European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. October 31, 1988 the stars and strikes naval life is tender on la my Cha sub group likes mom and pop Pace b j. Ken firl  i Jiler Rancon Huri Avi the tourist crush is Over. And the last weeks of lingering warm weather ire some of inc year s Best on la Maddaluna. An Island within Sardinia s northernmost archipelago and the work and support Center for More than 2,000 americans they arc Navy people their families and civilian contract employees. Their work is either at the naval support of fice on la mad Fok a. About five Miles Northeast of Sardinia or aboard the Suh Marine Lender Frank Cable. The Cable on a six month deploy ment to Sardinia from is Home Bav Al Charleston. S.c., is filling in for the 45 year old Suh tender Onon. While Hal ship is overhauled in Charleston. The Orion one of the oldest commissioned ships in the Navy has made la Madda Ina its Home port for nine years. That makes the Cable the Only sub Lender in the Mediterranean serving no Elcar pow Rcd los Anock s class and Sturgeon class High Speed attack submarines plus surface ships the Navy support office at la Madd is responsible for Shore support Community relations and the coordination of tenant commands. La Maddalena is kind of a mom and pop general store  said capt. David c. Ginger the Nso commander we give a full spectrum of support even though there May be Only one person in an office Here As opposed to so Neon la in a similar office Back in  although la Madd s Post office is staffed by Only three people two Post Al clerks and a Helper it is open every Day of the year including Christmas Day. We work seven Days a week because we get mail seven Days a week said Petty officer 3rd class Anthony e Raby 21, inc leading postal clerk. Recently because of a delay in the mail caused by in airline strike we received 163 bogs of mail totalling about 8,000  water travel is a must for the Ameri cans ferries and barges Are the Only link Between la Madd Santo Stefano where the Community s Small commissary is located and Mainland Sardinia where roughly a third of the Navy Community lives. For most of the year. La Maddalena is a sleepy kind of place with a population of about 14,000 people including 3,000 personnel stationed at italian naval facilities. In summer the resort explodes with tourists and has a population of  or More. La Maddalena is not a typical port City but a rather conservative town accustomed to providing activities and entertainment Only in the Peak tourist months. The people who gel out Inlo the Cul lure enjoy themselves most of  said Ensign Ricky Miller assistant officer in charge of a detachment the Orion left Al la Madd to take care of its stay behind dependents. People who Retreat Inlo Lite pc Ameri Ca Are really miserable Saij Miller who feels that the benefits of living Al la Maddalena outweigh drawbacks. A does t really Start gelling cold until the end of october or the Middle of november and you can usually swim until then he said. Most americans feel free to walk any where at any time because of the area s Low crime rate. The 162 units in the Mili tary Community s Trinita family housing Complex command awesome views of the wild Rocky coast. On Elear Days in Winter residents can look across the Nar Row Strait of Bonifacio to inc Snow lopped mountains of Corsica. While Northern Sardinia is a Paradise for water sports chronic water shortages Are a problem everyone must endure. The water situation was so bad last sum Mer that Nso issued All families in government housing one Botlic of Mineral water per family member per Day. The shortage caused by Lack of rainfall and an inadequate Supply system is particularly fell during summer. The local government sometimes is forced to shut off All water for As Long As five Days Al a stretch. No significant rain fell in the area be tween Nfay and Iho Middle of september although with the departure of the Lour Isis the shortage is no longer critical. The Navy tries in various ways to ease the isolation problem at la Maddalena. The Nso and the Orion when it is Al la Madd Are staffed so thai Etc Rhone gets a continuous 96-hour break from time to Lime. The morale welfare and recreation division runs a number of i rips to off Island destinations Rome Monaco or Alpine skiing resorts for example in order to make the most of those folks travel Lime. S3. Qua be Huirt sailors and Dir from the Frank Cable Chi out the Clear Waters in  left. Petty officer 1st class Andy it none Masler chief Pelty officer Wesley Gummel and Petty officer 1stclass Robert Mucci Trugli Lake a close look at the operation of the pressure chamber in inc Frank Cable divers from . Jump into Clear new world  Mediterranean Bureau la Maddaluna. Sardinia Sev Enteen . Navy divers Are swing things a Little More clearly during their deployment to the Mediterranean. On a Good Day Here in Sardinia you can see 50 feel straight Down into the Sci. In Charleston you can measure the visibility in inches on any Day said Masler chief Petty officer Wesley gum Mel. Gummel and his divers arc assigned to the diving locker or division aboard the submarine tender Frank Cable Home ported in Charleston . But the Cable now is berthed at Santo Stefano Island for a six month deployment to the nato installation about a 15-Minulc Boal ride across the Bay from the Island Community of la Maddalena. The sea bed beneath the vessel is Sand and Silt quite different from the Bottom familiar to the divers. We have s to 14 feel of soft mud at Charleston. When we had to find a sub Marine Anchor there we had to use Metal detectors and continually blow away Silt with water  said Gummel is who is in charge of the , even though the sub had told us exactly where it had dropped the Anchor in still took us two weeks to find it in Hal  while the sea Bottom at Santo Stefano in t As Mucky divers quickly lose visibility if they stir in up. Gummel said. Aside from visibility the big differ ence in diving Al the iwo Sites is Hal the Waters Al Sanlo Tofano Are deeper and. Therefore  Cable is moored in 130 feel of water at Santo a Lofano As opposed to inc 40 to 60 feet of Waitr Al its berth in Charleston. Gummel said. The Cable arrived in Sardinia in Early june to fill in for the tender Orion while thai ship is overhauled in the United  acclimate i hair bodies to the deeper diving they would face in Sardinia the divers spent at least an hour each Day making simulated dives in the Cable s pressure chamber. The dives were made during the ship s two week transit to Italy divers entered the air tight chamber and pressurised air was pumped in simulating the pressure 10 be encountered 130 feet below inc sea s surface. The Cable s divers perform a number of tasks from Security swims and Hull inspections to installing flanges on sub marines and swimming Inlo ballast tanks. Much of the work saves big Bucks by eliminating the need for costly dry  prefer to dive Here because of the clarity of the water but we really Don l keep As Busy As we would like. Back Home we May be working on As Many As 14 subs Here Only on a Tew at a Lime Gummel said. So we do a lot of training Here and beg for