­craft. Admiral Sylvester R. Foley, Jr., CinCPacFlt, stated that FleetEx 83-1:

“. . . was deliberately designed to parallel what the British experienced in the Falklands. Our units were far from familiar bases, in heavy seas and foul winter weather conditions, and were in part supported by long-range ground-based aircraft.” (“The US Navy in the Pacific: Flexible Power for Peace” in Naval Forces Vol. IV No. 6 (1983), p. 22)

There was no exercise Ocean Venture in 1983, unlike the two previous years (see Naval Review 1983, p. 63). Instead, it now is planned that Ocean Venture se­ries exercises will alternate with Atlantic Command Solid Shield joint exercises on even and odd years, with an Ocean Ven­ture thus planned for 1984.

One notable aspect of 1983 exercise activity was the relative prominence of mine warfare training, both offensive and defensive. Minelaying was conducted by B-52 bombers, for example in a nonstop flight from Guam to Australia during exercise Kangaroo ’83. More unusual was the mention of ammunition ship Mauna Kea (AE-22) laying 2,000-pound Mark 55 bottom mines in Third Fleet

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exercise ReadiEx 83-3 and replenishment fleet oiler Milwaukee (AOR-2) laying a barrier of Mark 60 Captor (‘ ‘encapsulated torpedo”) antisubmarine mines during Second Fleet exercise ReadEx 2-83 (see Surface Warfare, September/October 1983). The potential addition of under­way replenishment ships as minelaying platforms certainly would complicate an enemy planner’s thinking.

Mine countermeasures operations formed a part of many fleet exercises, with ship movement out of home port preceded by simulated mine clearance. At least four significant deployments out of home waters were made during 1983 by mine countermeasure units: embarka­tion of mine countermeasures (MCM) helicopters aboard the Tripoli (LPH-10) during her 1983 WestPac cruise; embar­kation of MCM helos aboard the Inchon (LPH-12) during a fall 1983 northern Europe deployment; a 137-day deploy­ment by four U. S. Navy minesweepers in European waters, each ship steaming over 12,000 miles and taking part in two international exercises and serving as part of NATO’s Standing Naval Forces Chan­nel; and a four-week deployment by seven minesweepers from Pacific ports to Alaskan waters.

Brief descriptions of reported exercises held during 1983 are provided later in this article.

U- S. Air Force

As will be noted throughout the ac­counts of 1983 operations, the Air Force is conducting an increased number of air­craft sorties in support of maritime opera­tions. USAF involvement in naval opera­tions stems largely from the 9 September 1982 Navy/Air Force “Memorandum of Agreement on Joint USN/USAF Efforts to Enhance USAF Contributions to Mari­time Operations.” One reported point of this agreement is increased integration of naval and air forces in tactical and train­ing exercises, including Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)-sponsored maneuvers (see 'Wings of Gold, winter 1982, pp. 24, 25, 28).

Allocation of B-52 heavy bombers to maritime strike missions became more frequent during 1983. For example, a B-52 based in New York flew out into the Atlantic during spring 1983 to intercept the British V/STOL aircraft carrier Invin­cible steaming eastward about 1,000 miles northeast of Puerto Rico, en route from participation in exercise CaribTrain ’83 to take part in SpringTrain ’83.

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initial operational capability was accom­plished during 1983. A series of three live firings of “test-configured” Har­poon missiles was carried out early in the year, completing on 28 March. An E-3A airborne radar surveillance aircraft pro­vided target update information during the second test launch. One launch was made from 30,000 feet, a new record high for Harpoon launches. All three test launches were successful. The Air Force plans to procure 85 Harpoon missiles in fiscal year 1985 to arm modified B-52s for this role.

The Strategic Air Command achieved a limited initial operational capability on 1 October 1983 with three B-52Gs at Loring Air Force Base, Maine, carrying Harpoons. Press reports have stated a goal of two B-52 squadrons armed with Harpoon available by December 1983.

Contingencies

The Navy faced a significantly greater burden of contingency operations arising during 1983 than in the previous year. This burden was fairly large at times—for example, when the decision was made to go ashore on Grenada against uncertain armed resistance just a couple of days after the stunning attack that destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Marines. The complex, demanding, and sometimes frustrating nature of these contingencies made the Navy (and Ma­rine) accomplishment of assigned tasks difficult but also highlighted the suc­cesses that were achieved.

Support of U. S. interests in Lebanon was the most significant contingency of 1983, continuing unresolved from the previous year. Continued concern over the course of events in Central America and the Caribbean grew to serious pro­portions at midyear, followed by major deployments to the Central American coasts and later to the landings in Gre­nada. A lesser affair that had the potential to grow to crisis proportions was the U. S. response to the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines flight 007 (KAL- 007) on 1 September. Search and rescue operations and subsequent crash site in­vestigation kept naval forces at sea from 1 September through 5 November 1983. U. S. naval involvement in these three areas will be summarized below.

The United States maintained a Marine Corps battalion ashore in Beirut, Leba­non, throughout 1983 as part of an over­all effort to restore peace to the region and secure the withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Lebanon. The Ma­rines were part of a larger multinational

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force (MNF) also including British, Ital­ian, and French troops, the MNF being intended to support the Lebanese central government by creating an environment favorable to the restoration of order and cessation of factional fighting. A major diplomatic agreement was reached on 17 May 1983 between Israel and Lebanon, aiming at troop withdrawals by both Is­rael and Syria. Syria declined to join the accord and the external political situation remained relatively static through the end of the year. The internal political situa­tion in Lebanon deteriorated during the year, with serious outbreaks of fighting by factional militias, terrorist attacks on the MNF, and an inability of the central government to restore order. (President Reagan’s February 1984 withdrawal of the Marines to their ships offshore fol­lowed further, serious domestic fighting •n Lebanon early in 1984.)

Evidence of the risks to U. S. citizens and their interests in Lebanon came on 18 April 1983 when a truck bomb was deto­nated outside the U. S. Embassy in Bei­rut. About 60 people were killed, includ­ing 17 U. S. citizens. One Marine at the embassy was killed and eight others wounded. Attacks that hit the Marine positions ashore, near Beirut Interna­tional Airport, began to take place with increasing severity on 29 August. On that day, two Marines were killed and 14 oth­ers wounded during five hours of heavy shelling. The Marines returned fire with 155-mm. guns and Cobra helicopter gun- ships. The Marine positions were shelled again on the 30th, with fire returned. The carrier Eisenhower (CVN-69) reportedly was brought in close to Beirut at this time. Two more Marines died in attacks made on 6 September. Two days later, three shells from a Moslem Druze militia artillery piece fired toward Marine posi­tions led to the first use of naval gunfire support from Sixth Fleet ships. The frig­ate Bowen (FF-1079) fired 5-inch shells at the artillery site in response.

Carrier-based F-14s carrying the tacti­cal airborne reconnaissance pod system (TARPS) began making routine over­flights of the Beirut and surrounding areas on 7 September in an attempt to locate the sources of hostile fire on Ma­rine positions. On the 7th two French Super Etendard aircraft and two CVN-69 F- 14s were sent over Lebanon for the first time.

A second Marine amphibious force arrived off Beirut on 12 September, hav- *ng been ordered on 2 September to pro­ceed through the Suez Canal from the Indian Ocean to augment forces on the scene. These troops never went ashore and departed station on 10 October for the long voyage back to the United States. The battleship New Jersey arrived off Beirut over the weekend of 24 to 25 September.

A major gunfire support operation took place on 19 September, with Virginia (CGN-38) and John Rodgers (DD-983) reportedly closing within about one mile of the coast and firing a total of about 300 5-inch shells during two one-hour bar­rages beginning about 1100 local time (see Washington Post, 20 September). Five more Marines were wounded on 25 September; a Marine AH-IT helicopter from the amphibious assault ship Tarawa (LHA-1) crashed about eight miles off Beirut in an accident on 27 September, but both men on board were saved. One Marine died on 14 September; rocket gre­nade and small arms fire killed one Ma­rine and wounded three others on 16 October; and four more Marines were wounded on 19 October.

The people of the United States were stunned on 23 October when a terrorist truck bomb driven into the Marine head­quarters compound in Beirut killed 241 men. This tragedy is r.ddressed in detail in the DoD Commission Report (the “Long Commission,” after chairman, retired Admiral Robert L- L Long), and will not be described here. Numerous steps were taken immed lately to augment

U. S. military forces in the area, listed in the later accounts of ship and Marine amphibious force movements.

President Reagan’s new special Mid­east negotiator, Ambassador Donald Rumsfeld, departed Washington on 12 November in a new effort to find a diplo­matic solution to the Lebanese situation. Meanwhile, low-level fighting contin­ued. A tragedy occurred on 15 November when Captain George Tsantes, Jr., USN, the naval member of the joint U. S. mili­tary assistance group in Athens, was killed, along with his driver, by a terrorist assasin.

U. S. Navy F-14s flying reconaissance sorties over Lebanon during this time occasionally drew ground fire, though without losing any aircraft. Press ac­counts cited Navy reports of missile and antiaircraft artillery fire against the air­craft on 21 and 23 September. A flight on 3 December returned to tell of at least ten surface-to-air missile (SAM) launches from sites east of Beirut. This incident led to a decision to launch a retaliatory air strike against hostile air defense sites. Accordingly, a 28-plane raid—twelve A-7 and six A-6 attack aircraft from the Independence (CV-62) and ten A-6s from the John F. Kennedy (CV-67)—was launched during the day on 4 December against three sites in the Shuf and Metn

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mountains, east of Beirut. The sites were located roughly 6 miles apart, about 10 to 20 miles inland. The attacking Navy air­craft met heavy ground fire, including “at least” 40 SAMs and heavy antiair­craft artillery fire.

The Defense Department evaluated the attack as “very successful,” stating that a SAM site had been demolished, at least 11 point targets struck, and one second­ary explosion observed, believed to be an ammunition dump. The Syrian Govern­ment later stated that two Syrians had been killed, ten wounded, and one vehi­cle and an ammunition dump destroyed. One A-6E was shot down, killing the pilot, Lieutenant Mark A. Lange. The bombardier/navigator, Lieutenant Robert 0. Goodman, was taken prisoner (and subsequently released on 3 January 1984 through efforts of the Reverend Jesse Jackson travelling to meet with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in Damascus). An A-7E also was shot down, reportedly crashing in a Lebanese town and injuring seven people, but the pilot was rescued. A third aircraft, an A-7E, was damaged but returned to CV-62.

•Later the same day a four-hour shelling in Beirut—by some accounts unrelated to the air strike—killed eight Marines man­ning a bunker near the airport. The Ma­rines returned fire, and the Claude V. Ric­ketts (DDG-5) carried out naval gunfire support operations.

Navy ships conducted gunfire missions several times during mid-December. The Ticonderoga (CG-47) and Tattnall (DDG-19) reportedly fired 15 and 20 5- ■nch rounds, respectively, on the 13th following ground fire against F-14s. Continued fire against F-14s on a flight the next day led to further gunfire support responses. The New Jersey fired eleven 16-inch rounds, preset for ground burst. CG-47 and DDG-19 each fired 30 rounds °f 5-inch ammunition the same day. Hos­tile shelling of Marine positions ashore led to further battleship fire on the 15th, this time 40 rounds of 5-inch fire at tar­gets about 12 miles east of Beirut. Press accounts stated that two CV-62 F-14s overflying Lebanon on 18 December drew antiaircraft fire, leading to a gunfire response within “minutes.” CG-47 and DDG-19 fired a total of about 60 rounds of 5-inch in about 20 minutes. (At about this time final preparations were under "'ay for the departure of Palestinian Lib­eration Organization [PLO] leader Yasir Arafat and his followers from Tripoli in northern Lebanon as Syrian-backed PLO dissidents fought to drive Arafat loyalists out of northern Lebanon; the fighting around Tripoli and the international im­plications of Arafat’s departure by ship

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are beyond the scope of this account but nonetheless played an important part in assessments of the U. S. role in Leba­non.)

Shells landed near the Marine positions ashore on 27 December, leading to a 90- minute alert, but U.S. forces avoided fur­ther engagements until 8 January 1984 (when another Marine was killed, the first since 4 December but bringing the total Marine deaths in Lebanon to 258 since September 1983.

The United States became more ac­tively involved in Central American and Caribbean affairs during 1983 than for many years previously. Many concerns in U. S. foreign policy created this rising involvement; the prolonged, uncertain guerrilla war continuing in El Salvador; the emergence of a substantial guerrilla movement fighting the Marxist govern­ment of Nicaragua, with press accounts widely attributing “covert” U. S. sup­port to the Nicaraguan rebels; increasing Soviet and other Communist-Bloc cargo shipments to Nicaragua, including arms, as well as Nicaraguan support for El Sal­vador guerilla forces; continuing signifi­cant Soviet arms shipments to Cuba; and the sudden political crisis in Marxist- ruled Grenada in October of 1983. Presi­dent Reagan announced the formation of a “bipartisan commission” on U. S. pol­icy for Central America in a speech made at Hollywood, Florida, on 18 July. He asked for completion of a report for him by later in the year, but in fact it did not appear until early 1984 (recommending major assistance programs, economic aid in particular but also military assistance. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissin­ger chaired the commission.) Pending any change in policy, the United States continued throughout 1983 to support the friendly government of El Salvador while keeping close watch on military affairs in Cuba and Nicaragua. The apparent sud­den collapse of political order on Gre­nada, coupled with reports of mass shoot­ings and total curfews, led to a move by the United States and friendly nations of the East Caribbean to conduct major mili­tary landings to rescue foreign nationals, restore order, and permit the Grenadian people to create a government of their own choosing.

U. S. naval forces were reported off the Central American coast as early as spring 1983. The Washington Post re­ferred to the frigates Julius A. Furer (FFG-6) and Blakely (FF-1072) as “the Navy’s two ships in the Pacific keeping watch on Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador” (29 April 1983). Three months later, press reports recounted Nicaraguan allegations that a U. S. Navy

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ship had “invaded its territorial waters several times,” referring in its statements to Clifton Sprague (FFG-16). The gravity of the situation ashore was brought home to the United States on 25 May when Navy Lieutenant Commander Albert A. Schaufelberger, one of the 55 U. S. mili­tary non-combat advisors in El Salvador, was assasinated in the capital city of San Salvador.

Stated U. S. Government concern in July focused on an apparently rising number of Soviet Bloc cargo ship move­ments to Nicaragua. One ship of particu­lar interest, the Soviet-flag Alexander Ulyanov, passed through the Panama Canal on 26 July en route to a Nicaraguan port. At that time press reports said that “about a dozen” Soviet/Bloc cargo ships were headed for Nicaragua. A Baltimore Sun story of 30 July printed an account by a correspondent who had visited the Nic­araguan port city of Corinto, describing rows of parked vehicles of kinds seen used by the Nicaraguan military forces (see Tony Allen, “Soviet Ship Delivers Military Vehicles”). This press story stated that the Soviet freighters Perekop and Novotroisk were tied up at Corinto, and that Timbuk had just finished unload­ing wheat.

President Reagan discussed newly planned naval exercises to be held off the Central American coast in his news con­ference of 21 July. He said only that “we re conducting exercises such as we’ve conducted before in this hemi­sphere.” However, subsequent press re­ports indicated that decisions had been made to conduct an unprecedented series of major naval operations off the Central American coast. The Ranger (CV-61) battle group then en route to the Western Pacific was diverted on 19 July to make a stay of about two weeks on the Pacific coast of Central America. These forces would be followed later on by the surface combatant group headed by New Jersey (BB-62) on the Pacific coast and a carrier group headed by the Coral Sea (CV-43) in the Caribbean.

The Ranger battle group arrived on station on 26 July and one of its ships, destroyer Lynde McCormick (DDG-8), was active soon afterwards. DDG-8 in­tercepted the Alexander Ulyanov on 30 July, about 55 miles off the Nicaraguan coast and headed for Corinto. The New York Times reported that the Lynde Mc­Cormick “picked up” the Soviet ship at 0712. Press accounts said that the U. S. ship hailed the freighter, asking her name, cargo, and destination. Upon re­ceiving replies, DDG-8 reportedly “trailed” the ship for two hours at about 2,000 yards (The New York Times, 5

August) until she reached the 12-mile limit approaching Corinto. Press stories indicated that U. S. warships would meet “every Soviet ship in Central American waters.” It is interesting that no further press accounts of such at-sea intercept­ions appeared later in 1983; it may be that subsequent observations were less direct. The Nicaraguan government later said that Ulyanov was carrying spare parts for agri9ultural machinery, medicine, tract­ors, construction equipment, and con­sumer goods. U. S. press reports quoted officials as noting that Ulyanov carried helicopters on deck and that this vessel was the tenth Soviet/Bloc ship to carry military supplies to Nicaragua thus far in 1983, compared with a total of five for all of 1982 (The New York Times,2 August).

Much of U. S. military activity in Cen­tral America during 1983 was related in some way to the joint U.S./Honduran exercises Ahuas Tara (held 1 to 6 Febru­ary) and Ahuas Tara II (originally sched­uled to run from November 1983 into Feb. 1984). (Ahuas Tara means “Big Pine” in the language of the Miskito In­dians of Central America.) Two U. S. Navy ships, including dock landing ship Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), participated in Ahuas Tara I early in the year. The exer­cise featured LSD-32 landing a battalion of Honduran troops at Puerto Lempira on the remote southeast coast of the country, as well as U. S. airlift of Honduran forces to recapture a town simulated as lost to aggressors.

Ahuas Tara I involved about 450 U. S. Army troops, 520 Navy personnel, and about 175 communications and plan­ning personnel. Phase II had a much larger U. S. contribution. The first U. S. forces landed on 8 August at the ports of San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The main event in 1983 was an amphibious landing near Puerto Castilla, Honduras, by the 28th Marine amphibious unit (MAU). The assault elements in the landing on 18 November included 1,200 U. S. Marines and 500 men of the Honduran 4th Army Battalion. The MAU departed Norfolk on 9 November, embarked in ships of Am­phibious Squadron Two (PhibRon Two): Nassau (LHA-4), Guadalcanal (LPH-7), Raleigh (LPD-1), Pensacola (LSD-38), Charleston (LKA-113), and La Moure County (LST-1194). The landing was supported by simulated gunfire support by the Semmes (DDG-18) and Boone (FFG-28). The Military Sealift Command (MSC)-chartered cargo ship Mason Lykes delivered construction material to Hon­duras in August in preparation for the exercise; Navy Mobile Construction Bat­talion (NMCB) 74 from Gulfport, Mis­sissippi, provided facilities support prior to the landing.

U. S. military action on the island of Grenada, in the southeast comer of the Caribbean, was a completely unforeseen contingency in U. S. naval planning for 1983. The quick and complete success achieved in securing the island and help­ing to provide a basis for restoral of a popularly chosen government reflect well on the Navy’s flexibility and responsive­ness. The U. S. Defense and State de­partments have published a “Preliminary Report” dated 16 December 1983 that provides basic information on the opera­tion, most of which will not be repeated here. Briefly, Prime Minister Maurice Bishop of Grenada was overthrown and he and several others executed on 19 Oc­tober. A round-the-clock curfew was imposed, contacts with the outside world interrupted, and the new political order appeared undefined. The governments of the Association of East Caribbean Na­tions asked for U. S. assistance on 23 October in ensuring the safety of foreign­ers living on Grenada and in restoring order on Grenada.

U. S. naval forces already were en route to waters off Grenada on 23 Octo­ber when the request for aid was re­ceived. The Independence (CV-62) battle group and Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 1-84 had departed Norfolk a few days earlier for a regularly-sched­uled (though hardly routine) Mediterra­nean deployment. These units were or­dered on 20 October to proceed south near Grenada en route to the Mediterra­nean, to “signal” U. S. concern and to be available to evacuate U. S. citizens should that appear necessary. Press ac­counts state that the order to conduct as­sault landings was given at 1800 on 24 October, about 1 lVi hours before the operation—titled Urgent Fury—actually began.

Marines of the 22nd Marine Amphibi­ous Force conducted landings on the northern end of Grenada, easily capturing the lightly defended Pearls Airport. Army Rangers parachuted into Point Salines airstrip at the southern end of the island, encountering stiff opposition at points on the ground. A special warfare force of Navy SEALS was landed at the residence of the British Commonwealth representa­tive, Sir Paul Scoon, to ensure his safety. The SEAL team accomplished its mis­sion, but with some difficulty. All major objectives had been secured by Thursday, 27 October.

Major U. S. ground force units partici­pating were the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Army’s 75th Rangers, two brigades of the Army 82nd Airborne Division, and the 22nd MAU. Navy ships taking part included CV-62, Richmond K. Turner (CG-20), Coontz (DDG-40), Caron (DD- 970), Moosbrugger (DD-980), and Clif­ton Sprague (FFG-16); amphibious lift ships were the Guam (LPH-9), Trenton (LPD-14), Fort Snelling (LSD-30), Man­itowoc (LST-1180), and Barnstable County (LST-1197). Participating with U. S. forces were more than 300 soldiers of the Caribbean Peace Force, including military units from the countries of Anti­gua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent. The peak number of U. S. military per­sonnel on the island was 7,355, reached on 31 October. As of 28 November, 1,030 combat troops and 1,693 support troops remained; by 10 December, this had fallen to 915 combat troops (all out by 15 December), but 300 support per­sonnel were planned to remain indefi­nitely.

The final casualty list totalled 18 U. S. servicemen killed and 116 wounded. On the island, 45 Grenadian military person­nel were killed as were 24 civilians (21 in a mental hospital bombed accidentally in the belief that it was a military installa­tion), with 337 Grenadian wounded. A total of 24 Cubans were killed and 59 wounded. The U. S. determined that there was a total of 784 Cubans on the island at the time of the invasion, plus almost 900 nationals of other Communist Bloc countries.

The CV-62 battle group and Amphibi­ous Ready Group 1-84 departed the Gre­nada area by 4 November to resume tran­sit to the Mediterranean. Commander Destroyer Squadron 24 was assigned duty as on-scene naval commander to relieve Commander Second Fleet who had acted as overall force commander (Commander Joint Task Force 120). Six weeks after completing an overseas deployment, and with less than 36 hours’ notice, ComDes- Ron 24 assumed naval responsibilities off Grenada. Navy ships assigned to his command at this time were the Saipan (LHA-2), Coontz (DDG-40), Sampson (DDG-10), Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG- 13), Clifton Sprague (FFG-16), and Neo­sho (T-AO-143). These ships were re­lieved in turn later in the year by the hy­drofoil gunboats Aquila (PHM-4) and Taurus (PHM-3) and frigate Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34). By year’s end Coast Guard cutters Cape Gull, Cape Fox, and Cape Shoalwater, supported by tender Sage­brush, had relieved all Navy ships on pa­trol duty off Grenada.

The Soviet Air Force shot down a Ko­rean Air Lines Boeing 747 airliner during the early morning darkness of 1 Septem­ber (1826 hours, Greenwich Mean Time and 1426 hours Eastern Daylight Time). The airliner had flown through Soviet air­space over the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island; the Soviets apparently were uncertain of the identity of the air­craft but chose to destroy the “intruder” regardless. The reason for the airliner’s departure from its planned course be­tween Anchorage, Alaska, southbound to Seoul, Korea, remains unknown; gross navigational errors are suspected. All 269 persons on board the aircraft died, in­cluding 61 U. S. citizens. One of the U. S. passengers was a member of Con­gress, Representative Larry McDonald of Georgia.

U. S. Navy and Air Force aircraft, and ships of the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency began searching for survivors and signs of the aircraft the day it disap­peared. As the prospects of finding survi­vors became more remote, the search shifted toward the recovery of wreckage, in particular the flight recorders that might give insights into the cause of the aircraft’s departure from course. U. S. Navy ships became heavily involved in the search for wreckage that might thus give clues to the plane’s fate. The initial air search covered about 3,000 square miles, while the surface ship search cov­ered about 235 square miles. The search centered on an ocean area north of Moneron Island and west of Sakhalin Is­land, U. S. units remaining in interna­tional waters. Various foreign requests to enter Soviet waters to pursue the search were denied.

U. S. Navy search units were orga­nized into Task Force 71 of the Seventh Fleet, with the task force commander embarked in the Sterett (CG-31). Other reported participants included the Calla­ghan (DDG-994), Towers (DDG-9), Brooke (FFG-1), Meyerkord (FF-1058), and Wichita (AOR-1). The salvage vessel Conserver (ARS-39), tug Narragansett (T-ATF-167), and Coast Guard cutter Munro (WHEC-724) used side-scanning sonar systems and other towed locators in an attempt to locate the wreckage. The U. S. Navy chartered Japanese salvage vessels to aid the effort, and the Japanese and Korean governments took part as well.

The total U. S. share of the search ef­fort included more than 3,000 aircraft flight hours and more than 320 ship-days. Sonar devices were towed at depths from 300 feet down to about 3,000 feet. The entire activity cost about $22.4 million. The work was pursued through heavy seas and harsh weather until 5 November

(Continued on page 285)

U. S. Naval Operations in 1983 (Continued from page 67)

"^hen the work was terminated. No sig­nificant wreckage was found by U. S., Japanese, or Korean searchers, and what ‘“‘^e material was recovered was turned °^Ver to Korean authorities. Although ^minally unsuccessfully, the U. S. ef- ^0rt demonstrated good faith in an at- ^emPt to resolve the mystery of the air­y's loss. Soviet, U. S., and Japanese ⁿ'Ps operated in close proximity to each ^her _at _some points during the search.

. ^ press reported a number of incidents ‘•'which Soviet vessels appeared to have '?^en hindering U. S. search operations . ^0r example, moving into a likely in- ^,ended path).

^Wvidual Ship Movements vices Committee’s Seapower Subcom­mittee on 10 November 1983. A semiau­tomatic welding technique used in fabricating the boiler superheater tubes proved unsatisfactory, leading to the de­cision to replace all 2,048 tubes at a total additional cost reported in the press as about $8 million. The cost was compara­tively small, considering the half-billion dollar cost of the SLEP, but CV-60 was incapacitated completely from June to early November at a time that the fleet’s carrier forces were heavily engaged in contingency operations off Lebanon, in the Indian Ocean, and in the Caribbean. “Sara” returned to sea on 11 November and is expected to meet her previously scheduled deployment date in 1984 through an accelerated workup period. The Forrestal entered SLEP status at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 21 Janu­ary 1983.

Kitty Hawk (CV-63) emerged from regular overhaul (ROH) early in 1983 and was fully combat ready at year’s end. (CV-63 departed San Diego for a Western Pacific [WestPac] deployment on 13 Jan­uary 1984.) CV-63 was followed by Con­stellation (CV-64) in ROH at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Two other ships were in ROH at year’s end: Coral Sea (CV-43) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Nimitz (CVN-68) at Newport News, Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.

A total of 12 active fleet carrier air wings (CVWs) supported carrier battle group operations throughout 1983. A 13th active CVW was commissioned on 1 March 1984 at Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS), Virginia. Component squadrons of this new air wing (designated CVW- 13) began entering service in October 1983 as the new fiscal year opened. CVW-13 is notable for being the first Navy air wing with the new F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter equipping all four squadrons (VFA-131, 132, 136, and 137) assigned the fighter and attack roles. CVW-13 will be embarked aboard CV-43 when she emerges from ROH in 1985. The Midway (CV-41) also is planned to have an all-F/A-18 fighter/attack air wing by the later 1980s, thus ending 'active fleet deployments by F-4 Phantom II- equipped fighter squadrons. CV-64’s ongoing ROH will permit CVW-14 em­barked aboard to operate F/A-18s as well, though in this case only to replace A-7Es while the fighter squadrons remain equipped with F-14 Tomcats. Constella­tion will work up during mid-1984 and be ready to deploy by about year’s end.

A rather different CVW configuration was introduced in the Atlantic Fleet dur­ing 1983. CVW-3 deployed aboard CV-67 beginning in spring 1983 included two squadrons (VA-75, 85) of A-6E In­truder medium attack aircraft in place of two squadrons of A-7E Corsair II light attack and one squadron of A-6E aircraft. The Navy made this change in CVW-3’s attack components in order to evaluate alternative air wing compositions, to pro­vide information to support future deci­sions on tactical aircraft procurement and on the allocation of existing aircraft. The Navy has stated that “each of these air wings [CVW-3, 13, and 14] has strengths and weaknesses that must be considered in tactical planning. The preliminary re­sults of these deployments will be avail­able for analysis in Fiscal Year 1986.” (VADM Robert F. Schoultz, DCNO [Air Warfare], statement before House Appro­priations Defense Subcommittee on 14 June 1983, Hearings part 6, p. 712).

An interesting sidelight on carrier air wing composition is the Navy’s decision to add a helicopter squadron to the air wings assigned to both CV-41 and 43. Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 12 (HS-12), presently home-ported at NAS North Island, California, will be based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, and will be manned by 29 officers and 168 enlisted personnel. HS-12 will provide six SH-3H helicopters for CV-41’s air wing, replacing the present helicopter component, which is a detachment of Composite Helicopter Squadron One (HC-1, Det. 2). The present detachment will move to North Island. The change will be made in July 1984. CVW-13 forming to join CV-43 will include HS-17 operating^{[1] [2]} SH-3H helicopters.

The deployable carrier force sustained a higher average number of ships de­ployed in 1983 than in 1982, closer to five continuously operating than the four previously maintained overseas. Carrier deployments followed a more irregular pattern than before, characterized by

i 1#

initiM

short periods—a month or two—in one area followed by transits to another ocean area. Part of this movement reflected the atypical round-the-world deployments made during 1983 by the Coral Sea (CV- 43) and Carl Vinson (CVN-70). CV-43 changed her home port from California to Virginia, with CVN-70 simultaneously moving from Virginia to California. A level of one deployed carrier battle group remained about constant in the Indian Ocean (as planned), but numbers in the Western Pacific, Mediterranean, and Car­ibbean fluctuated significantly. For ex­ample, three battle groups operated to­gether briefly in the northern Pacific in April during exercise FleetEx 83-1; three battle groups operated together in the Mediterranean during November follow­ing the destruction of the Marine Bar­racks in Beirut on 23 October. Some of these concentrations—such as FleetEx 83-1—had been long planned, but others reflected immediate decisions taken for foreign policy reasons. The diversion of the Ranger (CV-61) battle group to cen­tral American waters in late July and the deployment of the Independence (CV-62) group to Grenada in late October are ex­amples of such sudden changed assign­ments.

The Carl Vinson's move to Alameda, California, reflects strategic decisions concerning the desired allocation of nu­clear-powered carrier groups, the move balancing the fleets with two CVNs each (65 and 70 Pacific and 68 and 69 Atlan­tic). The Navy announced on 27 April 1983 that the Nimitz (CVN-68) would be moved to a new home port in the Puget Sound, Washington, area during 1987. This move thus would take place at the time the fleet’s next new carrier, Theo­dore Roosevelt (CVN-71) would be pre­paring for her first operational deploy­ment. Press stories say that CVN-71 is intended for an Atlantic Fleet assign­ment, thereby maintaining two CVNs in the Atlantic.

Battleships: The return of the battle­ship New Jersey (BB-62) to operational service was one of the most widely re­ported naval events of 1983. The ship’s first year back in service was extraordi­nary by any measure. She ended up steaming about 30,000 miles in her first year back in commission (she had been recommissioned 28 December 1982). What started out as a three-month WestPac cruise in June ended as a contin­gency deployment stretching from the Philippines first to Central America in August and then to the eastern Mediterra­nean by late September.

The New Jersey began the year work­ing up off southern California. The first missile was fired from BB-62 on 23 March when she and a P-3C Orion patrol aircraft each fired a single Harpoon in a coordinated attack off Point Mugu, on the Pacific Missile Test Range. In mid-April BB-62 took part in a surface action group exercise called Comptuex 83-2 off the California coast. The ship fired about 90 rounds of 16-inch ammunition during naval gunfire support qualification at the San Clemente Island impact range. On 10 May she launched a conventionally armed land attack variant of the Toma­hawk long-range cruise missile, which flew a fully guided mission about 500 miles inland to a target on the Tonopah Test Range, Navada.

The ship attracted 10,000 visitors dur­ing a three-day port visit in San Francisco Bay that began on 22 April; because of the anticipated crowds, visitors were admitted by tickets available only at Navy recruiting stations. The New Jer­sey's schedule in spring 1983 called for a 90-day WestPac shakedown, to be fol­lowed by a 30-day post shakedown avail­ability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. She departed Long Beach on 10 June, arriving at Pearl Harbor Friday, 17 June. Another 10,000 visitors boarded the ship over the weekend before her departure early Monday 20 June. The next stop was a four-day visit to Manila, in time for 4th of July celebrations. The ship then was scheduled to take part in the joint U. S./ Thai exercise Cobra Gold ’83, running from 6 July to 1 August. Japanese press accounts of that time quoted planned port visits for BB-62 at Hong Kong on 29 July prior to reaching Sasebo, Japan, on 12 August and Yokosuka on the 18th. The ship never saw the northeast Asian ports, for concern over the Central American situation led to the New Jersey and ac­companying ships being recalled in Au­gust to Pearl Harbor from the Philippines and from there sent to the western coast of Central America. BB-62 arrived on station in international waters off Central America on 26 August after an 11-day passage from Hawaii, in company with the Leahy (CG-16), Robison (DDG-12), Buchanan (DDG-14), Ingersoll (DD- 990), Roark (FF-1053) and Kansas City (AOR-3).

After about a week of exercises off the west coast of Central America, the New Jersey passed through the Panama Canal on 12 September and then continued east across the Atlantic at a speed of about 25 knots. (The other six ships of the New Jersey’s task group, listed above, re­turned to their California home ports on 17 September.) BB-62 entered the Medi­terranean on 20 September and was on station off Beirut by the weekend of 24/25 September. The U. S. Marines ashore in Beirut became involved in dete­riorating security environment late iⁿ August, as related elsewhere. Two Ma­rines were killed on 29 August and con­tinuing attacks, further Marine combat deaths, and the first Navy ship gunfn^e support mission on 8 September all ^set the stage for the decision to send the Jersey to the Mediterranean.

The New Jersey's activity off the Leb­anese coast is related in the discussion ot Lebanese contingency operations. The battleship’s perceived success in provid­ing needed firepower in the area led to a decision by 1 December to extend the ship’s deployment there for at least se^v' eral months, requiring virtually unprece' dented special provisions for the crew ^s personal needs. Two increments of vol' unteers, mostly Naval Reservists but als° some members of the precommissionin? unit assigned to Iowa (BB-61), wer^e flown out to the ship beginning on 3 De­cember, to provide replacements for cer­tain men moving to new assignments of going on leave. The Chief of Naval Op^er' ations applauded the crew’s “indom'^ta' ble spirit and self-sacrificing duty,” P^er’ mining the vessel to remain on station 1984. The ship finally made a port cal just after the first of the new year, ³ Haifa, Israel, giving the crew the first lib erty opportunity in 110 days. An earltc intended port visit at Alexandria, EgyP¹: was cancelled just after the ship’s arrivn in the Mediterranean.

The New Jersey will be joined ii by her sister Iowa (BB-61). The 12-man Navy liaison team (nine offic^erS’ six enlisted) arrived at the shipyard *ⁿ January 1983, followed by a 15-man P^r^ commissioning team in August. Th Iowa arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding, P^aS cagoula, Mississippi, on 30 January *° completion of work begun by the co*¹ tractor in New Orleans, Louisiana, on ¹ September 1982. As of 1 Novemb‘‘ 1983, all three main battery turrets wcf operational and all the boilers had beef 1 off. All major hull assemblies, as web ³ the Harpoon missile canisters and ref"

uiMicvj gun uireciors were in piaet-

Schedules through late 1983 called nj Iowa to recommission on 4 July *9® However, the press of events in Leban® forced the question of accelerating ” 61 ’s completion to permit her to rel'C New Jersey as soon as practicable- early 1984, the planned commission'¹^ date had been advanced to 28 April’ pending on congressional approval reprogram $26 million for larger W° shifts at Ingalls.

Battleships made the news in Secretary | the Navy Lehman’s announcement on 9 July that the Navy had selected the •apleton area of Long Island, New ^0rk, as the “preferred alternative” otne port for a surface action group in­king a battleship, four other combat­^ants. plus two Naval Reserve Force frig- ?^es- The announcement ended a y^Ve'^month study of six northeastern ■ S. sites including three in the New ^0rk City/New Jersey harbor area, one in °^st°n, and two in the Rhode Island/Nar- ^gansett Bay area. (At this time SecNav ^ated that two Naval Reserve Force frig-

'^vould be homeported in Boston and additional ships were planned for a

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shi.

ates •hat

^ewport home port.) Press reports in ^ctober (Navy Times, 17 October) said at the Iowa—always assumed to be the : 'P ^at issue in the northeast homeporting sue—would be home-ported at Norfolk ^ntii 1988 because $104 million worth of ^0rk Would be needed to perform facili- ^es construction work at Stapleton to per- ¹¹ foe ships to be berthed there. „^^uclear-powered Guided Missile Risers (CGN): The Navy had nine his in the active fleet during 1983 with ^further ships of this type planned. Of ⁿme, four did not deploy because of Jor overhaul work in progress or re- ^ntly completed. The remaining five •'ducted regular overseas deployments _reⁿng some part of 1983. An interesting arrangement of the CGN force took ■ ^5ce during 1983. Six of the nine ships ⁿged to the Atlantic Fleet at the be- llng of the year, with only three as- ^ed to the Pacific Fleet. Three LantFlt Ps moved to the Pacific during the ^r> reversing the situation. To some ₀j. ®^nt this transfer parallels the transfer ci(' hJ-70 from the Atlantic to the Pa- '^Pleet.

cj^c Long Beach (CGN-9) in the Pa- |^_t^{c a}nd California (CGN-36) in the At- l9jj^lc Both completed overhauls during 5 CGN-9 was in ROH at Puget l9^d from 6 October 1980 to 13 March ^8 ivi ^w^'*^e CGN-36 spent 5 January to (ppjay 1983 in yard hands. The Truxtun N'35) _Sp_ent _au ₀f 1983 in ROH at S₀f^} Bound Naval Shipyard, while the „ 7.^h Carolina (CGN-37) entered ROH orfoik in Spring 1983. ae Bainbridge (CGN-25) completed d_e .^ght-month WestPac/Indian Ocean l^ynaent at San Diego on 29 April (jy. ' CGN-25 operated in support of the tu_e battle group during this deploy- Pan ’ an<^ ^returned to San Diego in Com­fy)? ^wi'h the Hull (DD-945), Harry IV. H ' ^(Dd-986), O’Callahan (FF-1051), 1^63l^<rn (^-1055), and Reasoner (FF- '■ The ships all took part in exercise

FleetEx 83-1 in north Pacific waters; CGN-25 rescued 51 Vietnamese refugees at sea in October 1983. The Bainbridge entered ROH at Puget Sound Naval Ship­yard on 31 October 1983.

The California (CGN-36) changed home port from Norfolk to Alameda, California, in 1983, arriving on 6 Octo­ber. The Arkansas (CGN-41) arrived at Alameda on 31 July; Texas (CGN-39) reached her new Pacific home port of San Diego on 29 October. Virginia (CGN-38) made a Mediterranean deployment with CVN-69 during much of 1983, returning to Norfolk 1 December after eventful duty on the Lebanese coast.

The Navy announced the Texas’ s change of home ports in January 1983. The ship accompanied CVN-70 in her round-the-world cruise, steaming more than 60,000 miles with port calls in Mon­aco, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Diego Gar­cia, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Republic of the Philippines, Japan, and Korea, the CNO commended CGN-39’s crew for the “the outstanding manner” in which port visits to Austra­lia, New Zealand, and Tonga were con­ducted, reflecting the need for sensitivity to local concerns ashore that all ships face but that nuclear-powered ships often see most clearly. The Texas took part in exer­cises with all four U. S. numbered fleets and with Moroccan, Australian, and New Zealand military forces. The cruiser suf­fered minor damage on 19 July when she was holed above the waterline after hit­ting the quay while leaving Brisbane, Australia.

The Mississippi (CGN-40) and Arkan­sas (CGN-41) accompanied the Nimitz (CVN-68) on a Sixth Fleet deployment that was concluded at Norfolk on 20-21 May 1983. CGN-40 subsequently made news as the lead ship of a surface com­batant task group detached from Second Fleet exercise ReadEx 2-83 to take part in the joint U. S./Honduran exercise Ahuas Tara II. The CGN-40 group joined the CV-43 battle group in late August before returning home to Norfolk. The Missis­sippi was in a selected restricted availa­bility at the end of 1983.

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The Arkansas’s home port change to the Pacific was announced in January 1983, while she was in the Mediterra­nean. On 3 January she collided in the Strait of Messina with the Italian mer­chant ship Megara Ilea, the cruiser being slightly damaged on the port side. The Arkansas provided emergency medical treatment to an injured crewman of the Spanish merchant ship Friglas Palmas in the Mediterranean on 8 April, character-

ture

>s the Aegis fleet air defense system

;er at the commissioning ceremony). CG-47 conducted 112 days of combat "stems testing, engineering, and opera- nal exercises between commissioning

J_{une w}hen she arrived at her home Poi

thii

'^st'c of many humanitarian efforts made ⁶y the U. S. Navy during the course of its derations (outside the immediate scope °f this account). The Arkansas sailed for ¹¹¹⁶ Pacific at midyear, being reported in Port at Port Everglades, Florida, as of 11 ^u‘y- She passed through the Panama '-anal on the 22nd and was at Alameda by ^{tae e}nd of the month. She and other Pa- ^c'fic Fleet CGNs can be expected to de- P‘°y to the western Pacific soon.

Guided Missile Cruisers (CG): The ^avy had 18 conventionally-powered Soided missile cruisers (CG) at the outset *983, and a 19th was added on 22 Jan­^Uary when the Ticonderoga (CG-47) was ^c°nimissioned at Pascagoula, Missis- ^SlPpi. The Ticonderoga gained extensive Publicity during 1983, because she is the ^an ship of the principal class of surface combatants now under construction for ^e Navy; because of some controversy in ^e news media over her capabilities (and ^^0st); and because of her rapid entry into ®et operational service and subsequent Mediterranean deployment.

*ne Ticonderoga’s characteristics need ^a°t be reviewed here; her main new fea­^nstalled in a combat warship for the first (the Norton Sound [AVM-1] has fried elements of an Aegis system for _to^v®^ral years). Aegis has been designed detect and sort out hundreds of tar- otK ^an<* ^raPidly provide information to ^aer ships and aircraft to help them en- ® 8e them quickly and accurately” (Sec­_s ^tary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, °f Norfolk for the first time. During u ® initial workup, she spent 88 days ^[der way and steamed 16,000 miles, lin ^ca**^{s at} Charleston, South Caro- ^a> Port Lauderdale, Florida, Roosevelt £°^ads, Puerto Rico; Guantanamo Bay, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Ticon- jf^r°8a returned to the builder’s yard _si^0lai 19 July to 26 August for a post- pj ^edown availability, which was com- folr °^{n sc}lt^edule. She returned to Nor- _e * yia participation in Second Fleet liy^6rC*^Se P^eadEx 2-83, where she fired ^a missiles again (initial firings were ^{a e} in 1982 prior to delivery, with J°r test firings in April 1983). CG-47 Med^d P*^orf°*P 20 October for the mterranean, where she assumed pri- ^Surface air defense surveillance re- ^nsibility for U. S. forces off Beirut. f₀ ‘^le operating in this role she also per- ^niled shore bombardment tasks on 13,

14, and 18 December 1983.

News media accounts first criticized CG-47’s stability and growth margins for future weight increases. Navy responses to both media statements and congres­sional inquiries, refuting these allega­tions, have been borne out thus far in suc­cessful seagoing performance. Criticism of the Aegis system’s operational effec­tiveness (see in particular John J. Fialka, “Two Tests of Navy’s New Aegis

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Cruiser Give Widely Disparate Marks to Ship’s Abilities” in Wall Street Journal, 4 November 1983) is inherently more dif­ficult to evaluate. Combat system test data in detail sufficient to understand the outcomes (for example, target character­istics; electronic warfare environment; test event scenario; etc.) necessarily are classified. Interpretation of these test data in turn demands an appreciation of how test parameters may correspond to actual

sub­

seven-day port visit, being the first

wartime situations. While this subject is critical to an estimate of the Navy’s evolv­ing combat capability, further discus­sion is outside the scope of this article.

The fleet’s 18 earlier CGs conducted numerous deployments during the year, only a few of which can be mentioned here. For example, the Worden (CG-18) returned to her Pearl Harbor home port late in 1983 after a seven-month deploy­ment. She steamed some 43,000 miles during 156 days at sea, including 62 con­tinuous days under way in support of bat­tle group operations in July and August. She operated with CV-41, 43, CVN-65, and CVN-70, and participated in exer­cises FleetEx 83-1 and Bright Star/East- em Wind. Her sister ship Dale (CG-19) accompanied CV-66 during a 1982-1983 Mediterranean/Indian Ocean deploy­ment, winning the Sixth Fleet’s “Hook ’Em” award for antisubmarine warfare excellence. CG-19 was in collision with the British frigate Ambuscade in the In­dian Ocean, badly damaging the British ship’s bow. Ambuscade was laid up at Bombay during May, with a contract given to Mazagon Dock Co. to construct new bow material.

The Belknap (CG-26) was very active in a Mediterranean deployment that con­cluded on 21 November, serving as flag­ship for Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two for much of the time and tak­ing part in various exercises including Black Sea operations. Completing this deployment on 21 November also were DDG-42, DD-983, 968, FFG-20, 21,24, FF-1078, 1079, 1094, 1097; AOR-2, AE-27, 34, and AFS-5. Ships that took part in two separate Black Sea cruises included DD-968 and FFG-20 (11 to 19 June) and DD-968, FF-1097, and T-AO- 109 (29 August to 7 September). Units from this group of ships took part in the NATO exercises Distant Drum and Dis­play Determination, the U. S./Spanish CrisEx ’83, and the Bright Star ’83 exercise.

The cruiser Jouett (CG-29) returned to San Diego on 14 May 1983 following a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. Destroyer Squadron Seven units returning at the same time were DDG-13, 24, 31; DD- 965, 984, 985; and FF-1041, 1076. The ships took part in several Pacific exer­cises, including Team Spirit and AukEx (an exercise with the Australian and New Zealand Navies).

U. S. Navy warships still are making spectacular rescues of Vietnamese refu­gees in the South China Sea. The Sterett (CG-31), homeported in Subic Bay, embarked a total of 262 refugees-during two at-sea rescues on 20 and 21 July.

DDG-994 embarked 284 on 27 July; P-3 aircraft vectored merchant ships to take aboard about 80 refugees on 23 and 25 July.

Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBN): The U. S. Navy submarine force completed its 2,200th strategic deterrent patrol on 18 Dec. 1983 when the Benjamin Franklin (SSBN- 640), with the “Blue” crew embarked, returned to her home port of King’s Bay, Georgia, following 68 days at sea. Fleet ballistic missile (FBM) force operations continued without major note during 1983 but with some significant changes nonetheless.

The first Ohio (SSBN-726) class sub­marine, the Ohio, completed her first de­terrent patrol in December 1982 and sec­ond in March 1983. The second ship of the class, the Michigan (SSBN-727) con­ducted her first patrol in 1983. Unit three, Florida (SSBN-728), was delivered to the Navy on 17 May, six weeks in ad­vance of the 30 June contract completion date. SSBN-728 was commissioned on 18 June at Groton, Connecticut. The Georgia (SSBN-729) successfully com­pleted dock trials on 29 October 1983 in preparation for initial (builder’s) trials. President Reagan announced on 9 Sep­tember 1983 that the Rhode Island (SSBN-730) was renamed Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) in honor of the late Senator from the State of Washington, who died 1 September. SSBN-730 was launched on 15 October.

The earlier Poseidon and Trident­armed submarines in service continued their routine pace of deployment. The Nathaniel Greene (SSBN-636) returned to Holy Loch, Scotland, on 16 February 1983 after completing her 50th strategic deterrent patrol. Various press reports listed several SSBNs in port visits abroad, giving their crews the opportu­nity of well-earned liberty ashore. SSBN- 619 was in port Bremerhaven, Germany, 25 to 28 March (in company with DD- 988); SSBN-631 made a three-day visit to Portland, United Kingdom, in May; and SSBN-641 was at Agadir, Morocco, near year’s end.

Nuclear-powered Attack Submarines (SSN): Perhaps the most interesting news stories of 1983 concerning the SSN force followed a meeting the CNO held on 18 May with newspaper reporters. Published stories focused on new U. S. Navy inter­est in Arctic, under-ice operations. Rich­ard Halloran wrote that the CNO “dis­closed today that United States submarines had begun extensive training under the Arctic ice to be ready in war­time to attack Soviet submarines armed with ballistic missiles that have increased their operations there” (“Navy Trains to Battle Soviet Submarines in Arctic” ⁱⁿ The New York Times 19 May, p. 17)- The press accounts of under-ice opera­tions were given some substance by the officially announced winter 1982-1983 deployment by the Tautog (SSN-639) and Aspro (SSN-648) to the North Pole. The two submarines departed Pearl Harbor late in 1982 on a three-month deploy^­ment, proceeding separately to the Pole- The Aspro surfaced after 43 days sub­merged, followed shortly by Tautog navi­gating independently to a spot close by- This was only the second time that two U. S. SSNs had met surfaced at the P°l^e’ the first time was 31 July 1962 when SSNs-578 and 584 met there.

News of SSN operations necessarily ^lS limited. A glimpse of Mediterranean de­ployment activity was given by mention that the tender Orion (AS-18), based at Santo Stefano Island, La Maddalena- Sardinia, serviced the following vessel® during winter 1982-1983; SSNs-588- 607, 618, 670, 671, and 700. Sturgeon (SSN-637) and Silversides (SSN-679) were alongside AS-18 on 21 July when the three USN ships provided severs¹ hundred men to fight fires ashore and a®' sist local rescue efforts. The Grayir (SSN-646) was stated officially to ha^ve returned to her homeport of Charleston- South Carolina, on 15 August 1983 aftej a five-month Mediterranean deploymen that began 18 March. The ship made p^ort visits in Toulon, France; Tangier, M® rocco; Ashdod, Israel; and La Mad dalena, Italy. The Sunfish (SSN-649) ^ reported as arriving on 7 March at P°^rt\ mouth, United Kingdom, for a four-d^ visit. The Guitarro (SSN-665) aPP^f; in news photography of about mid- 198- departing Cockatoo Sound, west Austr² lia, after seven days in port at { Stirling. Unconfirmed press accounts h^s SSN-665 as one of four Navy ships carO ing operational Tomahawk cruise nU® siles (in very limited numbers): BB-0'' DD-976, and SSN-665 and 701 (see So" Diego Union, 9 August).  . ,

Los Angeles (SSN-688) class ship numbered 25 units out of the fleet’s - SSNs in commission at the end of 19® ' Accordingly, they play an increasing' important role in worldwide operati⁰” SSN-688 herself was reported arriving HMAS Stirling on 20 January 1983 f°^r

marine visitor of the year for that Ausb lian naval base. Phoenix (SSN-702) c°^ pleted an around-the-world cruise on ^ November returning to her home P^ort. :p Norfolk after 203 days at sea. The s

^^as under way for 162 days with 159 of *P^ese submerged. It was the ship’s first eployment since being commissioned in ®cember 1981, and included ASW and her training exercises in the Indian .^Cean and western Pacific. The Boston SN-703) also completed a round-the- p^0rld deployment in 1983, returning to toton, Connecticut, on 12 October. The . Oston steamed more than 50,000 miles ^Slx and one-half months, and made 5,^0rt visits at Perth, Australia; Hobart, ^asmania; and Diego Garcia. Although ^ot an operational matter, it was news- dhy that SecNav Lehman announced rjrty in 1983 that SSN-709 would be _r^arned Hyman G. Rickover after the man ^ ^erre<J to as the “father of the nuclear ^avy.“ SSN-709 was launched on 27

August, part of the significant ongoing pace of SSN-688 class construction activ­ity.

Amphibious Forces: A summary of major amphibious force deployments is given in accompanying tables. Back­ground information on unit definitions and deployment procedures was given in Naval Review 1983 coverage of 1982 operations (see pp. 235-236). Abbrevia­tions used here include MAU (Marine amphibious unit, a composite unit with ground elements such as a battalion land­ing team (BLT) and air elements such as medium helicopter squadrons (HMM); and PhibRon, for amphibious squadron, the Navy command organization for the ships involved.

The Saipan (LHA-2) spent the first half of 1983 completing an overhaul at Norfolk. The Okinawa (LPH-3) com­pleted overhaul early in 1983 and was reported to be the first amphibious lift ship to fire the Navy’s Vulcan/Phalanx 20-mm antimissile gun while on local operations off the southern California coast during the spring. Other amphibi­ous force ships will be receiving Phalanx in the future. The Inchon (LPH-12) made an interesting deployment to northern Europe during fall 1983, carrying mine countermeasures helicopters of squadron HM-16 for participation in NATO exer­cises with the Standing NATO Naval Force Channel, a dedicated mine coun­termeasures force. StaNavForChan was augmented by the U. S. Navy mine-

%e _r

'<i^L°rps Units

Navy Units

Amphibious Force Deployments 1983: Atlantic Command Area

Activities                                           Marine Corps Units Navy Units

Activities

Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 3-82

PhibRon 6:

.                    Inchon

'^(-XRein) (LPH-12) Shreveport (LPD-12) Fort Snelling (LSD-30) Sumter (LST-1181) La Moure County (LST-1194)

Deployed 23 August 1982 to 9 March 1983. Steamed over 9,000 miles during the first 42 days of the deployment, taking part in the NATO exercises Northern Wedding, Bold Guard, and Display Determina­tion prior to arriving off Beirut. 24th MAU assumed multina­tional force (MNF) duties 3 November 1982 until relieved 15 February 1983. Returned to Norfolk 9 March.

{Nil

Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 1-83

K

1/8

PhibRon 2:                         Deployed 27 January to 26

Guadalcanal                     June 1983. 22nd MAU

"XRein) (LPH-7)               assumed MNF duty ashore 15

Raleigh                              February until relieved 30 May.

(LPD-1)                            LPH-7 visited by Lebanese

Pensacola                          President Amin Gemayel on 21

(LSD-38)                          March, accompanied by U. S.

Spartanburg                      Ambassador to Lebanon and

County                              the Commander, Lebanese

(LST-1192)                       Armed Forces, General Tannus.

Fairfax                              MARG 1-83 participated in a

County                              Command Post Exercise (CPX)

(LST-1193)                       conducted by U. S. Forces

Caribbean while en route home. MARG 1-83 called at Key West 21 June for a three- day port visit. Returned to Camp Lejeune on 26 June.

Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 2-83

PhibRon 8:                         Deployed 10 May to 7 Dec.

Iwo Lima                           1983. 24th MAU assumed

HMM-162(-)(Rein)

(LPH-2)

Austin

(LPD-4)

Portland

(LSD-37)

El Paso (LKA-117) Harlan County (LST-1196) Naval Beach Group, Det. Mike

Tactical Air Control Sqd. 21, Det. C Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO, Det. Assault Craft Unit TWO SEAL Team 4, Det. 5 SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team, Det. 3 Mobile Medical Augmentation Readiness Team 14

MNF duty ashore 30 May until relieved 19 November. Visited by SecNav Lehman 20 to 21 August and by CNO 5 to 6 Oct. Shore HQ of 24th MAU attacked 23 October, 241 men killed. Approximately 200 Marines of Company E, BLT 2/6 flown in as replacements immediately afterward, begin­ning the same day. One addi­tional USMC rifle company added to MNF ashore from the United States by end-October. PhibRon 8 returned to Norfolk 7 December.

Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 1-84

22nd MAU:

BLT 2/8

HMM-261 (-)(Rein)

PhibRon 4:       Departed Norfolk 19 October

Guam               1983 for Mediterranean. 22nd

(LPH-9)            MAU assumed MNF duty

^AmPhibi

fe*

HMM-165(-)(Rein) VMA-231 Det.

'ous Force Deployments 1983: Pacific Command Area

, ^                         PhibRon 5:

.                           Belleau Wood

^M'²⁶2(-)(Rein) (LHA-3) Ogden (LPD-5) Thomaston (LSD-28)

Fort Fisher (LSD-40) Cayuga (LST-1186) Tuscaloosa (LST-1187) PhibRon 3: New Orleans

Deployed to WestPac, Indian Ocean from 24 August 1982 to 24 February 1983. Took part in exercise Jade Tiger, held 29 November to 8 December 1982, in Indian Ocean. Port calls made in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austra­lia, and Hawaii. Returned to San Diego 24 February.

V

3/3

265(-)(Rein) (LPH-11) Vancouver

(LPD-2)

Denver

(LPD-9)

Durham

(LKA-114)

Schenectady

(LST-1185)

Barbour

County

(LST-1195)

Naval Beach

Group One,

Det.

Tactical Air Control Sqd.

Deployed to WestPac, Indian Ocean from 30 January to 15 July 1983. Took part in exer­cises Team Spirit, held Febru­ary to April; Valiant Usher 83-7, with Australia; Tangent Flash, beginning 26 April; and (lastly) Valiant Blitz, held 4 to 11 June with landings on Oki­nawa. Returned to San Diego 15 July.

Fresno               during the September-October

(LST-1182)       contingency response when

“Group One” moved into the Mediterranean carrying the 31st MAU (then BLT 3/3, HMM- 165(-)(Rein)). Air/ground forces afloat as of 1 June are shown in table at left. Group One ships took part in the joint U. S./Philippine exercise Cobra Gold, running for 27 days through 1 August, and Bright Star/Eastem Wind, held 15 to 25 August and including an amphibious landing in Somalia on 19 August. The “Group One” units were ordered from the Indian Ocean to the Medi­terranean on 2 September, while on liberty at Mombasa, Kenya. They arrived off Beirut on 12 September and remained there until 10 October. The units returned to Hawaii, debarking air/ground forces in Hawaii, and the ships reached San Diego on 22 November. “Group Two,” LPH-10, embarked RH-53D airborne mine countermeasures helicop­ters from squadron HM-14 during Valiant Blitz ’83-3, BattleWeek 2-83 in Philippine waters, and off the Republic of Korea coast for exercises in the

sweepers MSO-441,442, 448, and 490 at this time.

Sources

Department of Defense and Depart­ment of the Navy news releases were the primary sources for the information pre­sented in this article. Official periodicals provided valuable information, particu­larly Surface Warfare (unfortunately now being published only six times a year and at a reduced size). Foreign naval journals and newspapers recorded exercise activ­ity and port visits, often in much more detail than common in U. S. publica­tions. Foreign sources used here include Royal Navy News, Navy International, Ships Monthly, Armed Forces, and Ma­rine News (UK); Marine (France); Rivista Marittima (Italy); Revista General de Marina (Spain); Marine Rundschau (Ger­many); Royal Australian Navy News and The Navy (Australia); Trident and Look­out (Canada); and Sekai no kansen (“ships of the world”) (Japan). Informa­tion presented in last year’s Naval Review on 1982 operations has been drawn upon, and the reader is referred to that previous article for background information on concepts of operations, tempo of activity, historical steaming hours data, etc.

Newspaper accounts have been used where an official account was unavaila­ble, and an effort has been made to give precise citations to press references where the subject may be controversial or in doubt. The weekly newspaper Navy Times was of great value in this regard, though both The New York Times and the Washington Post publish fairly detailed news of naval operations having a major foreign policy interest. The magazine The Hook, quarterly journal of The Tailhook Association (P.O. Box 40, Bonita, Cali­fornia 92002) deserves special mention as one of the few publications that produces detailed accounts of current naval opera­tions, deployments, exercises, etc. Note that The Hook is devoted virtually exclu­sively to carrier-based naval aviation: air wings, aircraft, and personnel.

Particular thanks is given to the public affairs staffs of the Commander, Second Fleet and Commander, Third Fleet, for providing information on 1983 exercise activity, and to the Navy’s Office of In­formation in the Pentagon. All views expressed here should be understood solely as those of the author and do not necessarily represent Navy or Defense Department positions.

Atlantic Command Exercises NATO Exercises

Roebuck ’83 (January-February 1983). United Kingdom multithreat exer­cise with participation by Standing Naval Force Atlantic and other NATO units.

CaribTrain ’83 (February-March 1983). UK two-month training deploy­ment to Caribbean involving U. S. and other NATO units.

Wintex-Cimex ’83 (24 days, includ­ing 24 February to 9 March phase). Inte­gration under NATO direction of a series of exercises to test NATO armed forces ability to respond to crises.

Cold Winter ’83 (11-17 March). NATO exercise to reinforce northern Norway.

Dog Fish ’83 (15-23 March). Subma­rine exercise in the Aegean Sea.

National Week (4-10 April). NATO Mediterranean exercise involving mul¹¹' pie threats to CVN-68 battle group.

Datex ’83 (8-9 April). Annual French air defense exercise, involving strikes W various NATO aircraft.

SpringTrain ’83 (began 18 April). multithreat exercise conducted in e^aSl central Atlantic and western Meditert*¹' nean.

Bold Game ’83 (25 April-10 May)' NATO exercise involving 39 ships, nofl^e U. S.

Bright Horizon ’83 (early May)' NATO exercise with Standing Na^va Force Atlantic operating off Norwegian coast.

Locked Gate (early May). NATO ercise on defense of approaches to braltar.

Distant Drum ’83 (16-27 May). NATO southern region exercise '^V1 emphasis on sea control operations.

Naval On-Call Force Mediterranca¹¹ Activation (26 April-30 May).

May West (late May). Three-da) ASW exercise off Norway, invoW'¹¹-' StaNavForLant and Norwegian ships-

NorOps (began 30 May). StaNa' ForLant preparation for Ocean Safari-

High Tide (late May). Amphibi°^u operations in English Channel region-

Ocean Safari ’83 (7-17 June). M^ai°_t NATO maritime exercise training j⁰¹ national sea and air forces for sea-l^aI,e convoy protection in transatlantic regi°ⁿ. (Continuation of U. S.-directed exe^rCl* United Effort).           .

Tridente ’83 (June). NATO exert-¹ in central Mediterranean, directed -

Italy-

BaltOps ’83 (27 June-6 July). NA‘ multithreat exercise in Baltic Sea.