21 June 1974, following leave and upkeep, BADGER got underway for tests on her main propulsion plant and associated equipment. She returned to Pearl that night and remained in port until returning to sea on 11 July for final tests. During the full power run, the ship suffered a casualty to her low pressure turbine and was taken in tow by the large harbor tug Waxahachie (YTB-814). Later, Reclaimer (ARS-42) relieved Waxahachie and pulled the stricken destroyer escort into Pearl Harbor on the morning of the 12th. The warship underwent a restricted availability at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard lasting until late October and resumed normal operations in the Hawaiian Operating Area in November. That employment occupied her for the last two months of 1974 and for the first two months of 1975.
11 March 1975, BADGER put to sea to participate in Exercise RIMPAC '75 , the multifaceted combat readiness exercise that brought together units of the American, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand navies. The exercise concluded on 21 March, and BADGER returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for overseas movement.
17 April 1975, BADGER put to sea on to rendezvous with sistership Harold E. Holt (DE-1074) and guided missile destroyer escort Schofield (DEG-3), and Kiska for the voyage to the western Pacific. The task group stopped at Guam for fuel on 28 April but, immediately after completing the operation, continued on to Subic Bay where, after a short diversion to the South China Sea to assist in the evacuation of Vietnam, they arrived on 4 May. The next day, BADGER was back at sea escorting Midway to Guam with a load of American aircraft removed from Vietnam. The two warships arrived there on 11 May, unloaded the planes, and returned to sea on the 12th. En route back to Subic Bay, she received orders diverting her to assist in the recovery of the American containership SS Mayaguez that had been seized by the Cambodians. The merchantman, however, was freed before BADGER's arrival on the scene, and the escort resumed her original course and reentered Subic Bay on the 17th. She spent two days escorting Hancock in the local operating area before returning to port on 22 May. After a week of upkeep, she put to sea for Guam. Arriving in Apra Harbor on 2 June to begin another period of upkeep, she remained there until 13 June when she put to sea for special operations in company with Brewton .
22 June 1975, BADGER returned to Guam, spent three days there, and headed back to Subic Bay on the 25th. On the last day of the month, she put to sea as a unit of TG 75.1 to begin a 60-day training cruise to the Indian Ocean. One day out, on 1 July 1975, BADGER was reclassified a frigate and redesignated FF-1071. That extended voyage brought exercises of all types--refueling, replenishment, towing, communications, gunnery, and engineering. She also made port calls at Singapore, Port Louis in Mauritius, Mombasa in Kenya, Karachi in Pakistan, and Colombo in Sri Lanka. The ship concluded that voyage at Subic Bay on 11 September. Upkeep there, including a period in drydock, lasted until 29 September. On 1 October, BADGER headed to Hong Kong. She arrived there on 3 October and--but for two days at sea from 5 to 7 October to evade a typhoon--remained in port until the 9th when she shaped a course for Guam. The warship arrived there on 15 October for two weeks of upkeep and operations locally for sea trials. On 29 October.she set a course for Pearl Harbor and pulled into her home port on 8 November. Her post-deployment standdown period was followed, in turn, by a holiday leave and upkeep period.
Loading...
14:30
Destroyermen -- Life aboard a US Destroyer in 1970by jpkdd85028,104 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)