Squadron Maneuvers...

Ed Ogden

On our first duty stations after graduation, my First Class Year Roommate, Len Duffy, and I were in the same Destroyer Squadron, DesRon 8, out of Newport, RI--Len was on the William R. Rush (DDR-714) and I was on the Glennon (DD-840). Often when we deployed as a Squadron in 1957/58, Len and I would have the same Undersay OOD Watches, usually the 4-to-8’s--not sure how we managed to do that but when it happened we would spend most of our quiet “steaming as before” watches chatting with each other via flashing light while our JOOD’s had the “conn”. The Quartermasters, at first, were surprised that both of us not only could read flashing light signals but that we could send messages as well--but then they didn’t know that the 23rd Company had won all of the Brigade Signal Competitions our First Class Year thanks to Len’s nightly, or so it seemed, “all hands signal drills” for the company.

One night while we were steaming in an open column formation our chat was interrupted by a signal for the Squadron Watch Officer to change the formation interval--probably from 500 yards to a 1000 yards. As I remember, the standard manuever for increasing the interval was for the even numbered ships in the column to veer to port and the odd numbered ships to veer to starboard and then turn back towards their new station at the ordered interval. I think the Rush was the last, or next to last, ship in the column and when the signal was executed Len started on a circular route to his new station instead of following the standard manuever. After a few minutes the Squadron Watch Officer queried Rush as to what they were doing. Len briefly replied “Proceeding to station”. Before any of the other squadron ships had arrived on station, Len reported “Alfa Station” on the Tactical Net, and there was no reply from the Squadron Watch Officer other than a rather terse “Roger”. Not quite the standard manuever but it was an original bit of creative OOD thinking !!!!