West Coast Operations
Jason departed San Diego on 4 January 1965 and arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, on the 25th. After operations in Japan and at Okinawa, she reached Subic Bay 6 March and served ships of the 7th Fleet until heading home on 31 August. The repair ship operated in ports of southern California until entering the Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington, for overhaul on 4 March 1966.
Back in top trim by 6 June, Jason resumed West Coast operations until sailing for the WestPac on 9 January 1967. She served the ships of the 7th Fleet at Sasebo and in Subic Bay until returning to San Diego, on 19 August.
Jason had her large guns removed to qualify it as a non-combatant ship, so women could be made part of the ships crew.
In October 1980, while home ported in San Diego, the Jason and her crew deployed for WestPac and Indian Ocean cruise in support of troops for the Iran hostage crisis. She deployed with approximately 800 men and 45 women. The Jason repaired ships in Yokosuka, Japan, for about a month, and after a Thanksgiving stop in Subic Bay, Philippines, (with a very brief stop at Singapore to drop off a female officer needing immediate surgery for appendicitis) the Jason entered the Indian Ocean. She was met there by a Russian warship, an oiler and two merchant ships. Soon thereafter she picked up the tail of a Russian submarine. The Russian submarine then picked up a tail of its own, an American submarine.
Anchoring at Diego Garcia the Jason became the floating pier in the middle of the bay. She remained there repairing both ships and submarines. On 21 January, Indian Ocean Time, the Jason received the message "They are free, They are free, They are free, ..." in reference to the hostages that had been held in Iran. The Jason was allowed to return to San Diego soon after, with a brief stop in Fremantle, Western Australia, with four day R&R in the very friendly city of Perth, and a resupply at Pearl Harbor. The Jason was off Mexico when Mexican radio broadcast informed her crew that President Reagan had been shot. Later that afternoon, a very somber group welcomed the ship and crew back to her home port.
Soon the crew was to receive word that the Jason would be moving homeports to Pearl Harbor. The Jason was to replace the Bryce Canyon as the Tender for the Harbor. Captain Johnson was replaced by Captain Martin, the former CO of the Bryce Canyon. While stationed at "Pearl" the Jason underwent a "light" overhaul costing several millions of dollars. The crew moved ashore for the overhaul and upon return had to requalify to take her to sea. In 1983 the Jason deployed for West Pac 83/84 to Yokosuka, Japan, Olongapo, Philippines, and to Korea.
On 10 February 1986, the Jason was run into by the oiler USS Willamette (AO-180) while steaming in formation about 100 km southwest of Pearl Harbor. CPO Susano R. Valdez was killed and eight others of Jason's crew were injured. A large vertical rupture from the deck to waterline on the port side of the Jason forced the ship to be towed back to port by the USS Brunswick (ATS-3). As a result of the collision both captains were relieved of command. Following repairs, Jason moved to a new home port in San Diego. By this time the Jason was the most decorated ship in the Navy.
Read more about this topic: USS Jason (AR-8)
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—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
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—Jean Scott Rogers. Robert Day. Mr. Blount (Frank Pettingell)