USS Jesse L. Brown
Jesse L. Brown was operating off the Guantanamo Bay area during January 1979 when USS Farragut mistakenly fired upon a Soviet oceangoing tug and Foxtrot-class submarine being given to the Cuban Navy.During the next approximate 48 hours, Jesse L. Brown and the other ships maintained General Quarters while a state of near war existed, which included constant threat of attack by Cuban missile patrol boats and medium bombers.Jesse L. Brown (in an episode foreshadowing her later service) was credited with a drug bust as a result of the rescue of an approximate 40 feet (12 m) sailboat in Casco Bay, Maine, while undergoing post yard refit sea trials from Bath Iron Works.The ship bears the marks of this operation to this day with visible dents in her hull from the strikes from the large sailboat while transferring the seasick crew in heavy sea conditions.Jesse L. Brown served as the U.S. liaison and on-scene commander for rescue attempts and subsequent body recovery for a diving bell from the Phillips Petroleum oil-exploration ship MV Woodeco 5 off the Ivory Coast in October 1979.