1971
Seattle got underway on January 6, 1971, for operations in the vicinity of southeast Sicily. On January 17, she anchored in Naples, remaining there until January 22. She operated in the Ionian Sea, the Algiers-Provencal Basin, and off Barcelona until February 20, when she got underway for operations en route to Norfolk, arriving on March 1.
On August 10, Seattle departed for Puerto Rico, arriving at Roosevelt Roads on August 13. She operated around Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guantanamo, and Haiti before returning to Norfolk on October 11.
On December 1, Seattle steamed out of Craney Island, Virginia, for a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean. The fast combat support ship arrived at Rota, Spain, on December 9, and got underway on the following day for Augusta, Sicily, arriving on December 16. On December 19, she was en route to Naples, where she spent Christmas in port. On December 28, Seattle ended her stay in Naples and was underway to Barcelona, arriving on New Year's Eve. At the completion of a seven-month Mediterranean cruise, Seattle returned to Norfolk on June 29, 1972. She operated out of Norfolk for four months, then departed, on October 24, for an unscheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet. She participated in "Bystander" operations in the western Mediterranean and in exercise "National Week XIV" before returning to Norfolk on December 19.
Read more about this topic: USS Seattle (AOE-3)