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The following dates and information were obtained from official Navy
sources and from submissions by former crewmembers. If you know of any significant
dates for the SPEAR, please contact the
webmaster. |
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Significant Dates / Ship's Movement
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May 12, 1965 |
AS-36 awarded to General Dynamics/Quincy
Shipbuilding Division, Quincy, MA |
| May 5, 1966 |
Keel laid |
| September 7, 1967 |
Launched |
| February 11, 1970 |
Delivered to
Portsmouth Shipyard for outfitting |
| February 28, 1970 |
Commissioned USS L.
Y. SPEAR (AS-36) |
| April 21, 1970 |
SPEAR underway for sea
trials, man overboard drills and general quarters all day |
| May 1, 1970 |
SPEAR departs for
shake-down cruise to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) |
| May 8, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives in GITMO |
| May 15, 1970 |
SPEAR underway for Port Au Prince, Haiti |
| May 16, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives in Port Au Prince, Haiti,
anchors in harbor |
| May 17, 1970 |
SPEAR underway for GITMO |
| June 12, 1970 |
SPEAR underway for Norfolk, VA |
| June 15, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives Pier 5 (Naval Supply Center)
Norfolk |
| July 20, 1970 |
SPEAR departs with INSERV Team onboard
for trials. Steamed all night. |
| July 21, 1970 |
SPEAR returns to Destroyer & Submarine
(D&S) Piers |
| July 30, 1970 |
SPEAR departs NSC for Charleston, SC |
| July 31, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives in Charleston |
| September 30, 1970 |
SPEAR departs Charleston |
| October 2, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives in Portsmouth |
| November 16, 1970 |
SPEAR moves from Portsmouth to "explosive
anchorage" (loaded ammunition while anchored in harbor) |
| November 19, 1970 |
SPEAR moves to Yorktown to load nukes
(nuclear warheads) |
| November 20, 1970 |
SPEAR arrives at D&S Piers |
| June 21, 1971 |
SPEAR underway for annual "coffee ground
turning" |
| June 23, 1971 |
SPEAR returns to D&S Piers |
| June 24, 1971 |
SPEAR departs for first Dependant's
Cruise. Out and back by 1400 hours (2:00 p.m.) |
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| February 22, 1978 |
Collision with
Liberian Motor Tankship ZEPHYROS in the lower Mississippi River, both
ships received only minor damage. Click
here to read the Transportation Research Board record.
| NTSB Report Number: MAR-79-06, adopted on 4/20/1979 |
| NTIS Report Number: PB80-125560/AS |
Click below to see Spear's damage:
Photo 1
Photo 2
|
| Fiscal Year 1979 |
Navy women begin reporting for regular
duty aboard the SPEAR as a result of 1979 Defense Authorization Bill.
Click
here to see press release dated October 24, 1978. |
| February 1980
|
February 1980 issue of
All Hands
Magazine features article "Women Aboard Spear". Click here for the
excerpt. |
| February 28, 1980 |
SPEAR celebrates 10th birthday |
| March 31, 1980 |
SPEAR departs Norfolk, VA, for Indian Ocean to support
the fleet in the Iran hostage crisis. Port calls: Alexandria,
Egypt; Diego Garcia B.I.O.T. (anchored 2+ months); Athens, Greece;
Malaga, Spain. |
| April 17, 1980 |
Anchored port of call Alexandria, Egypt |
| April 18, 1980 |
While anchored off Alexandria, Egypt,
liberty boat gets swamped on way back to ship stranding many shipmates
at the U.S.O. overnight |
| April 21-22, 1980 |
Transit Suez Canal |
| April 28, 1980 |
The SPEAR makes history with first Navy
enlisted women initiated as Shellbacks. |
| April 30, 1980 |
Anchored Diego Garcia, B.I.O.T. |
| May 1, 1980 |
First submarine,
USS GUARDFISH
(SSN-612), comes alongside |
| May 4, 1980 |
SPEAR mourns death of
Agustin Guiao, Jr. |
| May 5, 1980 |
First surface ship, USS BARBEY (FF-1088)
comes alongside |
| May 15, 1980 |
USS
BATON ROUGE (SSN-689) takes SPEAR personnel for sub ride |
| May 22, 1980 |
SPEAR personnel mourn the death of
Jeffrey Sellers |
| June 20, 1980 |
USS DAVIDSON
(FF-1045) towed in by
USS
TRUXTUN (CGN-35) |
| July 1-2, 1980 |
USS TAUTOG (SSN-639) takes SPEAR personnel
for an overnight sub ride |
| July 6, 1980 |
USS AJAX (AR-6)
arrives on station to relieve SPEAR |
| July 8, 1980 |
SPEAR departs Diego Garcia |
| July 11, 1980 |
Second Shellback initiation |
| July 17, 1980 |
First night helo ops (2015) |
| July 17-18, 1980 |
Transit Suez Canal |
| July 21, 1980 |
Anchored port of call Athens, Greece |
| July 24, 1980 |
Underway |
| July 29, 1980 |
Anchored port of call Malaga, Spain |
| August 2, 1980 |
Underway |
| August 12, 1980 |
SPEAR returns to Norfolk |
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| Summer
1985 |
SPEAR departs
for 16 day cruise to Annapolis, MD, and Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Fall 1985 |
Cruise to
Daytona Beach, FL. A shuttle launch was scheduled on the day SPEAR
departed. |
| November
1985 |
SPEAR anchors
out in Chesapeake Bay to ride out Hurricane Gloria. No major
damage sustained. |
|
February/March 1985? |
SPEAR departs
for Spring Break cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Fire in the
Commodore's gig on the return trip caused by a cigarette butt. |
| September
1986 |
SPEAR arrives
at NorShipCo for overhaul |
| June 1987 |
SPEAR returns
to Pier 22 following overhaul |
| August
1987 |
SPEAR departs
for 31 days RefTra at GITMO |
| May 1988 |
SPEAR departs
for cruise to Bermuda (4 days in port). Spouses were flown to the island
for the stay. |
| August
1988 |
SPEAR departs
for cruise to Norway/TeamWorks 88. Anchored 2 weeks in a fjord in
Norway as Forward Deployed Command. Port calls: Portsmouth,
England |
| October
1988 |
SPEAR arrives
back in Norfolk, VA. |
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| July 19, 1991 |
SPEAR departs Norfolk, VA, for Persian Gulf in support
of Operation Desert Storm. Port calls: Gibraltar; Haifa, Israel;
Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Mina Sulman - Manama, Bahrain; Kuwait
City, Kuwait (anchored). |
| July 31,
1991 |
Transit
Straits of Gibraltar |
| August 6,
1991 |
Arrive Haifa,
Israel |
| August
11, 1991 |
Depart Haifa,
Israel |
| August
13, 1991 |
Transit Suez
Canal |
| August
14, 1991 |
Refueling-at-sea/North Red Sea |
| August
21, 1991 |
Transit
Straits of Hormuez |
| August
22, 1991 |
Arrive Jebel
Ali |
| September
4, 1991 |
Depart Jebel
Ali |
| September
5, 1991 |
Arrive
Bahrain |
| October
18, 1991 |
Depart
Bahrain |
| October
19, 1991 |
Arrive Kuwait |
| October
22, 1991 |
Depart Kuwait |
| October
23, 1991 |
Arrive F-18
site |
| October
23, 1991 |
Depart F-18
site |
| October
25, 1991 |
Arrive Jebel
Ali |
| November
12, 1991 |
Depart Jebel
Ali and transit Straits of Hormuez |
| November
20, 1991 |
Refueling-at-sea/North Red Sea |
| November
21, 1991 |
Arrive Port
Suez |
| November
22, 1991 |
Transit Suez
Canal |
| November
25, 1991 |
Arrive
Augusta Bay |
| November
26, 1991 |
Depart
Augusta Bay |
| November
29, 1991 |
Arrive
Malaga, Spain |
| December
4, 1991 |
Depart
Malaga, Spain, and transit Straits of Gibraltar |
| December
15, 1991 |
Arrive
Bermuda |
| December
16, 1991 |
Depart
Bermuda |
| December 19, 1991 |
SPEAR arrives
in Norfolk |
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April 1993 |
SPEAR
personnel volunteer at All Saints Camp of St. John the Devine while
visiting port of call Nassau, Bahamas.
Click
here to see the article in All Hands Magazine, July/August 1993
issue. |
|
July - August 1996 |
Divers from the SPEAR assist with the TWA
Flight 800 recovery and salvage operations.
Click
here to see a list of units that participated in the recovery
effort. Click
here to see a DoD photo (click the photo to enlarge and you will
notice the SPEAR ball cap of one of the sailors). |
|
September 6, 1996 |
Decommissioned |
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May 3, 1999 |
Stricken from Naval Register |
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October 24, 2006 |
The SPEAR's "Status"
on the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) changed from "Stricken, being prepared for SINKEX" to "Stricken,
to be disposed of by scrapping". |
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