USS KAWISHIWI AO-146
by Daniel R. Hilbert, CWO4
The decommissioning took place in Oakland, California on 10 October 1979, a beautiful clear sunny Wednesday morning. Captain Jack C. Presley was the Commanding Officer. The remarks were given by Rear Admiral J. H. Morris who was Deputy Commander of Naval Surface Forces, Pacific Fleet. View the Decommissioning
Program
The ship was turned over to the Military Sealift Command (tankers) and Captain Charles S. Christensen, Jr. was the Commander of Military Sealift Command Pacific who took charge of the Ship. I recall that during the process of decommissioning Kawishiwi that the Military sealift command had there people go with our people of the ship to learn and to assume the duties so that the process of turning the ship over went smoother.See revisions described on the Aft-02 Deck. The sea lift command had to learn all about the ship and its numerous componets. As i recall the process went very smooth and it helped because most of there folks had the experience at sea and on various ships. I was the leading Petty Officer of Repair Division and Damage Control Division so I had the responsibility to show and teach the sea lift command folks all about our installed and portable fire fighting and damage control equipment. It was a busy time for all of us on the decommissiong crew. We all worked 14-18 hour days during the last month of commission service. On
the morning of
the decommissioning
the crew had completly moved off the ship. The ceremony was held
on the main deck right aft of the forward deck house. The crew
was
lined up and after the official remarks by the Admiral, Captain Presely
and Captain Christensen the word was passed to depart the ship.
The
crew marched off and the last one off the ship was Captain Presley who
signed the last deck log entry and then he took the deck log. The
sea lift command folks had already manned the ship and the critical
watch
stations. The commissioning pennent was hauled down and given to
the captain. Then the word was passed that Kawishiwi (Captain
Presely)
was departing. The
sea lift
command then
passed their words that the ship was manned by them. On the pier
there was a small get together of the crew and some refreshments and
then
the goodbyes and everyone departed. It was a sad day for me to
see
the old gal just lying there and no longer part of the United States
Navy
but the Military Sea Lift One of my last responsibilites (as it was all the Leading Petty Officers of the ship) was to walk thru our spaces to make sure that everything was completed. Early that morning I did that and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. To this day I remember going into the berthing compartment and just standing there and recalled all the memories of the folks that occupied that space and all the laughter, the bickering, the fighting, the comradrie and the card playing that went on there, and of course sleeping when necessary. It was then I realized that its not the departing of the ship that is sad but the mighty folks who manned her decks, ran the steam plant, stood the watches, refueled other ships and commanded from the bridge. It was people who made the ship to what it was and the folks who manned the USS Kawishiwi from the time she was commissioned on 6 July 1955 to 10 October 1979 can be justifibly proud of the time spent stationed on board "Special K" and "Mighty K" as she was affectionatly known. Yes,
I must have
stood there
for quite a few moments contemplating what was. I now am proud to be
apart
of Kawishiwi memories. The last awards the
ship
received were Battle Efficiency E which was proudly displayed on her stack,
Gunnery award, Deck Seamanship and Engineering E-award.
Ken Manley, certified the Fire Detecting and Extinguishing equipment prior to Kawishiwi;s operation by the MSC crew. Read Ken's information about the ship yards that worked on the Kawishiwi and others now moored in Suisun Bay. It includes the story about the death of the ship yards owner, Roger Picchi.  Photo after
Decommissioning
The
Kawishiwi was under command of the USN for 24.3 years and stayed with
the
Military Sealift Command for 15.1 years. She was striken from service
on
November 7, 1994, serving a total of 39.4 years.
USNS AWARDS
NE 01-OCT-1981
to
30-SEP-1982 NE
01-OCT-1989
to
30-SEP-1990 4 August
1989
USNS KAWISHIWI TAO 146 23 July 1989, an estimated 6,000-8,000 gallons of DFM was spilled from the USNS Kawishiwi (AO 146) while loading DFM. Two 10" cast-iron valve flanges had separated from the DFM Pump House. The spill reached San Diego Bay through a storm drain. The cause of the separation of the flange was not determined. Nov. 15 1989 product "RUST DESTROYER®" is hereby approved for compromised surface service aboard MSC ships. This approval is based upon successful performance to date in general touch-up and repair usage of RUST DESTROYER® aboard USNS VEGA and an engine room bilge test patch aboard USNS KAWISHIWI. Auxiliary, Merchant
Marine... 1991 - STERETT sailed for Sasebo, Japan on 17 March and arrived on 19 March. She spent four days inport before departing for Subic Bay on 22 March. She joined USNS KAWISHIWI (TAO 146) on 23 March for mutual training enroute Subic. 31 July 1992 T-AO 146 Kawishiwi To MarAd 1 May 1999, Suisun Bay
|
