Dear Friends and Family, As the Holiday season approaches, I would like to take a minute or two to catch you up on the amazing things that have been happening in USS GONZALEZ. Your Sailors have executed missions which have been extremely successful – all while in the Basic Phase of training. The men and women onboard GONZALEZ are setting the standard for the Fleet. You should be exceedingly proud of their accomplishments – I know I am. Specifically, in November, we participated in Submarine Commander’s Course 42 (SCC 42). In SCC 42, we traveled down to the Bahamas (sorry no island port visit) to conduct an exercise with Prospective Commanding Officers of submarines. In company with two other ships, we spent three straight days in mock wars with the submarines. Our performance was outstanding. I am very proud of the effort our entire ASW team put into the exercise. The day we returned from SCC 42, we received some great news. Based on the results of the fall advancement exam, GONZALEZ had 44 Sailors selected for advancement. This is an enormous success for the ship. In each pay grade, we exceeded the Navy average. This marks the 5th advancement cycle in a row we have exceeded the Navy average for advancement. It is a testament not only to the hard work and commitment Sailors put into preparing for their advancement exams, but a testament to the superior leadership, mentorship, and training our Chiefs and Petty Officers provide every day. We will hold a ceremony onboard this Friday, 12 December, to promote our Shipmates. Congratulations to all. We are now deep into the Basic Phase of training. The Basic Phase is training that centers on specific warfare areas, such as Damage Control, Seamanship, Search and Rescue, Air Defense, etc. We have been very successful thus far but still have a long way to go. We will complete the Basic Phase in March and move into the Integrated Phase of training. Whereas the basic phase is focused on individual warfare areas on our ship, the Integrated Phase focuses our training on operating with other ships, aircraft, and submarines. We will spend the summer and early fall of 2015 in the Integrated Phase. All of the training we are conducting is in preparation for our deployment in the fall of 2015. I am very proud of the effort your Sailor is investing now to ensure GONZALEZ is ready to deploy late next year. As we approach the holiday season, I want to thank you for the support you provide your GONZALEZ Sailor. Each man and woman onboard this ship has contributed to our continued success this year. Each Sailor has made GONZALEZ a more effective tool for our nation’s leadership to ensure maritime regions around the world remain peaceful and prosperous. Thank you for supporting your Sailor in making GONZALEZ the finest ship in the Fleet! Sincerely, Kyle Gantt, Commanding Officer, USS GONZALEZ (DDG 66)
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 16:33:59 +0000
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