An early start this morning for the crew as we got underway just after first light. You can see the view I had from the bridgewing as we were leaving the harbor. As you can tell the weather was great. It is easy to see why so many tourists visit this Black Sea port in the summer time.
Above are the three Bulgarian ships we operated with today. The picture is from a stationing exercise used to develop basic skills. Maneuvering several warships in a synchronized manner at close distances requires critical thinking and solid communications between ships. The comprehensive training agenda provides all participant maritime forces with numerous opportunities to demonstrate the ability to work together and develop productive relationships through diverse and challenging operational scenarios.
STOUT Sailors performed very well on the other events of the day, which included a 15-round firing of our 5” gun at a floating target. Though shooting at a very small target, our Sailors maintained their high standards of accuracy, and demonstrated the results of countless hours of dedicated training and drills.
