CHANGE OF COMMAND USS BRISTOL COUNTY LST-1198 PROGRAM Official Party Arrives* Parade the Colors* The National

Anthem * Invocation * Remarks by CAPTAIN R. M. COLLINS, USN GUEST SPEAKER Remarks and Reading of Orders COMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELL, USN Reading of Orders, Change of Command COMMANDER PHILIP R. GIVEN COMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELL CAPTAIN J. M. DAVIS (COMPH1BRON SEVEN) Presentation of Commissioning Pennant MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HARVEY E. SPENCER (MCPOC) Benediction* Official Party Leaves* *Guests Standing
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USS BRISTOL COUNTY LST-1198

CHANGE OF COMMAND
18 APRIL 1975

U.S. NAVAL STATION SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

SHIP'S HISTORY USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198) COAT-OF-ARMS

The coat-of-arms of USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198) reflects the background and spirit of the area for which she is named, BRISTOL COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND. Basic to the coat-of-arms is the anchor, symbolic on the coat-of-arms, state seal and flag of the State of Rhode Island and long a symbol of strength and hope for mariners. The square-rigger and Tank Landing Ship on the ocean are symbolic of the old sailing vessels that moored in the Port of Bristol, R.I. and the new and versatile LSTs of today. Also shown are the coats-of-arms of the towns of Bristol, Warren, and Barrington, the three towns comprising Bristol County, and the dates these historical old seafaring towns were incorporated. The motto, SHIPSHAPE'N BRISTOL FASHION, said to have its origin from Bristol, England in the 15th century, was a saying that noted the excellence of the ships that sailed from that port. It became a well known complimentary expression and is in use even today. The composite design symbolizes the historic relationship between USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198), Bristol County, Rhode Island and the sea.

USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198) was built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, the last and newest of the NEWPORT Class Tank Landing Ships. Assigned to Amphibious Squadron SEVEN, she was commissioned on 5 August 1972 in Long Beach, California, under the command of Commander Donald L. WAGGONER, USN. Her first year was devoted to Shakedown Training, Post Shakedown Availability, Type Training and Refresher Training, and Amphibious Refresher Training. In the fall of 1973, BRISTOL COUNTY participated in her first major Amphibious Operation, BELL BANCO, off Camp Pendleton. In January 1974, PHIBRON SEVEN sailed from Long Beach on BRISTOL COUNTY'S first deployment to the Western Pacific. While deployed with the Navy-Marine Corps team for six months, the ship operated primarily out of Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, as a unit of Amphibious Ready Group ALFA. Amphibious Landings were made with each of her embarked units, of the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines; First Battalion, Fourth Marines, and Second Battalion, Ninth Marines. Port calls were made in the Philippines; Okinawa, Japan; Taiwan; and Hong Kong. In June, BRISTOL COUNTY crossed the Equator and took part in the multi-national exercise KANGAROO I in Australia. Following visits to Sydney, New South Wales, the Fiji Islands and Pearl Harbor, the ship entered her new home port, San Diego, in July. She has since completed several underway training periods and type training exercises.

'I (I

COMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELL

COMMANDER PHILIP ROBERTS GIVEN, USN

Commander Jerome Arthur O'CONNELL was born in Turner Falls, Massachusetts, on 10 November 1932. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April 1951. After attending Electronic Technician "A" School, he was appointed to the Naval Academy from the Fleet, and graduated with the class of 1956. His first sea duty was in the Deck Department of the PHIBPAC Attack Transport USS MONTROSE (LPA 212). This was followed by successive tours as Destroyer Weapons Officer and Destroyer Operations Officer, both in the Long Beach based USS COWELL (DD 547). In these two ships he made four WESTPAC cruises. Other sea duty assignments include Surface Operations Officer on the staff of COMCRUDESFLOT EIGHT, deploying to the Mediterranean in USS ALBANY (CG 10), and USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9), and a tour as Destroyer Executive Officer in USS WILLARD KEITH (DD 775), operating out of Norfolk, Virginia. He has been Executive Officer and later was Commanding Officer of USS PREVAIL (ACS 20), operating primarily in Caribbean waters for the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office. In 1965-1966 he spent a year's tour in Vietnam as a Coastal Force Advisor. Shore duty has included the NROTC Unit at Columbia University, New York City; Deputy Director of Operations at the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office; Staff of the Armed Forces Aide to the President of the United States; and most recently the Faculty of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. He relieved the Plankowner Commanding Officer of the USS BRISTOL COUNTY in July 1973. Commander O'CONNELL wears the Navy Commendation Ribbon with "V", Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Presidential Service Badge and numerous campaign decorations. He will report for duty next month at the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, Virginia, as an instructor in the Amphibious Warfare Faculty.

Commander Philip R. GIVEN was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 19 October 1935. After serving for eighteen months as an enlisted member of the Naval Air Reserve at Millington, Tennessee, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1954. Upon commissioning in June 1958, he reported to USS HENRICO (LPA 45) where he served as a Deck Division Officer and Gunnery Officer. In July 1960 he continued as a Surface Warfare Officer in USS JENKINS (DDE 447), serving as Operations Officer. Homeported at Pearl Harbor, JENKINS operated as a unit of the ASW Task Force, and participated in the nuclear weapons test conducted at Johnson Island. Remaining in Hawaii for shore duty, Commander GIVEN served on the staff of COMDESFLOT FIVE as manned spacecraft recovery officer; participating in the recovery of astronauts from Mercury flights 7 and 8. In September 1964 Commander GIVEN returned to sea in USS KEARSARGE (CVS 33) as Gunnery Officer; operating as flagship for the ASW Task Force in the Pacific. In December 1967 he was assigned overseas shore duty with COMNAVFOR KOREA/U.S. Naval Advisory Group in Seoul, Korea where he managed Military Assistance Plans for the Republic of Korea Navy. Upon leaving Korea in December 1969, CDR GIVEN served as Executive Officer in USS RANKIN (LKA 103) until February 1971. He assumed command of RANKIN until decommissioning in May 1971. In June 1971 he was assigned to staff duty with Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, serving in the Plans section and later in the Readiness and Training section. He was assigned as Amphibious Training officer on the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet until recently. CDR GIVEN is married to the former Barbara Jean McLaughlin of Chevy Chase, Maryland.

USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198) Basic Statistical Data

Built By

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California 13 February 1971 4 December 1971 5 August 1972 522 Feet, 3 Inches 563 Feet 69 Feet, 9l/2 Inches 8,300 tons (full load) 15 Feet (full load) Twin screws, controllable pitch, powered by six diesel engines In excess of 20 knots Single screw, controllable pitch, located forward Two 3-inch 50-caliber rapid fire twin mounts 12 officers, 212 men 20 officers, 366 men

USS BRISTOL COUNTY LST-1198

Keel Laid Launched Commissioned Length on Deck Length Overall Beam (Width) Displacement Mean Draft (Depth) Propulsion

Speed Bow Thruster Armament Crew (allowance) Troop Capacity

Amphibious warfare is not a modern-day concept. Its history is traced back thirty-five centuries when an Egyptian king, faced with the problem of transporting his troops across a large body of water, conducted the first recorded amphibious assault. The Greeks are also known for their successful invasions by sea. Amphibious warfare continued to develop during the medieval and early modern periods, the British being the first to form a formal marine unit especially prepared for sea service. In 1775 Congress authorized the first American Marines and they played a large part in the crossing of the Delaware. In the Mexican War amphibious warfare was used very effectively at Vera Cruz, 10,000 Americans being put on the beach by amphibious craft. The amphibious operations of the Second World War were unprecedented in history. Each landing gaining experience, they paved the way as the war progressed and American strength increased. By the end of the war, 84,000 landing ships and craft had been built. The experience of World War II, technological advances, and the concept of vertical envelopment by helicopter have all made amphibious warfare an important part of our nation's strength.

Cargo (Vehicles and/or B u l k ) . . . . . 2,000 tons