9th Med. Deployment and a second consecutive Battle "E"

Marc Helgeson's letter of June 1, 1992 follows:

"I assumed command of CONNOLE two months prior to a MED deployment and we left Newport for a three week FLEETEX the day following the change of command. The ship had suffered a number of material problems during her previous stint with the JFK Battle Group and shortly after we sailed I received a rather blunt message from our DESRON commander to the effect that CONNOLE was a "high visibility ship." The following afternoon we held the first of over 50 Captain's Calls that I would conduct over the next two years. At it I laid Out the substance of the Commodore's message and appealed to the crew's sense of pride in the ship's reputation. I will never forget the results. The crew "turned to" for the next two days, corrected all of the outstanding material problems and took the ship through the FLEETEX with "flying colors."

It was clear to me from that day that CONNOLE was a special ship with a special crew. The deployment was the highlight of my command. Because the ship had been assigned to a number of multi-national exercises, we operated more than our Battle Group counterparts who remained in Port due to fuel limitations. We operated with the Spanish, French, Turks, and Italians. We conducted a "coordinated port visit" at anchor in Cartegena, Spain with a U.S. nuclear submarine moored alongside. We spent two periods on the "ASW Line" tracking Soviet subs and one eight-day period trailing the Soviet carrier "BAKU" as she and her escorts left the MED.

The latter event was the most memorable as it involved a high speed run from Sicily to Algeria (Including a 20 knot UN}~P) and three days of close-in surveillance of the Soviets while they refueled at anchor.In all we spent nearly 70% of our six months underway.

At home, port visits and engineering events filled up most of our time. In April 1989 my wife and I were spending a "long weekend" in Mystic, Connecticut, when the OPS Officer called to inform me that the ship would have a "surprise" OPPE in 96 hours. When I returned to the ship the following morning, CONNOLE was "lit off' and ready to go to sea for a dress rehearsal. As with everything else CONNOLE did over that two year period, the OPPE was a success and the underway exarn completed in less than 24 hours. For the next year, CONNOLE was considered he model for performance and "good engineering practices."

It would be easy to carry on about the events of my two years in CONNOLE, but to do so would overlook the REAL reasons for the ships success. First, my predecessors had demanded a standard of material excellence which carried on through my time on board. While the ship had material problems from time to time, the basic material condition was superior to that of most ships her age. The second reason was the attitude of her crew. It was a good group from the junior deck seaman through the Executive Officer. They were willing to work hard and only wanted to know what was expected of them. Most of them have been successful since. In short, CONNOLE's success was due to the motivated and professional young men who made up her wardroom CPO mess and crew. I hope that the Hellenic Navy is as fortunate as I was.

In 1989, the USS Connole was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation (her first) for her operations with the Kennedy Battle Group. Additionally, the ship received its second consecutive squadron Battle E and seven out of nine departmental awards.