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The first half of
the year spent prepping for a Persian Gulf deployment.
July 10, 1885 - DDG8 sets sail for the Persian Gulf.
The 7 week transit is conducted with our eventual partner in patrolling the
Gulf, the USS Jarrett FFG-33. Stops include Pearl Harbor, Subic Bay and Hong
Kong, along with refueling only stops in Singapore and Sri Lanka. The ship
also took a quick detour south while in the Indian Ocean to Cross the Line and
christen a large group of new trusty shellbacks.
Arrived in the Gulf in late August. Our generic duty
was to show the flag and maintain a presence in international waters which
were very much a hot zone due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Iraq.
We were also frequently called upon to escort U.S. or U.S. ally flagged
merchant ships in and out of the gulf through the Straits of Hormuz. One
highlight of our tenure was our rescue of 5 merchant sailors from a UAE vessel
that had sunk in the middle of the gulf. The crew also got some much needed
R&R midway through our patrol period during a port call in Bahrain.
Departed the Gulf in October with the USS Jarrett and
headed to Singapore again, this time for liberty. Shortly after departing
Singapore we joined up with a Carrier Battle Group, a significant departure
from our solo transit with the Jarrett on the way over. We pit stopped again
in Subic and Pearl and enjoyed a Tiger Cruise from Pearl back to San Diego. We
arrived in San Diego on December 21st, 1985 in time to rest and celebrate the
holidays after an arduous but rewarding deployment.
Michael Walsh, former DCA and CICO of DDG8
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