I packed my uniforms and civilian clothes in a seabag and a folding garment bag, said good bye to my wife and was off on my next adventure. The flight to Rota was rather uneventful other than the normal discomforts of a Trans-Atlantic flight in the summer. Thankfully, this wasn’t my first experience with military transport. We held at the end of the take off runway a little longer than I would have expected. We began our take off roll and before we got to take off speed the pilot jammed on the breaks. The report over the loudspeaker was than one of the gauges just didn’t look right. We taxied around the field and back to takeoff position. Again the engines were run up and the brakes released, this time we went only a bit further down the runway before the brakes were slammed on again. This time we headed back to the terminal and disembarked for a few hours while they worked on the problem.

The third time was a charm and I arrived in Naples for the first time. I had a few hours before my flight to Athens. I took a walk off the base to see if I could find something to eat. I soon found a little restaurant and ordered a small personal pizza. Not having any prior experience in Italy I figured this was a good bet. It turned out it wasn’t quite a Pizza Hut pie, it was drenched in olive oil. It wasn’t bad, it was just different from what I had expected. I made it back to the field and got my ride to Athens.

Upon arrival at the airport in Athens I learned that the actual port was in the town of Paireas. A short cab ride later I was dropped off in the port. Now it was a simple matter of finding the ship and getting my bags and myself to it. Once I got near the water it wasn’t very hard to identify the correct ship was just about on the other side of the port from where I was.

I reported my arrival at the quarterdeck and was escorted to the wardroom. The Executive Officer checked my orders and had me and my bags taken to a stateroom where I could get cleaned up before meeting the Captain.

After cleaning up and putting on a fresh uniform the XO brought me to the Captain’s In-Port Cabin so I could officially report for duty. USS Talbot was a Guided Missile Destroyer Escort. She was one of a class of six, which were the first of the Destroyer Escort (or small Destroyer) type ships to be equipped with Guides Missiles. She was 414.6 feet long with a beam of 44 feet and a draft of 24 feet. She was equipped with a Tartar Missile system with a 44 Missile magazine, an 8-cell ASROC launcher and a single 5" 38 caliber gun forward. She also had 2 triple tube trainable torpedo launchers amidships and 2 21’ torpedo tubes in the stern for wire guided torpedoes

Initially I was assigned to a four man room. I had been trained to be the Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA )and the next few days would be spent in relieving the current MPA. The relieving process involves inspection of every item that would become my responsibility. I started by reading the file of CASREPs. These CASualty REPorts were reports to higher authority of major pieces of equipment that were non-functional for one reason or another. These reports not only tell me what big problems the division has, but by reviewing the historical CASREPs I see if there are any trends. The one report that stood out was for the Fin Stabilizer system. This was a pair of wing like structures that stuck into the water and were controlled by large pieces of equipment on each side of the lower lever of the engine room. They were designed by a Canadian company to provide added stability to the ship in heavy seas. Parts had been a problem. Not many of these systems were in use and it was difficult getting proper support for them. We also needed a technician from the company to set up the system once it was repaired since it that been out of commission so long.

The current MPA then took me on a tour of all of the compartments that had equipment I would be responsible for. This was no little task. I had studied most of the equipment, but it was a bit different seeing it in place on the ship. It seemed like we were constantly climbing up and down ladders and going through an endless number of watertight doors (generally through a vertical wall) and hatches (through a deck or and opening that is smaller than a door). I could not do a complete inspection of every item due to both time and practicality. They were not going to take the engine out of commission long enough to drain and clean all of the oil out of it’s sump so I could crawl through it. They were not going to take the boilers out of commission, cool them down, and open them up for my inspection. I was, however, going to do as complete an inspection as possible.

The physical inspection combined with records on file let me feel confident that I knew the status of the equipment I would be responsible for. I spent more time trying to get to know the sailors in the division and trying to find out how they felt about the ship, the equipment, and the job.

The next major portion of a relief is something called EQUIPAGE, this is special equipment that is tracked by signature. Once I was satisfied that I understood the status I prepared a letter to the Commanding Officer stating my readiness to assume the job. In it I reviewed the status of the plant, pointing out things like the broken stabilizers and any shortages in the division or EQUIPAGE. Once the Captain accepted the letter I became the ship’s Main Propulsion Engineer.

Now that the physical process of relieving had been taken care of I had to learn the practical parts of the job of being a Division Officer and of being a watch standing junior officer on a ship.

In many Navies Engineering Officers are considered separate from other officers on the ship. In the US Navy Engineers stand bridge watches the same as all other officers. Under unusual conditions engineer officers will be assigned watch-standing duties in the engineering spaces, however, usually they will be assigned to deck watches with Chief Petty Officers and other senior enlisted men standing the watches.

This enables our engineering offices to aspire to command of ships as they advance in their career. The other edge of the sword is that the engineer must learn the requirements for standing watch in both areas. This is generally handled during special evolutions when the engineers are available in the engineering spaces. Occasionally you will spend part of a cruise standing only engineering watches and other parts standing only bridge watches.

Since I had spent over a year involved in aviation I was already behind my peers in the surface navy. Reporting aboard during a deployment was probably the best time for me to assume my duties. There was more underway time than is usual when stateside and even while in port I would be living aboard. I was quickly re-familiarized with the routine of watch standing.

This ships propulsion plant was the one I had gone to school to learn about. The two Supercharged Steam Generators (boilers), each with three burners, were about half the size and weight of previous boilers. The produced Superheated steam at temperatures over 730 degrees Fahrenheit at a pressure of 1200 pounds per square inch. This drove a pair of turbines connected to the propeller shaft. This plant could produce up to 3500 shaft horsepower.

We were assigned to an Aircraft Carrier Task Group and spent much of out time at sea screening the carrier. Screening is providing a protective of destroyer type ships sweeping the water around and ahead of the carrier for submarines. We had advanced sonar and were as well equipped for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) as we were for anti-aircraft duties. In a screen situation each ship in the screen is assigned arc shaped area a certain distance away from the main force (in this case the carrier). It is the responsibility of each ship to search their sector and identify anything that they find in their area.

Even though a ships endurance if much greater, it is routine to refuel every four days or so, just to be ready for any eventuality. This also gives the officers on the various ships the opportunity to hone their ship handling skills. I learned a lot at refueling stations, replenishment (re-supply) stations and got to observe quite a few on the bridge before I was given the chance to try one under close supervision.

Another duty I became familiar with was Plane Guard ship duties. Whenever aircraft are being launched or recovered they try to put a ship in the wake of the carrier to pickup survivors of any accident that may take place. If everything goes right it can seem like a very boring job, just following the carrier around for hours on end. If there were to be a problem, however, the Plane Guard is in the best position to carry out a rapid recovery of anyone who ended up in the water.

Our next port of call was Venice, Italy. We tied up on the Grand Canal just a block away from the Palazzo San Marco. Venice is a beautiful city and full of wonderful things to do and see. I never made it to the Casino, but enjoyed the canals, the shops, the glass blowing factories, and Harry’s Bar, the watering.hole of the rich and famous from Hemmingway to the Aga Kan. While we were there a very high tide occurred flooding the plaza. What I remember most was how they placed what looked like tables across the grand plaza to walk from shop to shop during the flooding. It was obvious that they were used to the drill.

Our next port was Naples, Italy, a frequent stop for our ships in the Mediterranean. Naples is one of those ports where we tie up to the pier using the Med Moor where the ship is backed up to the pier thus maximizing the number of vessels which can tie up. Naples provides a broad variety of things to do from visiting Pompeii to the numerous bars and nightspots that cater to the Americans.

After another at sea period we anchored in Pollensa Bay, Majorea. There we were introduced to looking glass liberty. In other words, we were not allowed off the ship, but we did bit a bit of relaxation.

Our next port of call was the French city of Marseille. This Riviera port lived up to it’s billing. It is a large port city with all the trappings, but also had a large contingent of sidewalk cafés and wonderful tree lined streets I took time to travel to Aix, a small town a bit a way from the city. I feel I got a little flavor of the countryside.

Our next stop, after a period at sea, was in Genoa, Italy. This gave us a completely different view of Italy, from what we saw in either Naples or Venice. Genoa is the town where Christopher Columbus was born and has a large museum and appropriate statue in remembrance of him. One of my strongest memories was the sound of our large auxiliary diesel generator bouncing off the mountains around the city.

Another period at sea was rewarded with a visit to the islands of Malta. We anchored in Velletta harbor and ran boats for liberty. It was in Malta that I had my first experience as a Shore Patrol Officer. Although it wasn’t totally trouble free the experience was a good learning experience. In my free time I managed to fairly well explore the island and managed to get the worst sunburn of my life. I found a beach with large flat boulders to lay upon, fell asleep and managed to wakeup far too late.

After rendezvousing with the replacement ships which arrived from the States and conducting combined force operations we departed the Mediterranean. This didn’t end our cruise, however, we were to continue with an unusual swing up the coast of Europe.