Stark’s Next Skipper Looking Forward to Task

The man scheduled to be the next commander of the Stark says he has no reservations about his assignment to the ship that was crippled by an Iraqi missile Sunday.

“From what I’ve heard so far, the morale seems to be fairly high, in spite of what happened,” Cmdr. John B. Noll said. “I look forward to it. It’s not going to be an easy job, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Noll had planned to leave Rhode Island on Friday to assume command of the frigate in a routine reassignment. He said that his plans are now on hold because of the attack, but he still expects to assume command within the next few weeks.

The Stark, which must undergo repairs after the attack that killed 37 of its crew, will be the first ship Noll has commanded. He said that his wife, son and daughter have accepted the fact that his next assignment may involve duty in the high-risk Persian Gulf.

Family Supportive

“My family’s real supportive,” Noll said. “They understand the mission of the Navy. They’re apprehensive but they understand.”

Noll, a native of Wayne, N.J., has spent the last two years on the staff of the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport, as a war gaming officer helping train other officers for situations they might face at sea.

“That gave me the opportunity to see how various commanders would react in war-fighting situations,” he said. “That can’t do anything but help me.”

He declined to say whether any war games approximated the attack on the Stark, saying only, “We tried to replicate, as much as possible, situations that might come up.”

Noll said he has not been fully briefed on the attack and could not speculate about what happened. But he said the explanations of the ship’s commander, Capt. Glenn R. Brindel, made sense to him.