Operation LONGEX 1968
The oiler conducted eight more line runs, interspersed with port visits to Hong Kong and Singapore, before departing for Auckland, New Zealand, on 12 July. Arriving two weeks later, after passing through the Solomon Islands, Caliente prepared for exercise "LONGEX" '68. This convoy exercise, involving British, Australian, and New Zealand ships, lasted from 29 July to 1 August. The following day, much to her crews' embarrassment, the oiler ran aground while entering the harbor at Auckland. A rising tide, however, lifted her off the channel bank, and she escaped with no damage.
After returning to Long Beach 24 August the oiler underwent her standard upkeep period and then commenced a series of training exercises off the coast. In October, during a month of restricted availability, she received the mounting and wiring for the new Pathfinder navigational radar system. Caliente returned to Sasebo, Japan, on 16 February 1969, and began two weeks of voyage repairs. Line runs to Vietnam continued until 10 July when the oiler replenished task groups in the Sea of Japan, where she earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. After participating in "LONGEX" '69 she returned to Long Beach on 15 September to service ships of First Fleet.
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