The Resilency of U.S. Navy Sailors

Since February, GONZALEZ has been in a maintenance period called a selected restricted availability or SRA. Time in a naval shipyard is a demanding time for any ship. First and foremost, the ship is thrown from her normal routine into a period of intense, industrial maintenance. Almost nothing on the ship looks normal and because of the nature of the work we are doing, we can't even live or conduct non-repair type of work on the ship. We live, work, and eat on a barge moored alongside us. In many ways our entire, normal shipboard routine is challenged. At the same time though, we still carry on doing the business of Sailors which our sister ships continue do at the naval base or while deployed or underway in the local operating areas. We still have planning, maintenance, and schedule meetings. Sailors still take advancement exams, re-enlist, conduct training, run drills, and do PT. We are still assessed by other Navy organizations, have inspections, stand shipboard watches every day, and execute our everyday routine. Shipboard safety is also still very important, even more so than usual, and so we wear hard hats and safety goggles while we are onboard the ship during an SRA. One of the toughest things though is that because we are in an industrial, shipyard environment, our family and friends cannot visit us on the ship, and I miss that.

Through it all though, Sailors endure. They never miss a beat. They adjust to the changes, the challenges, and frustrations, particularly of not being able to live and work on the ship we call our home. Whether deployed away from families, working hard in port or in a shipyard, U.S. Navy Sailors always have been and always will be among the most resilient folks I have ever known, and I am fortunate to serve with the very best in the business.