Summer Cruise_Day 21

Three weeks away from homeport with a weekend stop at the Naval Base in Mayport Florida over the 4th of July - And what a great three weeks it's been for GONZALEZ Sailors and our 20 USNA Midshipmen! The crew has worked exceptionally hard and performed magnificently. Our new Sailors have received excellent training and our Midshipmen have simply become part of the crew. It is an amazing transformation to watch our newest shipmates and guests integrate as one team. Today was no different than any of our other busy days at sea...more engineering training, a final general quarters drill, a two hour underway replenishment, and finally day and night training with an HSC squadron for deck landing and vertical replenishment qualifications. We improved every day underway and have really honed our skills. As our Chief Boatswain's Mate put it regarding today's refueling at sea, "The best UNREP we've done in some time." That's a nice compliment from the best Deck Department in the business - a team who holds themselves to exceptionally high standards. Enjoy the photographs...can you tell which are Mids and which are GONZALEZ crew members? Not so easy anymore. - CO