McClean, Douglas J.: my Naval experiences (November 18, 2005)

Rank: Commodore.

Interviewee: McClean, Douglas J.

An interview/narrative of Douglas McClean's experiences during the Gulf War. Commodore McClean served with the Canadian Forces Maritime Command. Interview took place on November 18, 2005.

Interviewer: Walton, Louise

ABSTRACT: Commodore Douglas McClean Side One 000 - Background 005 - Duties and Responsibilities in the summer of 1990 010 - First heard he and his ship were going to the Persian Gulf was when Rear-Admiral Summers told him 020 - His family was surprised because his ship was supposed to leave for NATO exercise the next month 040 - Had to tell his crew; he hadn't even met his crew yet at this time because he had just returned from US posting 080 - Crew grew from 250 - 450; this was to accommodate the extra flight crews, the weapons techs, and the army 110- Can't remember if they left Halifax with media but positive they joined in Gibraltar 130 - Key obstacles to deploying; fitting new systems (didn't even have a Weapons Officer as a tanker); storing ship; torpedoes had to be removed and every spare Sea Sparrow in Canada loaded on 170 - 34 foot draft when finally left Halifax; the highest ever; not even calculated in Ship's Book 180 - Work Up on the way to the Gulf; new crew (most not navy) and new equipment 220 - Work Ups was a steep learning curve for the Sea Trainers as well 240 - What the patrols in the Persian Gulf entailed - average of 3 RAS per day 250 - The ship served as an interim airport for other allied helicopters on route through Gulf (hot fuelling) 270 - Arrivals from Canada arrived on PROTECTEUR first to be sorted and distributed 275 - Ship carried everything 4 destroyers needed for 3 months; 'was like a Canadian Tire & Super Store combined' Side Two 000 - How often the mail came from Canada; started out a trickle and became flood 010 - Lots of letters from average Canadians; school kids, mothers, 020 - Companies got into it by sending things like pizza for the whole crew, lobster for Christmas 070 - PROTECTEUR's ability to communicate with other ships in the Gulf 080 - Crew rotation because the families had been promised the ships would be back in six months 090 - UN Resolution made 15 Jan '01 deadline for military action to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait 100 - Crew rotation to happen on 10 Jan '91; a poor operational choice 110 - Christmas Eve Vice Admiral George came to see him in his came on the ship to say rotation would happen 130 - McClean did not agree the rotation was necessary; Rear Admiral Summers also did not want rotation 150 - Upon return to Halifax McClean found that he had been right that the families would have understood if the ships had stayed longer 160 - Took over PROSERVER because its crew was now onboard PROTECTEUR 180 - Only reason navy had done so well was because it encouraged free thinking at all rank levels, unlike allies

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Walton, Louise
• McClean, Douglas J.

Subject

• Persian Gulf War (1991)
• Military history
• Canada. Canadian Armed Forces. Maritime Command

Language

• eng

Date created

• November 18, 2005

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 2 sound recordings (MP3)

Geographic coverage

• Nova Scotia--Halifax
• Middle East

Coordinates

• 33.13906, 35.85869
• 44.6464, -63.57291

Additional physical characteristics

• Original sound recording on audio cassette also available.

Physical repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• oral histories (literary genre)
• sound recordings
• reminiscences
• interviews

Archival item identifier

• MDJ_535

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• August 9, 2012

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/hx98-b431

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