significant modifications to service areas far below the waterline. Boiler and fuel system modifications took place at this time. She was converted from burning Navy Bunker C, black oil to Naval Distillate fuel. Flooring in the mess decks and most crew heads was updated. She was reported to be the largest vessel ever to cruise up the Columbia River. A large metal hinge had to be welded to the top few feet of the mast and then the mast was cut and tipped down to allow passage under one of the bridges encountered along her Columbia River passage. Samuel Gompers remained there until returning to San Diego in early December. In 1972 the ship was deployed to Da Nang Harbor. The ship carried very few large weapons, which left her constantly vulnerable to enemy attack. In that deployment the ship was nicknamed "FAT Sam", a humorous suggestion that she was a "Fast Attack Tender." Female crewmembers In October 1978, while in San Diego, Samuel Gompers took women on board as crew members for the first time; one of the first ships in the fleet to do so. In the next few years, all destroyer tenders, and all non-combative auxiliaries, would have women aboard. Combat ships other than submarines would follow suit beginning in the 1990s. 1984–1988 During WestPac 1984, Samuel Gompers would score another first: it became the first ship to do a major engine changeout while deployed, and not in port. The service was provided to the while both were anchored together off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. Just a few months after this WestPac ended, the ties with San Diego ended, and Samuel Gompers docked at her new homeport of Alameda, California. The destroyer tender deployed on another WESTPAC in January 1988. Samuel Gompers stayed in the Gulf of Oman from March 1988 until late June 1988 supporting Operation Ernest Will and Operation Praying Mantis before returning to her home port. Decommissioning and awards On 2 October 1995 Samuel Gompers arrived in Norfolk, Virginia in preparation for decommissioning ceremonies, which took place 27 October. The principal speaker was Rear Admiral James F. Amerault, Commander, Western Hemisphere Group, and a former Samuel Gompers skipper. The ship had completed 28 years of active service by then, being awarded the Vietnam Service, Southwest Asia, Navy Expeditionary, and Humanitarian Service medals; Navy Unit and Joint Meritorious Unit commendations; Letter