USS ARKANSAS was laid down on 17 January 1977 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.; launched on 21 October 1978; sponsored by Mrs. Dale Bumpers, the wife of United States Senator Dale Bumpers, of Arkansas; and commissioned on 18 October 1980, Capt. Dennis S. Read in command.
The guided-missile cruiser spent the four months following her commissioning in the vicinity of Hampton Roads, Va., clearing up details associated with her acceptance by the Navy and preparing for her shakedown cruise. Late in February 1981, she made a brief round-trip voyage to Puerto Rico and back and then resumed preparations for shakedown training. In March, she completed contract trials and conducted a public relations call at Port Everglades, Fla. April brought a series of underway qualifications and certifications. On 28 April, ARKANSAS departed Norfolk to carry out shakedown training in the West Indies. That cruise included more tests and trials, port visits to several Caribbean Islands and a swing south to call at Rio de Janeiro and Recife in Brazil. The warship returned to Norfolk on 25 June and began post-shakedown availability at the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. six days later. ARKANSAS completed repairs on 15 December and put to sea for three days of trials before returning to port where holiday routine occupied what little remained of 1981.
The warship did not get underway again until three weeks into 1982. She put to sea on 22 January and shaped a course south to Key West, Fla., where she underwent explosive shock tests. In the intervals between the several tests, ARKANSAS visited Mayport and Port Everglades for work on some of her equipment. Returning north at the beginning of March, she entered the yard at the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. for two months of post-shakedown repairs. The guided-missile cruiser conducted trials at sea on 3 and 4 May and then returned to Newport News for another 11 days to correct minor deficiencies. She arrived back in Norfolk on 20 May and, the next day, commenced local operations out of her home port. Over the ensuing four months, ARKANSAS carried out a schedule of training operations conducted mostly off the Virginia capes. Two missions, however, took her south to the West Indies. From 23 June to 16 July, she voyaged to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for refresher training. Between 24 September and 16 October, the warship served as escort for aircraft carrier NIMITZ (CVN 68) during an operational readiness exercise executed in the vicinity of Puerto Rico.
Upon her return to Norfolk in mid-October, ARKANSAS began preparations for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. The guided-missile cruiser embarked upon that assignment on 10 November 1982. She completed the transatlantic voyage on 30 November, then set out across the Mediterranean bound for the coast of troubled Lebanon. She arrived on station near Beirut on 6 December. Though ARKANSAS spent most of her time supporting the multinational force ashore in its efforts to keep peace in Lebanon, she left the eastern Mediterranean occasionally for port calls and to participate in some of the 6th Fleet's freedom-of-navigation maneuvers into the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya. On January 3rd, 1983 USS ARKANSAS collided with the Italian merchantman MEGARA ILEA in the Strait of Messina and is "slightly damaged on the port side". Witnesses reported that a 30’ or 40’ gash was ripped in the mess decks that also included the chief’s mess. The warship completed her final tour on station near Lebanon on 4 May 1983 and laid in a course for Gibraltar. After a two-day visit to the "Rock," ARKANSAS got underway for Norfolk on 10 May.
The guided-missile cruiser stood into her home port again at the end of the third week in May. Norfolk, however, remained her home port only for the duration of her post-deployment standdown period. On 8 July, ARKANSAS began the long voyage to her new base of operations at Alameda, Calif. Steaming by way of Port Everglades in Florida and Charlotte Amalie in the Virgin Islands, she arrived in the Canal Zone on 21 July and transited the Panama Canal on the 22d. From there, the warship headed north to Alameda, reaching her destination on 31 July. ARKANSAS spent the next five weeks at her new home port clearing up incidentals attendant to the shift of bases and carried out nuclear propulsion safety training.
Normal operations at sea began again during the second week in September and occupied the guided-missile cruiser for the remainder of 1983 and the first six weeks of 1984. Between 12 and 14 February 1984, ARKANSAS made the passage from Alameda to Bremerton, Wash., where she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a three-month repair period. The warship returned to Alameda in mid-May and readied herself for a deployment that became a circumnavigation of the globe. On 1 June, ARKANSAS put to sea on the first leg of her long voyage. En route to Hawaii, she participated in the multinational exercise Operation "RIMPAC 84." She spent the latter half of June conducting exercises in the Hawaiian islands then resumed the voyage west on 2 July. ARKANSAS arrived at Subic Bay on 20 July and remained in the Philippines until the beginning of August. At that time, she set out for Hong Kong where she visited during the period 6 to 10 August.
From there, ARKANSAS headed for the Indian Ocean. The guided-missile cruiser served almost three months in the Indian Ocean, primarily in that portion known as the Arabian Sea where the protracted war between Iraq and revolutionary Iran threaten to engulf their neighbors and perhaps involve the superpowers as well. On 1 November, ARKANSAS entered the Red Sea on her way to the Suez Canal. She passed through the canal on the 3d and, after an expeditious passage, stopped at Toulon, France, from the 7th to the 12th. Returning to sea on the 12th, the warship shaped a course through the Strait of Gibraltar and across the Atlantic. She rounded out her circumnavigation with calls at the Azores, Barbados and St., Thomas. ARKANSAS transited the Panama Canal on 9 December and reached Alameda on the 17th.
Post-deployment stand down kept her in port at Alameda through the end of 1984 and into February of 1985. Between 17 and 19 February, ARKANSAS sailed north to Bremerton for a four-month restricted availability during which she was armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Phalanx close-in air defense system. Back at Alameda on 25 June, the guided-missile cruiser resumed training operations out of her home port soon thereafter. The usual exercises, inspections and examinations kept her busy through the summer and fall of 1985. On 7 December, the warship began preparations for overseas movement.
WESPAC 86
The usual year-end holiday leave and upkeep period interrupted her efforts to get ready for the upcoming deployment, but the guided-missile cruiser put to sea as scheduled on 15 January 1986. During the transit to Hawaii we found out that the space shuttle has blown up on take-off. We saw the broadcast that was recorded and replayed for us on site TV. We all remember where we were that day; I was at sea on the Arkansas somewhere between California and Hawaii. Again she participated in exercises during the passage, stopped at Pearl Harbor. We docked directly across from the USS Arizona memorial. We were there only a few days and we were off again to Subic Bay, Philippines. From there we went to Singapore for a few days. The Arkansas then made her way across the Indian Ocean to Karachi, Pakistan. The guided-missile cruiser called at Karachi between 15 and 20 March then resumed her voyage to the Arabian Sea. Once more, ARKANSAS patrolled the waters of the troubled Middle East.
Her sojourn in the Arabian Sea, however, lasted only until late April. On the 29th and the 30th, she transited the Suez Canal and headed for another hot spot. The Arkansas led the way with the Enterprise and Truxtun following. The transit was done overnight to minimize the chances of being attacked. The Arkansas was both the first and second Nuclear Powered vessel to transit the Suez Canal. The upper decks were busy with sailors manning search lights, 50 cal machine guns, and shoulder rocket launchers. Every watch was doubled up in case anyone was injured in an attack. The 12 hour journey lasted until dawn when she emerged without incident. The next stop was Lybia and Col. Muammar Khadaffi’s back yard. On Memorial Day 1986, the pig crossed the ‘Line of Death” for the first time. During the month of May and June, ARKANSAS served with aircraft carrier ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) and guided missile cruiser TRUXTUN (CGN 35) off the coast of Libya in the wake of the air strikes launched on that country by the United States in reprisal for terrorist activity against Americans.
After bombing some tents and killing a few camels the crew had time for a long awaited port call. We had changed to another fleet when we left the Indian Ocean and made our way into the Mediterranean. There were rules back then regarding a seldom seen Navy tradition. When we left Alameda we carried several pallets of beer. In the 7th fleet each sailor is allotted 2 beers at the end of a 30 day stint at sea without a port call. Once we changed to the 6th fleet the rule was 45 days. We spent about 42 days at sea without a port call but since we changed fleets before the 30 day mark and make landfall in the Med before the 45 day mark, we never saw a beer. It was all we talked about for a while but we quickly forgot about it once we hit Gaeta, Italy.
We anchored off the coast of Gaeta which was a small sea village north of Naples. The Enterprise and the rest of our support ships went to Naples which was overrun with sailors. Gaeta was a much nicer port of call and with a little over 500 sailors we enjoyed ourselves without the crowds. We all were able to tour the country for a week before heading to Monaco.
We sailed into Monaco and were pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by many sailboats. The crew members waived and smiled at us, some of which were female and topless. The sailors onboard nearly jumped over the side and we could hardly wait to get ashore. We spent 7 days in Monaco and enjoyed the great weather, beaches, and gambling at Lowe’s casino in Monte Carlo. Some of us caught trains back to Italy and others went to France. I went to Nice with some friends and took in the scenery. The Arkansas did make an attempt to make a port call off the coast of Haifa, Isreal. We arrived one night and were supposed to get shore leave the next day. During the night a local night club that was frequented by US Service men was bombed and some military personel were killed. We pulled up anchor and headed west instead of going ashore.
ARKANSAS left the Mediterranean at the end of June and shaped a course for
Australia. On July 4th we crossed the equator and enjoyed the “crossing
the line ceremonies”. Here Polywogs become Shellbacks in a 2 day extravaganza.
The pig arrived at Fremantle between 18 and 22 July. The ship steamed around
the horn of Africa and made it to Fremantle in 7 days. We had to man the hoses
on deck due to some Green Peace demonstrators that tried to get a little too
close when the Nuclear Powered ships arrived. I remember seeing a man grabbing
onto the bow of the Enterprise and holding on for a brief moment on TV. Fremantle
was a humbling experience for me. The people down under still appreciate American
service men and what they did for them in WWII. While in uniform I never paid
for a drink or food of any kind. I did not take advantage but graciously smiled
and shook their hands as they thanked me. From there it was back to Subic Bay
where she laid over for two days at the end of the month. From there, the warship
headed for Pearl Harbor where she paused overnight on 8 and 9 August. We took
on Tiger cruise family members and headed back to San Diego. The 4 day trip
was highlighted by an air show put on by the air wing aboard the Enterprise.
We watched F-14’s break the sound barrier and drop live bombs on un-suspecting
fish. It was a fun way to end the cruise back to the mainland. After a brief
stay in San Diego where Tiger cruise members went ashore, we arrived back in
our home port on 13 August 1986. The wives club had made banners that hung from
the Oakland Bay Bride welcoming us home and to reclaim the hearts we left in
San Francisco. The ARKANSAS remained at Alameda until late September for the
leave and upkeep period that usually follows an extended tour of duty overseas.
Early in October, the warship resumed local operations along the west coast.
She remained so occupied for the rest of 1986.
The USS Arkansas was the Tomahawk test platform the the west coast. Our Captain
at the time wanted to make Admiral pretty bad and was eager to do anything that
the Navy brass wanted. Going out to see for a week or two at a time to test
the latest missile system never did get him that promotion. I think the last
straw was when he waited for hours on a tug to help us dock the ship in Alameda
after a relatively short cruise to San Diego. The Captain got a little impatient
and ordered the helmsmen to pull beside the dock unassisted. When we “rammed”
the pier and tied off, we all knew his days of being Captain were short lived.
There was minor damage to the ship and a little more done to the pier. Captain
Twardy took the helm prior to our next deployment.
Operation: Kennel Freelance
The USS Arkansas departed from Alameda, California on April 27th, 1987 for operations
in the Northern Pacific (NorPac). We stopped off in San Diego, California for
a special weapons on load prior to deployment. We can neither confirm or deny
the presence of Nuclear weapons onboard but we always knew when we did have
them because the members of L division had to do radiation surveys of the launchers
on a regular basis. Following a brief port visit in Perl Harbor, Hawaii, we
got underway on May 8th for Operation Kennel Freelance. We left Pearl Harbor
with 2 silent partners, both Fast Attack submarines that would shadow our every
move. We were told that we were heading for Adak, Alaska. We steamed north like
we have done many times before but this time it was different. We had taken
a few navy SEALS along for the ride. They had several meetings a day and could
be seen cleaning their weapons and taking apart their "run quiet"
outboards. They ate chow with us but said very little.
On the night of May 16th an announcement came over the 1MC from the Captain.
Mr. Robert Twardy told us that we were about to go darken ship and turn off
all radars and sources of RF emissions. We were hanging a hard left for the
peninsula of Kamchatka and we wanted to surprise the Russians. This was a time
when the cold war was in full swing and pulling stunts like this happened on
occasion. We did not like Russia and vice versa and we had to prove a point.
Russia drew a strait line between two points that were located at the mouth
of the Avacha Bay. We were about to enter what the Russians called "restricted
waters" near the top secret Soviet naval base at Petropovlosk. We did not
agree that this "bay" was restricted so we crossed the line, entered
the bay, and sailed around. Actually this base was the largest on the Pacific
Rim and was comprised of a Naval and Air base. As we approached the coast at
0400 Sunday morning, May 17th, we knew they would be surprised to wake up with
us in their back yard. Within a few hours of dawn we were surrounded by Soviet
intelligence gathering ships, Cruisers, Destroyers, submarines, and fighter
aircraft. A few years earlier another of the Virginia class cruisers had surprised
the Russians as we were about to and they were rammed by a Russian warship.
We were warned that this may happen to us as well. The first day or two were
the most tense for the crew.
We had all of our weapons mounts powered up and ready just in case something
happened. We held "quarters" as usual each morning and performed routine
maintenance as if the Russians were not there. As a daily requirement the GMM's
had to test both the forward and aft missile launchers by running up a "blue
bird", which looked like a live missile except for the color. The maintenance
only takes a few minutes to perform but if you were to run up a missile in what
Russia considers their waters surrounded by warships you are asking for trouble.
We had to get to Flank speed, which they could not match, and leave them behind.
From there we would run up a missile on the forward launcher and perform maintenance.
Once that was complete we would turn around, slow down, and perform the same
on the aft launcher. They never knew what we were up to. They put up signal
flags that we had to leave or risk being rammed or fired upon. That kept tension
high for a while. On the 4th day we crossed the imaginary line of death again.
This time we made a few waves and ended up on the evening news. After 5 days
we started getting used to the daily routine. Every morning a submarine would
surface and dive just to let us know they were there. We were surrounded on
at least 3 sides by ships and aircraft circled overhead. BE-12 Mail's would
swoop down and buzz nearby on occasion. It soon became entertaining to us and
we started breaking out our cameras. We took pictures of the Russian crews who
were close enough to throw a football to. At first it was just us taking pictures
as they stood stoically at attention. Then they too began taking photographs.
All this time we sent SEALS ashore at night and they returned safely with INTEL
and debriefed at breakfast. We were never rammed and not a shot was fired.
On June 8th we headed East for Adak, Alaska. With roughly 4 weeks of tension
behind us we needed some rest. The Arkansas pulled into the Harbor at Adak for
some supplies and a long awaited mail call. The weather was not cooperating
and the scheduled port of call was cancelled. After several failed attempts
to dock the ship in rough seas the Captain chose to anchor instead of tying
off at the pier. Only a select few were allowed ashore on a working party to
collect supplies and mail. Their stay was brief but those lucky enough to go
ashore were happy when they came back aboard. We were then off to Anchorage,
Alaska for a few days of shore leave. From there it was a tour of the Glacier
Bay National Park. A friend of mine flew a Jolly Roger flag off the stern as
we passed a sailboat. Onboard the boat were several couples. I remember one
man offering his bikini clad wife in trade for some ice cream. She quickly went
below to avoid embarrassment. We went inland and watched killer whales, icebergs,
and an actual glacier break apart and fall into the water. After our brief sightseeing
tour we turned around and headed back home to Alameda, California.
In January of 1988 the Arkansas steamed for Bremerton, Washington for overhaul.
There we would spend 18 months being cut open and completely refitted for sea.
On June 15th, 1989 she underwent sea trials tied to the pier. I left that day
for terminal leave and was discharged on 14 Aug 89.
The story does not stop there. I am looking for sailors who served after I left
to help fill in the blank years between 1989 and decommissioning. Please send
any information to me and I will update this site.