Summer Cruise_Day 5

Let the Games Begin! After stalking our contact of interest overnight we proceeded to disrupt their operations this morning through a range of tactics, techniques and procedures – what otherwise might be known as good Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) fun. We then maneuvered in close to give our Midshipmen a chance to observe their flight operations and surprised them with our ability to rapidly man up our ship self defenses – very good SWO fun! Not content with simply carrying out our OPFOR duties though, we also ran a series of engineering training evolutions in preparation for our upcoming engineering certification, completed a complex combat and strike scenario, and conducted several other training events throughout the ship. As part of our fun disrupting the operations of our contact of interest our new Ensigns and Midshipmen practiced station keeping, maneuvering board drills, and flag hoist drills. We even managed to hoist up a three halyard personal signal for the Commanding Officer of our contact of interest.

As for the weather...it’s very hot out here in the operating area. Much hotter off our southern coast than it was in the Mediterranean last summer, but our engineers are keeping the ship’s a/c plants running in peak condition to keep everyone as cool as possible, and they’re doing a great job! After just a few days at sea, everyone is settling into our underway routine, and we continue to improve our operational prowess every day. GONZALEZ Sailors continue to prove they are the best crew in the Navy and our Midshipmen are right at home with their running mates in the wardroom and crew!

Qualifications of course continue in earnest as we qualified a new Officer of the Deck last evening and expect to qualify a couple more before we return to port. I’m also very ready to qualify some more Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialists and Surface Warfare Officers. Lastly, we held a special birthday meal this evening – steak, lobster tails, baked potatoes, and more. Another great day at sea! - CO