If you will recall, during the Iran-Iraq war of the late 1980's, the Kuwaiti oil tankers were re-flagged as U.S. ships because so many were being attacked. When the USS Stark was hit and nearly sunk by an Iraqi exocet missile, the U.S. decided to beef up our presence in the region.
Who was the first ship to report for duty that was not already deployed in the Middle East? I can't back it up, and I have no proof, but I believe it was the Cochrane.
We were homeported (actually forward deployed) in Yokosuka, Japan, but at the time of the incident, we were in the Subic Bay area. They sent us home to Yoko, the married guys had a couple days to kiss their wives goodbye, and we were off to the Arabian Sea for a 6 month deployment. After this happened, I made up my mind I would never marry while in the Navy- too damn hard to make it work.
We weren't permitted to enter the Persian Gulf at that time because that fell to only ships equipped with the CIWS (Close In Weapon System). So we made big donuts in the Arabian Sea with the USS Constellation off the coast of Iran. We were in such a big hurry, we didn't even get to cross the equator on the way. I spent my first I.O. cruise as a slimey polywog! (The trip back home is another story.)
Anyone ever stand a TDT watch? I did. The TDT's were Target Designation Transmitters located just below the Mk 68 Director, and the idea was if the 68 was disabled, the TDT could be used as a fire control director. Additionally, one could send a target designation by visually aiming at it, then the one of the fire control radars could lock on from your designation. Really, I was just another set of eyes on forward lookout.
Occasionally, I got to spend time in Gunplot to work on my equipment operation qualifications. I qualified to operate every piece of equipment in the Mk 68 GFCS that cruise. I was trained on the Mk 68 Mod 19 digital fire control computer system, but I also learned to operate the SPG 53F radar. I remember the Iranians would send aircraft out towards us. We would lock on with the 53F and they would keep coming until just out of range for the 5" guns, then they would turn tail and head home.
I don't recall going to GQ one time, except for an electrical switchboard fire.
Just a few days after we left our station and headed for home, the Iranians acted up, and the USS Hoel, a DDG-2 class ship, was sent into the Persian Gulf and ordered to destroy an oil platform. I felt so cheated, after all that time out there we didn't get to shoot at anything, then right after we left, a sister ship was called into action. Even if we had been called upon for that duty, it hardly compares to Cochrane's past gunnery missions.
One good thing came out of that deployment for me. I gained a lot of experience, which I relied heavily upon in my second trip to the gulf region in 1991 aboard the USS Missouri.