The GONZALEZ Year in Review - 2008

2008 was a great year to be 66! While I look forward to the events of 2009, it is a pleasure to look back on the personal and professional accomplishments of GONZALEZ Sailors during the last year. Many of those accomplishments are captured in the posts or links on my blog, but I couldn't resist posting a quick top 5 highlights.

1. Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG-2) Deployment. From the 19 February to 18 August, GONZALEZ deployed to the Mediterranean Sea as the US Navy component to the SNMG-2 task force. While deployed to 6th Fleet, GONZALEZ Sailors experienced first hand many tenants of the Maritime Strategy.

2. Commemorating the 66th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway. What better way for the Sailors of DDG-66 to commemorate the 66th anniversary of Midway than to pose for some retro photos to remember those who have gone before us.

3. Celebrating Mrs. Gonzalez’ birthday. On the day of our return from deployment, we had the honor of combining our homecoming with Mrs. Gonzalez’ birthday. I will never forget the image of GONZALEZ Sailors singing happy birthday after we moored.

4. Participating in the North Carolina Seafood Festival. After such a successful overseas deployment, GONZALEZ Sailors had a chance to demonstrate their pride and professionalism during a port visit to Morehead City, North Carolina.

5. Successfully completing our Unit Level Training Readiness and Assessment Certification (ULTRA-C). While GONZALEZ Sailors will continue to be faced with assessment and inspection challenges in 2009, wrapping up 2008 with a successful ULTRA-C was an excellent conclusion point for the year.