Major Overhaul



The Paul Foster was the second ship of the Spruance class of destroyers built in Pascagoula, MS.
It was also the nation's first all electric destroyer.  No Waste Heat boilers to mess with.

We were originally slated to go to the Persian Gulf during the first conflict, but we needed some
modernization first.  Like Phalanx (R2D2) and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The ship went up the mouth of the Columbia  river  to end up at Swan Island, the home of Northwest
Marine Iron Works.  A floating barge lifted the ship out of the water and there it sits in dry dock.

That is a pretty interesting evolution in itself. The barge is sunk to the bottom of the river.  The ship
is maneuvered into the dock and blocked up.  Air is then pumped into the dock, displacing water and
after 24 hours or so, the ship is lifted out of the water.



This is a pretty neat picture.  I think this was taken within a couple months of completion.  The screws
were an impressive site.



A slightly earlier shot.




The ship is pack in the water.  Lots of scaffolding still.



An artsy shot of the hull.



A nice, head on shot of the ship.



A number of us received Naval Achievement medals for  the work we did preparing for LOE, OPPE and
sea trials.  I got mine for having a near flawless Oil Lab.

Captain Danburg is pinning the medal on me.

After a year in overhaul, the ship was ported back to Long Beach and my enlistment ended a couple
months later.