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The Early Years
During the ship's post commissioning phase, the USS Moosbrugger underwent shakedown operations at Fleet Training Center, Guantanamo Bay, and fleet operations in the Caribbean ocean. She made port calls at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and St. Thomas, USVI. Subsequently, the Moosbrugger returned to Pascagoula for post-commissioning refits and upgrades. The ship was in Pascagoula when Hurricane Frederick approached the Mississippi gulf coast. In a emergency sortee, Moosbrugger spent several days in the Gulf of Mexico, avoiding the eye of the storm. Upon returning to Pascagoula, the USS Moosbrugger provided electrical power to the West Bank of Litton Shipyard so that the final elements of her retrofit could be accomplished. It was during that retrofit that the antlers were added to the ship's configuration.
The USS Moosbrugger deployed to the Mediterranean Ocean on July 14, 1981. She was the flagship for COMDESRON 20 throughout the deployment. During the full period of deployment, an SH-2 detachment from HSL-36 was embarked. She provided ASW and amphibious support for various fleet excercises during the five month period the ship was in the Med. Ports of visit included Rota, Naples, Benidorm, Cartegena, La Spezia, Marsailles, Palma, Toulon, Gaeta, Tunis, and Casablanca - not necessarily in that order. The port call at Benidorm was the first for any Navy vessel and was so successful that the ship returned for a second port call in the same deployment.
The USS Moosbrugger returned to Charleston on December 11, 1981, nearly two years after she was commissioned.
These are the official records. I'll have to get together with my shipmates to provide the "real story."
Updated September 20, 2005