DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY COMMANDNG O~FFCER USS BLU RDGE (LCC-9) FPO P 98828+3300 '/~/~ N RPLV EFER TO 5750 Ser 00/302 '2 0 hllr )9f From: Comqnandng Offcer, US BLUa RDGE (LCC 9) To: Drector of Naval Hst ry (~o~bh), Washngton Navy Yard 90 M Street SE, Wash gton, DC 20374-5060 Subj: COMMAND HSTORY (OPNAV REPORT 5750-) Ref: (a) OPNAVNST 5750.23 a. n accqrdance wth refere ce (a), the followng command hstory fot the perod of J nuarp 995 through 3 December 995 s submtted: a. Command Composton add Organzaton: USS BLUE RDGE s forward deployed to the Western Pacfc and permanently homeported n Yokosuka, Japan as $lagshp for Commander, SEVENTH Fleet, Commander, ~rn~boqs Force SEVENTH Fleet and Commander, Landng Force SEVENTH Fleet. Commandng Offcer: Captan Ernest H. Joy from Jaduary to 8 July 995, and Captan Terence P. Labrecque from 9 July to 3 December 995. mmedate Superor: RADM J. 8. Sgler from January to June 995, and RADM W. Doran from June to 3 December 995. b. Chronology: Sea Trals 7 January Bref Stop for person el, Oknawa 22 January Vst Hong Kong 25-29 January TSTA 30-3 January Vst Manla, Phlppnes -5 February FEP 6-8 February Sm 25 3 February - 5 March Sea Trals 23 March Vst Tokyo, Japan 25-26 March Vst Townsvlle, Aus rala 3-7 Aprl Vst Sydney, Austral'a 2-25 Aprl Vst Hobart, Australa 28 Aprl - May Vst Adelade, Austrgla 4-7 May Vst Fremantle, Australa 2-5 May Vst Bal, ndonesa 20-23 May SRA 26 5 June - 3 July Change of Command 9 July Sea Trals August CART A 7- August Frendshp Day Cruse 3 August Bref Stop for personnel, Oknawa 6 August E X E ~ C ~ ULCH S ~ FOCUS &ENS 2-3 August Vst Chnhae, ROK 8-20 August Vst Pusan, ROK 25-26 August
Subj: CO-D HSTORY (OPNAV REPORT 5750-) Vst Tonghae, ROK ~ 26-27 August Vst Chnhae, ROK -2 September Sstershp cruse wth JDS HE 4-2 September Vst Nagasak, Japan 5-7 September JWDS 8-30 September V$t Sasebo, Japan 7-9 September Vst Kagoshma, Japa 2 September Vst Cebu, Phlppn 27-29 September Vst Port Kelang, Malaysa ~ 5-7 October Vst Sngapore 9-3 October Exercse MERGATE 95 9- October Exercse TEMPO BRAVE 0-20 October Vst Hong Kong 8-2 October Bref Stop for person+l, Oknawa 24 October Exercse FOAL EAGLE 24 October - 5 November Vst Chnhae, ROK ~ 26-28 October Vst Pohang, ROK 30-3 October Vst Pohang, ROK 4 November 25th Annversary 4 November Comng Alvew ceredbny SRA 27 0-3 December c. Summary of Operatons: US^ BLdE RDGE began 995 persde n Yokosuka, Japan durng an u keep perod. The crew had to tran heavly for BLUE RDGE'S ' upcomng busy schedule whch ncluded FEP, three Shp's ~ephr Avalabltes, three major exercses, and 25 port vsts $n selven dfferent countres. On 7 January, after compl ton of the upkeep and holday perod, BLUE RDGE got underwa for Sea Trals n preparaton for ts frst extended underw perod for 995. After correctng the fnal problems the shpboard systems, BLUE RDGE shfted colors for ts n 995. Ths msson ncluded steamng to Oknawa over 400 Marne Corps personnel for port vsts to Hpng Kong and Manla, Phlppnes. On 25 January, BLUE RDGE ente ed p~rt n Hong Kong, moorng at Fenwck Per, on the former HM TAMAR. The crew and embarkees enjoyed a successful port vs whle the shp hosted luncheons and a Bg Top recepton for lo a dgntares. On 30 January, BLUE RDlGE departed HONG KONG n route Manla for TSTA. Durng ths perod, the crew h ned ts combat and damage control sklls n preparaton for the pcomng FEP. On February, BLUE RDGE entered port n Manla. The crew had an extremely warm reclepton, ensurng that the UB Navy would always be welcome there..another successful Bg Top ceremony was held for all to enjoy. (3n 6 February, the BLU RDGE departed for Oknawa and FEP. The BLUE RDGE completed the FEP wth outstandng results reported by ATG WESTPAC. Afte a bref stop n Oknawa to debark the Marnes, BLUE RDGE returnfd home to Yokosuka on 2 March to begn SFtA 25.
Subj: COMMAND HSTORY (OPNAV REPORT 5750-) SRA 25, the frst of a se es af SRAts desgned toward the upgrade of the shp,s co uncdtons and C4 sute, began on 3 March. Durng ths ava'lablty, BLUE RDGE began t's habtablty upgrade of many paces, ncludng major work on the Flag Module. All stat rooms and the Flag Mess were completely refurbshed for the purpose of embarkng staff personnel n the future. Also, SRA 25 marked the begnnng of PHASE of the nstallaton of the AN/USC-38 EHF system. On 23 March, BLUE RDGE de arted Yokosuka for Sea Trals to once agan work out the bu s out of the new and repared shp systems. After a successful S a Tral, BLUE RDGE was ready to embark on ts most exctng extendad underway perod n hstory, tsouthern Swng 995". But frst, t had to perform a successful port vst and Bg Top event n Tokyo, Japan. BLUE RDGE, escorted by her sster shp JD k SHRANE, traveled up Tokyo Wan for the two day vst. On 3 A rll BLUE RDGE departed on Southern Swng. The msson o ths perod was to crcumnavgate Australa, whle havng port v'sts n fve ctes and a port vst n Bal, ndonesa. Whle en route to Australa, BLUE RDGE CONREPed wth the USNS S JOSE for a refuelng at sea. BLUE RDGE arrved n Townsvl $" e on 3 Aprl. The next month ncluded port vsts to Sydney (2-25 Aprl), Hobart (28 Aprl- May), Adelade (4-7 May), Fremantle (3-5 May). Durng these port vsts, BLUE artlcpated n many "Australa Remembersw ceremones commemor tng the 50th Annversary of the end (of World War. Also, " Over 200 BLUE RDGE crew members marched n the Annual ANZAC Day Parmde n Sydney on 25 Aprl. Afterwarlds, BLUE RDGE vsted Bal, ndonesa. The shp encountered an unsutable bott b m for anchorage off the south eastern coast. After several unsuccessful attempts at anchorage, the BLUE RDGE fnally found a sutable anchorage. On 22 May, whle at anchorage, BLUE RDGE encotuntered heavy weather that precludeccl boat operatons. n an attempt to get crew members back aboard, BLUE RDGE resort d to helo operatons to extract personnel from the sland. That evenng, BLUE RDGE had begun to drag anchor and subsequent ordered a personnel recall. After more than 24 hours of fe ryng personnel from the landng, BLUE RDGE was able to get und may wthout njures or casualt~es. Although durng t e rough weather, BLUE RDGE'S brdge offcers had to use herenghe n order to provde a safe landng for the small boats, resultng n the loss-of both flukes on the starboard anchor. BLUE RDGE returned home to Yokosuka on 2 June to begn SRA 26. On 5 June, BLUE RDGE ente f ed ts second SRA for 995. Ths would prove to be the lar est and most extensve upgrade perod durng the year. Durng ths tme, the Jont Message Center wss completely cleared! nd refurbshed, NAVMACS, TACNTEL and SNAP syste s were nstalled. SRA 26 contnued wth more space reha ltaton and upgrade untl 3 July.
Sub j : COMMAND HSTORY (OPNAV F/EPORT 5750- ) On 9 July, the BLUE RDGE had 4 change of command. Captan '. P. Labrecque relev d Captan E. H. Joy durng a ceremony held on board. The ceremony's guest speaker was the Chef of Japan's Self Defe se Fleet, VADM T. Muranaka. On August, BLUE RDGE un erwent Sea Trals to test the new systems on board. Ths wa followed be a ttfrendshplf cruse n Tokyo Wan on 3 Augu t. Famly members and guests were nvted to come aboard an enjoy a day at sea just off of the coast of Mura, Japan. The end of Summer through utumn marked BLUE RDGE'S exercse perod. Durng ths tme BLUE RDGE was nvolved n three major exercses, ncludng ULCH FOC S LENS '95 (UFL 95), TEMPO BRAVE '95, and FOAL EAGLE '95. UFL 95 laated from 2-3 Augrust. t s the large t exercse held for Korea. BLUE RDGE embarked RADM Doran (CTF 76) and MGEN Rollns (CTF 79). Durng ths exercs, BLUE RDGE acted as the command center to react to a N rth Korean nvason of the south. Curng ths perod, BL E RDGE held port vsts n Chnhae, Pusan, and Tonghae. On 5 September, BLUE RDGE returned to Yokosuka for a bref homeport perod before gettng underway for ts fnal extended underway perod of 995. On 4 September, BLUE RDGE rendezvou.sed wth the JDS HE for astershp operatons. Durng th.e followng week both shps exchanged personnel, conducted blateral exercses, and held successful port vsts tcl Nagasak, Sasebo and Kagoshma, Japan. The Kagoshma port vst had to be curtaled due to an approachng typhoon. On 22 September, BLUE RDGE detached from HE and proceeded on to ts next port vst n Cebu, d Phlppnes. Whle en route, a demonstraton of the new Jo t Warfare nteroperablty Demonstraton was performed fo use onboard BLUE RDGE. The shp anchored off of the coast of Mactan sland near Cebu on 27 September. Agan, BLUE RDGE had another successful port vst hampered by heavy weather. The Captan ordered a personnel recall on. 28 September. DGE lowered all of ts boats n order to remove personnel BLUE from 4 the shore. After approxmately 30 hours of boat operatons, all but ffteen BLUE RDGE personnel were retreved. BLUE RDGE then sorted for typhoon evason the evenng of 29 September en oute to another port vst n Port Kelang, Malaysa. BLUE RDGE transted the strats of Malacca on 4 October. On 5 Ocl:.ober, BLUE RDGE entered Port Kelang. The wharf was approxdately two hours from the center 4 of Kuala Lumpur. Whle nport, BLUE RDGE embarked staffs for TEMPO BRA.vE, ncludng an Aust alan Group Commander, Marne Expedtonary Force and ther sltaff. On 9 October, BLUE RDGE steamed to Sngapore, once agan transtng the Strats of Malacca. After enterng port, BLUE RDGE partcpated n MERGATE '95, a small exercse b,etween the Sngapore Navy and
Subj: COMMAND HSTORY (OPNAVREPORT 5750-) U.S. Navy. TEMPO BRAVE began on 0 October. Ths exercse was a hutma~taran exercse d sgndd toward dsaster relef n Carnbalda. The exercse co tnued untl 20 October, nport Hong Kong. Most of the staff not nvolved wth FOAL EAGLE departed.. BLUE RDGE departe Hong Kong on 22 October for Korea. On 24 October, BLUE RDGE sto ped n Oknawa to embark COMPHBGRU ONE and Marnes for the exercse. P Ths s also the date that FOAL EAG.LE began. FOAL EAGLE took BLUE RDGE to Chnhae and Pohang to support the embarka on of amphbous forces. On 20 October, whle steamng wth USS DUBUQUE, USS FORT MCHENRY and varous Korean unts, BLUE RDGE observed an amphbous assault exercse just north of Pohang. BLUE RDGE entered Pohang on 4 November to debark, all embarked personnel. On 7 December, BLUE RDGE retu~ned home. Whle en route from Korea, BLUE RDGE transted the Shmonosek Strats. On 0 November, SRA 27 commenced wth upgrades n the Supply berthng compartment and the otoqraphc and Prnt shop. Also, SACC was completely gutted and refurbshed and has been renamed JOCC, or Jont ~~eratbns Command Center., on 4 November, tb cornemorate the 25th annversary GEts commssonng, the crew of BLUE RDGE had a ltcomng Alvew celebraton. n the same sprt of her commssonng, she saw her te all of her antenna,^, lght off engnes and re-man all ons. The Commander SEVENTH Fleet, VADM Clemns, was est speaker for the event.