CHANGE OF COMMANDUSS BRISTOL COUNTY

LST-1198

PROGRAM

Official Party Arrives*

Parade the Colors*

The National Anthem *

Invocation *

Remarks byCAPTAIN R. M. COLLINS, USN

GUEST SPEAKER

Remarks and Reading of OrdersCOMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELL, USN

Reading of Orders, Change of CommandCOMMANDER PHILIP R. GIVEN

COMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELLCAPTAIN J. M. DAVIS

(COMPH1BRON SEVEN)

Presentation of Commissioning PennantMASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HARVEY E. SPENCER

(MCPOC)

Benediction*

Official Party Leaves*

*Guests Standing

.

USS BRISTOL COUNTY

LST-1198

CHANGE OF COMMAND

18 APRIL 1975

U.S. NAVAL STATION

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

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 isnamed, BRISTOL COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND. Basic to thecoat-of-arms is the anchor, symbolic on the coat-of-arms, stateseal and flag of the State of Rhode Island and long a symbol ofstrength and hope for mariners.

The square-rigger and Tank Landing Ship on the ocean aresymbolic of the old sailing vessels that moored in the Port ofBristol, R.I. and the new and versatile LSTs of today. Also shownare the coats-of-arms of the towns of Bristol, Warren, and Barring-ton, the three towns comprising Bristol County, and the datesthese historical old seafaring towns were incorporated.

The motto, SHIPSHAPE'N BRISTOL FASHION, said tohave its origin from Bristol, England in the 15th century, was asaying that noted the excellence of the ships that sailed from thatport. It became a well known complimentary expression and isin use even today.

The composite design symbolizes the historic relationshipbetween USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198), Bristol County,Rhode Island and the sea.

SHIP'S HISTORY

USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198) was built by NationalSteel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, the last and newestof the NEWPORT Class Tank Landing Ships. Assigned to Amphi-bious Squadron SEVEN, she was commissioned on 5 August 1972in Long Beach, California, under the command of CommanderDonald L. WAGGONER, USN. Her first year was devoted toShakedown Training, Post Shakedown Availability, Type Trainingand Refresher Training, and Amphibious Refresher Training. Inthe fall of 1973, BRISTOL COUNTY participated in her first ma-jor Amphibious Operation, BELL BANCO, off Camp Pendleton.In January 1974, PHIBRON SEVEN sailed from Long Beach onBRISTOL 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 thePhilippines, as a unit of Amphibious Ready Group ALFA. Am-phibious Landings were made with each of her embarked units, ofthe Second Battalion, Fourth Marines; First Battalion, FourthMarines, and Second Battalion, Ninth Marines. Port calls weremade in the Philippines; Okinawa, Japan; Taiwan; and Hong Kong.In June, BRISTOL COUNTY crossed the Equator and took partin the multi-national exercise KANGAROO I in Australia. Follow-ing visits to Sydney, New South Wales, the Fiji Islands and PearlHarbor, the ship entered her new home port, San Diego, in July.She has since completed several underway training periods andtype training exercises.

COMMANDER JEROME A. O'CONNELL

Commander Jerome Arthur O'CONNELL was born in Turner Falls,Massachusetts, on 10 November 1932. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April1951. After attending Electronic Technician "A" School, he was appointedto 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 Trans-port USS MONTROSE (LPA 212). This was followed by successive tours asDestroyer Weapons Officer and Destroyer Operations Officer, both in theLong Beach based USS COWELL (DD 547). In these two ships he made fourWESTPAC cruises. Other sea duty assignments include Surface OperationsOfficer on the staff of COMCRUDESFLOT EIGHT, deploying to the Medi-terranean in USS ALBANY (CG 10), and USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9), anda tour as Destroyer Executive Officer in USS WILLARD KEITH (DD 775),operating out of Norfolk, Virginia. He has been Executive Officer and laterwas Commanding Officer of USS PREVAIL (ACS 20), operating primarilyin Caribbean waters for the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office.

In 1965-1966 he spent a year's tour in Vietnam as a Coastal Force Ad-visor. Shore duty has included the NROTC Unit at Columbia University,New York City; Deputy Director of Operations at the U.S. Naval Oceano-graphic Office; Staff of the Armed Forces Aide to the President of the UnitedStates; and most recently the Faculty of the U.S. Military Academy, WestPoint, New York. He relieved the Plankowner Commanding Officer of theUSS BRISTOL COUNTY in July 1973.

Commander O'CONNELL wears the Navy Commendation Ribbon with"V", Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Presidential ServiceBadge and numerous campaign decorations. He will report for duty nextmonth at the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico,Virginia, as an instructor in the Amphibious Warfare Faculty.

'I(I

COMMANDER PHILIP ROBERTS GIVEN, USN

Commander Philip R. GIVEN was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 19 Oc-tober 1935. After serving for eighteen months as an enlisted member of theNaval Air Reserve at Millington, Tennessee, he entered the U.S. Naval Acad-emy in June 1954. Upon commissioning in June 1958, he reported to USSHENRICO (LPA 45) where he served as a Deck Division Officer and GunneryOfficer.

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 thenuclear weapons test conducted at Johnson Island. Remaining in Hawaii forshore duty, Commander GIVEN served on the staff of COMDESFLOT FIVEas manned spacecraft recovery officer; participating in the recovery of astro-nauts from Mercury flights 7 and 8.

In September 1964 Commander GIVEN returned to sea in USS KEAR-SARGE (CVS 33) as Gunnery Officer; operating as flagship for the ASWTask Force in the Pacific. In December 1967 he was assigned overseas shoreduty with COMNAVFOR KOREA/U.S. Naval Advisory Group in Seoul,Korea where he managed Military Assistance Plans for the Republic of KoreaNavy. Upon leaving Korea in December 1969, CDR GIVEN served as Execu-tive Officer in USS RANKIN (LKA 103) until February 1971. He assumedcommand of RANKIN until decommissioning in May 1971. In June 1971he was assigned to staff duty with Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. At-lantic Fleet, serving in the Plans section and later in the Readiness and Train-ing section. He was assigned as Amphibious Training officer on the staff ofCommander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet until recently.

CDR GIVEN is married to the former Barbara Jean McLaughlin ofChevy Chase, Maryland.

USS BRISTOL COUNTY (LST 1198)Basic Statistical Data

Built By National Steel and Shipbuild-ing Company, San Diego,California

Keel Laid 13 February 1971

Launched 4 December 1971

Commissioned 5 August 1972

Length on Deck 522 Feet, 3 Inches

Length Overall 563 Feet

Beam (Width) 69 Feet, 9l/2 Inches

Displacement 8,300 tons (full load)

Mean Draft (Depth) 15 Feet (full load)

Propulsion Twin screws, controllablepitch, powered by sixdiesel engines

Speed In excess of 20 knots

Bow Thruster Single screw, controllablepitch, located forward

Armament Two 3-inch 50-caliber rapidfire twin mounts

Crew (allowance) 12 officers, 212 men

Troop Capacity 20 officers, 366 men

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

USS BRISTOLCOUNTY

LST-1198

Amphibious warfare is not a modern-day concept. Its historyis traced back thirty-five centuries when an Egyptian king, facedwith the problem of transporting his troops across a large body ofwater, conducted the first recorded amphibious assault. The Greeksare also known for their successful invasions by sea.

Amphibious warfare continued to develop during the medie-val and early modern periods, the British being the first to form aformal marine unit especially prepared for sea service. In 1775Congress authorized the first American Marines and they played alarge part in the crossing of the Delaware. In the Mexican Waramphibious warfare was used very effectively at Vera Cruz, 10,000Americans being put on the beach by amphibious craft.

The amphibious operations of the Second World War were un-precedented in history. Each landing gaining experience, theypaved the way as the war progressed and American strength in-creased. By the end of the war, 84,000 landing ships and crafthad been built.

The experience of World War II, technological advances, andthe concept of vertical envelopment by helicopter have all madeamphibious warfare an important part of our nation's strength.