TASK FORCE 77

Heat. Heat. A task force or a task group is a group of specially selected ships uh designed to carry out a special task or mission. Now in the case of task force 77, we have three attack carriers and supporting destroyers and cruisers. Admiral, the 8:00 surface anal shows lowle convergence into the opa area with the high still building up in here and the weather. We are all seaman here and the uh weather is of prime importance to us to me the commander. The daily weather briefing provides an indication as to what the men in this task force and the ships and planes are going to have to cope with in carrying out our mission. And we're all of us here living in ships scattered over hundreds of miles at sea doing one job and working together. Heat. Heat. The only rise on at the heart of this task force, the men of the aircraft carrier Kitty. Lieutenant Ernest Brazil speaking. No matter how many times you're catted off this uh carrier, you just never get used to the feel of a of a catapult child. something that uh can never grow old, something you can never become accustomed to. Uh it's uh somewhat akin to being hit in the chest by a Mac truck, yet still it's a it's a very fine feeling because you know everything's working properly and you're going to get off the end of the aircraft carrier flying. Those catapults out there are my responsibility and without them, the Kittyhawk is nothing but a hotel, floating hotel for 5,000 men. When you're on that flight deck, you got to have eyes in the back of your head. Once we get on a fly deck and start operating with the high noise level we have, we do most of our talking by hands and by lip movements. And just what you can see top side is only half of what is going on this catapult. Uh the people's below job below decks are just as important as the people's top side. And it's just one big team all together. As you'll see the flight deck crew hooking up the airplane. You have five men working together and they have to work together or they're going to kill each other. I've personally worked and trained all of my crew on a Kittyhawk to my own satisfaction. In almost 100,000 aircraft shots, we have never put an airplane in the water on account of a malfunction of the catapult itself. Among the young crew of this floating city is a solid sprinkling of old-timers. Commander Malcolm Guest is one. As a squadron executive officer, it's been my privilege and opportunity to observe these young pilots in action. We ask them to do more today than they ever were required to do at my lifetime at the stage of training the kids are going through. They continually daily are asked to do a terrific job and they complete this job all on their own. Ever since I've been on a ship, of course, the thing that's always impressed me so much as a hidden talent are the, you know, the guy that's off on the side that's doing a job that nobody ever really pays any attention to until he fails to do that job. And that's where I was referring to you about the uh using a very good example since you actually can see it from standing up on the bridge of the chap. All he does every day is take a a bunch of toeb bars and they're they're not really light. They're made out of aluminum. good type of alloy and uh put them on this cart and all he does is pull them forward where they're available to put on an airplane. Well, the reason that his job is so important is you notice as our airplanes land, they taxi forward and they park them up on the bow. Well, they park them and this is a and they park them at about a 45° angle. They park there and then as they pulled out, well, prior to being pulled out, of course, they're being gassed. And soon as they're gassed, they want to be able to pull that airplane right out of that spot, pull it right off as soon as recovery with and park it. Well, they can't pull it off unless there toe bars on there. The object is to is to catch a bunch of airplanes in short a period of time as you can and to launch a bunch of airplanes in short a period of time as you have. Oh, they don't get the glory and the and the stuff of the other people out there on the flight deck where the action is. Uh where it's nice to watch. Boy, there goes an airplane. Look at that. Boy, isn't that dangerous? So, oh, you know, it it catches the eye. These people don't catch the eye, but their job, in my opinion, is just as important as the uh as the people in the action. 310 airbor 310 airborne 13. The air boss sits up on high, seeing it all happen. A carrier can launch scores of aircraft in less than an hour. Thousands of men hurry around the flight and hanger decks in apparent confusion, but there is no confusion. The air boss is boss, and his flight deck control center is a good symbol of the order woven into the wild hustle of a carrier vessel. Every aircraft has a place to be every second of an operation. A7's the starboard whale on the point. Behind the carrier, it's plane guard destroyer waiting in case the worst happens. water. If the worst doesn't happen, they throw in a dummy named Oscar and rehearse for it. That's their task in the task force, to wait, to be ready. Commander Bert Matt Jr., skipper, USS Black. Despite all the electronic equipment we have in this ship for this type of work, and the destroyer Navy, seammanship is still all important. This type uh work has special meaning to me in that I was an aviator myself one time. Uh I went into the water off of of a carrier on a dark night off uh coast of Korea. This was off Enchan the night before the Enchan invasion in September 1950. So I know how I know how the fellas feel up there. And uh this is why we we uh put forth a little more effort uh to do a real good job in this this plane guarding work. They wait for months at a time. One man with the shark rifle, the sea and time flowing past them while on the big buddy they're guarding a continuous non-stop drama is being played. That is the carriage test. All right, J, don't forget to use your PIN code word cards for the day. Our dependency on other people starts right here in the ready room before a mission. We depend upon the uh photo reconnaissance people who go in over the beach unarmed, take pictures of our targets, bring them back out here. They're developed, put into the computers. We have the people flying the electronic reconnaissance missions. They also get the same type of information. And this is all correlated together in the computers. Then our air intelligence people down at the other end of the ship correlate all this together, work out our missions for us, and we go down there and pick up this information that we need before we actually go out on a mission. We come down here to the ready room and we have all this information right in front of us all laid out. Very neat. Okay, gents. Uh you've had the rundown on the target. You've got the route and how we're getting in there. A standard formation on the way down. Uh once we get ready to make the turn in to go coast in, uh we'll pick up a standard tactical formation, get it out spread nice and wide, and I'll call my throttle setting there, and we'll make our run in. Uh remember to keep the bird moving. Hadn't been a lot of fire, but uh we don't want to take any chances on it. Okay, when we're ready for our mission, we start off by putting on right around 70 lb worth of flight gear, which the survival vest carries your radio, your flares, your die marker, your survival kit, a small medical kit, water bottles. These are all the things that you really need to survive if you're going to be down in the jungle for any length of time. Of course, you strap on a 38 caliber pistol on your hip and you're ready to go on up to the flight deck and get out there and do it. We actually wear so much gear at times you you have the appearance of a big old teddy bear. You pretty well waddle up to the airplane. And at some point in the future, I think you can foresee a a Derek to just pick up a pilot and sit him in the cockpit. The largest carrier is no more than a moving patch in a heating liquid boiler. The landing signal officer, the LSO, is therefore an indispensable man. If you give me the choice between the one of the richest insurance policies that you can give me or give me a good LSO, I'll take the LSO any day. Middle or once in a while, you're going to have what we call a hairy one or boy that's a wild one type pass. Uh, knock that off. Don't do it again type thing. Uh, this occurs periodically, but it's it's nothing you accept. It's something you try to correct. The LSO picks him up approximately 3/4 of a mile. Black spring into the brake on your inter 10:30. Recovery complete. Recovery complete. The carriers of the task force are bound to their supporting ships by the commander's will and a network of electromagnetic signals. The purely human bond is the logistics helicopter. Commander Donald Garrett. As a log Hilo pilot, I see a great deal of Task Force 77. As a matter of fact, I think I see more of it than anybody else on a day-to-day basis. We fly from carrier to carrier and from ship to ship all within task force 77. Some of our people out there go for they used to go for weeks for months without mail. But one of the most important things to I would say the average sailor out there now when it comes to the log hilo is the daily mail. The ships uh that we live on out here come and go. However, we stay. You might say we're nomads. Nomads of the Tonkan Gulf. We are the only airline that I know of that uh has to deliver people to their destination while we're still flying. And uh we get to see them all. We get to know their personalities. And the ships do have personalities just like people. The log Hilo gives a little and takes a little. Refueling on the fly makes every little ship a filling station in the China Sea. The landing pad on USS Stanley is at the very tip of the task force's perimeter, more than 100 miles north of Kittyhawk. Stanley, a three-year-old frigot, is the picket ship, the task force's advanced warning ship and advanced guard. Captain William Ma Green commands. Mr. Jynette, bring the ship to 25 knots. Sir, all engines ahead, flank indicate 175 RPM for 25 knots. Captain Green Stanley is uh a ship of less than 3 years old. She has invested in her from the people of the United States $100 million worth of ship and uh $200 million worth of ships company in her u position as the pirate ship is the eyes of the seventh fleet which means she's the furthest north in the talking gulf and uh has the ability to detect whether or not a hostile uh aircraft or surface vessel might be approaching the seventh fleet forces. This ship's company is uh made up of what we call the top drawer variety of the new breed of people. They are highly skilled and trained in in electronics, which is awfully important to the concept of present day warfare. Sophisticated Stanley may be, but she still needs the hands of a seaman. Bosen's mate, secondass Richard Hanley. As modern as this ship is, there's two rates that she cannot do without. That's her Bolson mates and her engineering department. As Bolson mates, we handle the ship as they handle ships of old with lines and all sorts of associated equipment. The two that work together the closest are your boss mates and your engineers. Your engineers keep the ship running. They keep us with fresh water. They keep us with fuel and they supply the speed. We as bowen mates keep the ship maintenance-wise up to par. keep all of our up top site areas up to date with with gear and keep everything running and working in working order. We handle everything such as refueling and high lines. A fleet of supply vessels, a task force in itself, mothers the ships on station. UNREP underway replenishment sees to it that no ship falls short of anything it needs. The two ships steam side by side as fuel goes into Stanley's tanks. On the signal bridge, a brisk trade goes on in movies. Old, new, any movie you haven't seen lately. There are many ways to board a ship. Some of them not very interesting. Some of them a bit too interesting. Arriving by Highline is in the second classification. Stanley's escort destroyer, USS Porterfield, has come alongside to pick up a medical officer for a routine visit. It is the doctor's first voyage in the Bosen's chair. I think my head on your high Porterfield now has the doctor mouse. All ahead 2/3 indicate turns for 10 knots. All ahead 2/3 indicate turn for 10 knots. Right. Stanley has another visitor, a Russian twler, Captain Green. Troller. The uh Gedraon is the present one in the Gulf. Should be on station for some time, we suppose. And they looked like an array of electronics, antennas, and uh transmission equipment. Soviet elent ships that position themselves in a talking gulf among our naval forces have a right to be here. This is international waters. Our guidelines are pretty much to uh be alert to him but not to interfere of course with his operations. Same time not to let him interfere with our operations. I want to keep the Soviet troller Gibberon to port just for meanness. Uh he's been trying to maneuver around to see our starboard side and uh really I don't know what he'll gain but uh we'll keep him interested anyhow by if I continue to pass him to port as he stays around my area of operation here. Stanley is full of devices that might interest Soviet intelligence. Her combat intelligence center has the job of alerting the entire task force to any hint of threat. Captain Green, it's a it's a time of quick response now. matter of seconds. That is the atmosphere in which a commanding officer of a ship of this uh sophistication uh operates. You know, you might ask me uh what level do you stop letting people make decisions or use their judgment? We don't stop at any level. We even have uh petty officers of the Blue Jacket, first class and second class petty officers who communicate back and forth with other ships without ever consulting me before they communicate or consulting the evaluator. They've got to in order to keep we say real time information flowing. I am turning control over console number three. Radar man, first class Arthur Russa. This is the barcap barrier combat air patrol. Our first line of defense for transport 77. We are providing control much the same as around a civilian airport with one important exception. MIG air bases are approximately 30 mile north of this aircraft. And at any time they may venture out. If they did, it will be my job to vector the bar cap into a position to meet the incoming raids. Passage 401. This is our malware. Uh, and working with these pilots every day. Pretty soon it gets to be on a firstname basis and then eventually it leads up to a nickname basis. Pilots uh and the controllers uh all have nicknames. Uh some of them are very descriptive such as the hawk uh happy. I acquired the uh nickname of the bear initially and after a period of time it was uh shortened even further to the uh teddy bear. I'm known as the teddy bear of the talking dog. the uh these barcap pilots are the world's greatest is often difficult uh sitting down here watching a couple of pips on a scope and uh especially after getting to know several of them personally after visits to the carrier and then all of a sudden you have a uh pip disappear on you. It's a very uh shattering experience uh every time we uh lose one and particularly when you know someone personally. Just about a week ago, Ernie and I had a little incident where we had a double engine flame out. We had to eject from the aircraft. We were about halfway down to Daang. We had another F4 on our wing. Of course, he was right there to make all the radio broadcasts. We were in the parachutes and we hit the water and uh one of the first things I did was to pull out my little personal survival radius. Soon as we got in the water, I was in full contact with the uh the other aircraft at all times. where it was. We were in the water from the time we jumped out of the airplane to the time we're on board the helicopter on our way to the USS Horner. It was a total of I figure less than 25 minutes. A task force is a collection of men and ships at sea. And the sea is full of wind and rain and weather and days and weeks and months passing. Many Americans no longer think of themselves as a seafaring people. The prairies, the mountains, the wilderness are more our historic images. Yet Lee Ericson, Columbus, the pilgrims, the great waves of immigrants came by sea and Americans fought the most decisive battles in history in the Pacific. One of our greatest stories, Moby Dick, is about the sea. And today we are still farers of the sea. This is a standown day out here on Yankee Station. This is the first one we've had this cruise. Stand down day is a 24-hour period when we get a chance to relax. There are no flight ops for this time. Of course, they always have to have a fighter manned up. And unfortunately, today Ernie and I drew the alert. So, here we are while everybody else is down relaxing. We're up here on airplane just in case we have to be launched, in case we're ever intercepted out here. Why is the world the one singing? Why are the signs of my cry? Say no. It ended with your Hi people. Uh, today's Easter to Sunday. I just got a letter from you, so I figured I'd write home, let you know what's happening. We're sitting out here off Coast Vietnam. I don't understand. Now, here's a tradition that probably did not come down from the old days of wooden ships and iron men. The catapult officer has ended his tour of Sea Duty, and he's going home. But not before he commands one more launch from the deck of Kittyhawk. As the days turn into months, it is easy to forget the perils of the sea. A man coming too close to a jet exhaust has been blown over the side. 5,000 shipmates wait, each suddenly aware of his own mortality. Here is the young sailor saved from the sea. When I was falling, I didn't have much time to think trivial thoughts. As the ship went past me, I was spotted by one of the watches and a smoke pot was thrown in the water. I was only in the water for about 10 minutes after the fantail of the ship passed me when a motor whale boat off the USS Robinson picked me up. came back on board the ship, landed in the healer that picked me up off the destroyer. I looked out the door and the first thing I saw was all of the CAT crew that the CAT officer would let come over, the men that weren't actually involved in launch at the time. It was a real good feeling to know that so many of my friends had turned out to see me come back on the ship. Admiral Cousins, you have a mixture here of old pros and uh but a large part perhaps 75% or more are men and young officers who were on their first combat tour, their first enlistment in the Navy in the case of the men. Nevertheless, it's always gratifying to me and I think surprising to many people to see how the young men pitch in, take their share of responsibility. The young fellas who last year were on a high school football team or working at a gas station this year out here have a vital part in this team. Whether they're down in the engine room on working on a in a shaft alley or or attending a boiler or up working in the resting gear on the flight deck. They're all in a responsible place and for many guys it's the most responsibility they'll ever have. Captain Green of the Stanley. But I believe this is uh a fairly good summary of a commitment to cause and we have a uh in Navy ships a commonality of cause a commonality of purpose I don't believe any other profession can really say that everybody has an objective with purpose an objective uh for which they are which they stand in which they are uh destined but I believe in the navy ships even like unlike other military forces there is a a commonality of purpose. There's a comm camaraderie uh that I can't believe others can develop. But again, it's when you say shipmate and uh and a ship's mission, they they fit hand in hand. And I think we we'll usually go in without without holding back one little bit of our effort individually and as a crew. A collection of men in ships and planes. Young men and old pros. Shipmates a long way from home. A task force of the United States Navy.