United States Arriving

more powerful more complex more effective some weapons that played a vital role in the earlier history of the United States are still important as part of the Navy's traditional ceremonies some have given way and guided missiles that seek and find an unseen target over the Far rim of the horizon Khem said some crafts have gradually become long-range submersibles with startling capabilities while powered kites of wood and wire that talented the alien air now ride on a crest of thunder across the recipe but with all the seeming change that has marked the progress of the United States Navy through the years still there remains the constant factor of the men who have made the progress possible the men of the Navy and the Marine Corps whose loyalty and devotion to duty to the nation and to high personal and professional continuity of pride and purpose found in the caliber and discipline of men of the Naval Service but also in the customs and traditions that have delineated patterns of conduct across the years and among the great traditions is the historic relationship of the Navy with its commander in chief the President of the United States in return the presidents have responded to this loyalty in these words it follows an as certain as the night succeeds day but without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive and with it everything honorable employs the events of the war or given increased interest and importance to the Navy which will probably extend beyond the war itself to maintain our respectful position on the ocean an adequate and highly trained Navy is the best guarantee against war the cheapest and most effective peace insurance the cost of building and maintaining such a Navy represents the very latest premium for ensuring peace which this nation can possibly pay and what is there behind the President of the United States well in the first place there is a Navy which for my part I am very proud of the Navy which for its members ship by ship man by man officer by officer I believe to be the equal of any Navy in the world officers a man of a label service have carried on splendidly in fair weather and foul that apportion the fruity their spirited endeavor to keep the may be strong is an inspiration for those who would hold this country's welfare above self part of the naval traditions in the relationships with the commander in chief is the review of the fleet a demonstration of the readiness of men and equipment whose combined efficiency is the basic strength of the nation sea power so it was that the announced visit of President John F Kennedy to the first fleet off the west coast in early June of 1963 set off a chain reaction of preparation no man in the fleet was immune to the significance of the occasion shoes took on a brighter shine that sparkled like moonlight on a tropic sea personal gear was sorted mended clean and pressed out of lockers and sea chests came swords to be polished and hefted and handled not to repel boarders but to welcome at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego where the president was scheduled to stop on his way to the fleet the word was passed and was quickly translated into action more than 200 miles to the north on the edge of the desert was the terminal point for the president's trip China Lake here the personnel of knots the naval ordnance test Asian made ready to display and demonstrate some of the newest weapons and facilities to support the Navy's sea power program at the same time on all the ships at sea the classic chores of the ocean-going Navy received extra special attention where rust appeared or painted warns in experienced artisans of the chipping tools and paintbrush applied their skills with satisfying results decks became immaculate under the application of brush buffing cloth and elbow grease the bright work glittered like mint gold the multicolored laundry of the signal bridge was washed by hand and hung in the breeze to drive from kegel to the tip of the main mass every ship received the traditional extra polish in preparation for the president's approaching visit helicopters to be featured in anti-submarine warfare demonstrations and run-through aboard the carrier's the planes to be flown in the fleet review we're subject to a complete check out special care was given to the arresting gear for cables think as a man's wrist stretched taut across the carrier's deck and connected with an arresting engine below decks each cable is designed to catch and hold over 20 tons at more than 100 miles per hour to keep the ships in the operating area during rehearsals refuelling was carried out at sea as it is done in actual fleet operations and when the skipper says fill her up the exchange can take several hours and plenty of heads-up seamanship first stop on the tour was the Marine Corps truth devil in San Diego on the morning of 6 June President John F Kennedy arrived with Secretary of the Navy Fred Corinth to be greeted by the commanding general and by Senator Engle of California with a rival of the President the traditional salute of 21 guns roared in welcome as the sound of the last shot faded the president inspected the ranks of men drawn up in formation [Music] then the commander-in-chief toward the base [Music] starting where new marine recruits receive their first warm welcome from the drill instructors who guide their footsteps in the days of training the transition from civilian to a full-fledged Marine is not accomplished overnight but many of the primary steps are managed with a minimum waste of time for example the 3-minute haircut which caught the president's eye a visit to the barbershop showed how efficiently this job can be done when it's completed a man doesn't worry about where to part is hair next was a stop for a look at the living quarters long before the Marines explored the halls of Montezuma and stormed ashore at Tripoli they had a tradition of physical fitness they had to be tough in those days they still are [Music] then the inspection was over and the presidential party was boarding helicopters to fly out to the fleet operating at sea beyond the Coronado Islands as they headed west they circled the San Diego harbor into which the Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo at first sailed in his small Caravelle in 1542 then down along the Silver Strand where amphibious craft were moving into position for their part in the fleet review soon the helicopters were approaching task force 10 of the first fleet 18 ships 15,000 men or achievement in our nation's history here is the third Columbus in naval history a guided missile cruiser the first Columbus was a 28 gun break in the Continental Navy Washington's Navy the fifth Preble a guided missile frigate perpetuating the name of Commodore Edward treble one of the founders of naval traditions the first rebel was an 80-ton sloop that took part in the war of 1812 Hornet anti-submarine warfare support carrier the eighth ship to bear this famous name the earliest Hornet fought gallantly in the Revolutionary War and in the war of 1812 under the command of James Lawrence who lives forever in naval tradition through his dying words don't give up the ship now another page was about to be written in the record of naval traditions as the president's helicopter approached the carrier Oriskany Thoreau's the historical call that denotes the approach of the president United States arriving as the helicopter touched down on the deck the president's flag was broken at the Maine it would be kept flying as long as he remained a born and the pipes which once were worn by the Lord High Admiral of the British fleet piped the president aboard now from the guns of all the ships in the task force came the Thunder of the 21 gun salute in some time long past it was decided that odd numbers were luckier than even numbers so the president saloon has always been 21 guns early Gunners used to transfer 21 beams from one hand to the other to keep track of the count and the rhythm of the firings was determined by a line that the gun captain repeated to himself if I wasn't a gunner I wouldn't be here fire number one if I wasn't a gunner I wouldn't be here fire number two today the cadence is the same but a modern stopwatch calls the tune in a high-flying version of the traditional salute carrier planes explode across the sky with a spangled of 21 aerial bursts when the honors had been completed President Kennedy addressed the men of the Oriskany then inspected the Navy's latest command and control system installed in the 44,000 ton attack carrier from the flight deck of a Riskin II the presidential party took off of the carrier Kitty Hawk named for the historic North Carolina site where the Wright brothers in nineteen three through that man need not forever be anchored to the ground upon which he walked Kitty Hawk is the world's first guided missile attack aircraft carrier 80,000 tons more than a thousand feet in length with a flight deck covering approximately four acres yet she moves through the water at a speed of more than 30 knots United States arriving [Music] among the officials party where Secretary of the Navy Fred Corinth Governor Brown of California and Senator Claire angles also participating were Admiral John H sides commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet and Vice Admiral RTS Keith commander First Fleet with the distinguished guests in a good position to see the scheduled events the fleet exercises began first some of the aircraft and weapons to be demonstrated were put on display the f8d Crusader and all-weather supersonic fighters armed with an air-to-air heat seeking missile the Sidewinder the f-4b phantom to the Navy's newest the world's fastest all-weather fighter interceptor here it is being armed with Sparrow three missiles the Navy's largest and smallest Jets the are a 5-2 fidgel ante and the q2c fire be target drone the vigilante is a Mach 2 long-range all-weather tactical reconnaissance plane and attack bomber the fire beef is a high-speed remote-controlled jet drone a fast-moving training target the first event a high-speed flyby of four vigilantes across the bow of Kitty Hawk as they across the sky at supersonic speeds the air turbulence of a sonic barrier tumbled invisible curving lines against the plain surfaces and as the vigilantes raced past the fleet the air was shattered in a giant whiplash of sound with the release of a fire be drone a quartet of Crusader Jets flashed across the sky in hot pursuit and fired their Sidewinder missiles as the drone tumbled seward's off the starboard beam a cluster of flares appeared in the sky these presented a very small heat target for the Sidewinder Rockets but one after another the target showed the effects of the Sidewinders accuracy next another supersonic drones streak toward the fleet as the phantom fighters closed on the target at speeds of more than 1,000 miles an hour ahead of Kitty Hawk the guided missile frigates and destroyers swung into position for surface-to-air firings of the terrier and the Tartar missiles for the purpose of the demonstration ships of the task force that are normally deployed over hundreds of square miles were brought together in a tight formation ten miles away from Kitty Hawk a drone came in for the attack now the fleet exercises moved into the anti-submarine warfare demonstration just off Kittyhawks beam the submarine permit showed her sail enough power brooch he then submerged to serve as a target for the rest of the team the p3 a Orion with its high-powered electronic sonic and magnetic systems quickly picked up the track of the deep diving submarine smoke lights were used to pinpoint where the submarine was class detected and the Orion pulled out to leave the field to the other members of the ASW team following the Orion's lead out from the carriers came to tracker planes and to seeking jet-powered turbo copters the trackers dropped more smoke lights as they picked up contacts with the magnetic detection equipment housed in the stinger that projects from the plane's tail the smoke flares define the path and indicate the speed of a submarine the helicopters hovering over the markers lowered transducers into the water to make a sonar contact the fixed-wing aircraft maneuvered into a tank position the pilot received the latest sonar fix from the helicopters and a depth charge was on its way to the target as the aircraft cleared the area they passed their most recent information of a submarines position to the Destroyers making a high speed approach from the deck of the destroyer Larsen a small remote-controlled helicopter known as - demonstrated another means of attack on enemy submarines carrying either depth charges or torpedoes it can be directed to the point of the last contact after it drops its charge it can be brought back to the ship again aboard the destroyers Osborne and T's the missile launchers swung into position this is asrock anti-submarine rocket a thousand-pound missile a death charge or an acoustic homing torpedo on target a [Music] final part of the fleet exercises in honor of President Kennedy took place on the flight deck of Kitty Hawk planes of the carrier's fighter and reconnaissance squadrons were hurled into the air by catapults or raced along the deck to become airborne the president saw much of the flight deck action from the ship's bridge where he could observe the landings and takeoffs through the bridge windows or watch it on television over the ship's closed-circuit [Music] with the last plane aboard the president was introduced to the crew by the commander carrier division what officers and men of task force 10 the President of the United States Admiral gentlemen on behalf of all of us who visited with you today to express our warm appreciation I think all of us have been impressed by how bigger ously and successfully the United States Navy has applied all of the modern advances in science and technology through this age-old struggle or maintenance of control of the Seas just as Admiral man said more than 50 years ago any country which wishes to protect its security and the security of those allied with it must maintain its position on the sea and if there is any lesson of the 20th century and especially of the past few years it is that in spite of the advances in space and in the air in strategic air this country must still move easily and safely across the seas of the world the events of October 1962 indicated as they had all through history that control of the sea means security control of the sea can mean peace control of the Seas can mean victory the United States must control the seas if it is to protect our security and those countries which stretch thousands of miles away I look to you on this ship and the sister ship of the United States Navy I want to express our appreciation to all of them the sea is a friend and an enemy those of you who sail it know it those of you who sail it carry with you warmest appreciation and our best hopes for the future Thank You gentleman at the conclusion of the remarks carrier planes over flying the fleet responded with a rapid-fire salute against the background of the sky and aboard Kitty Hawk President Kennedy followed the traditional custom of extending personal greetings to the officers and men assembled on the flight deck in mid-morning the following day the president took his leave from Kitty Hawk he would go to Point Mugu today these Pacific Missile Range then on to the naval ordnance test station at China Lake the arrival was well-covered with binocular concentration and by young Americans in very unrest whites [Applause] the test range a wide stretch of open desert confined in a Corral of encircling mountains provides a practical proving ground for the weapons of today and the concepts of tomorrow here the president with the commander of the test station observed a demonstration of some of the Navy's aircraft and weapons [Music] [Music] when the traditional visit was over the president like other presidents before had reviewed the fleet the weapons and the men he had said they control of the sea beam security control of the sea can meet Peaks [Music] history has proved this true in years past with dedicated Navy men and Marines and fighting ships the wooden wind-driven ships are now great carriers of steel greyhounds of the scene missile launching frigates a highly mobile marine core that can land its men wherever they are needed at a moment's notice [Music] nuclear-powered submarines that prowl the cold deep waters of the Earth's oceans on constant control a powerful Navy Marine Corps team a self-sustaining mobile force constantly moving across the waters of the four oceans of the world alert and equipped to meet any threat of aggression anywhere at any time and yet on every ship of the United States Navy they're also rides the accumulated heritage of such men as John Paul Jones Lawrence treble parry Farragut and Decatur for the traditions of the Navy and the Marine Corps will always be reflected in the discipline the devotion and the loyalty of the men who follow the scene and whose skills and dedication are bulwarks of the far-ranging sea power of the United States of America [Music]