Heh, almost the exact same time frame I was in...I was in 1975-1979!
You know...I don’t know how capable your ship was, but the Virginia Class was, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful lines of modern naval vessels ever to sail the oceans! Not kidding-I have always been partial to the Iowa class and some of the WWII era heavy cruisers (and I did think the Bismark was very attractive too) but today, I see the Arleigh Burkes as the best looking.
Heh, you can tell I put great stock in a ship’s form!
You and I very likely crossed paths, as I was on the USS JFK as attached air wing during my tour. We did one North Atlantic tour in 1976 and two Med cruises in 1977 and 1978, and I am pretty sure your ship was in the area during those times, though I suspect we only crossed paths in Rota, Spain during our INCHOP and OUTCHOPs...
Anyway, thanks for your service, FRiend...:)
Yes, we did see a lot of the same water, together. The last thing i did was the hostage crisis, started November 79 coming home from med, we were given max liberty, showed back up in Jan. Took off around South Africa with the Ike. Arrived on GONZO STATION March, attempt was made mid april, nimitz went home. Spent most of 1980 on GONZO (gulf of oman naval zone of operation) before there was Kuwait.
My ship was California class (navsource.org) a two ship class. Very capable, well armed, nuke powered. I always thought we were the bad boys on the block. Never fired a shot in anger.