Saturday

8 August, 2009 - As part of our routine to keep STOUT looking great and operating as designed we spend time cleaning. Everyone enjoys a clean environment to work in and keeping the ship clean helps us prevent corrosion and identify equipment that requires maintenance.

Saturday mornings underway are dedicated to cleaning the internal spaces of the ship. All the work throughout the week can cause dirt to build up inside the ship. To account for this, in addition to the daily cleaning, we spend one morning a week deep cleaning.

Saturday afternoons are dedicated to external surfaces. Even in the calmest seas, salt builds up on the ship. Sea salt, humidity and steel in combination create rust. At sea STOUT receives a washdown with fresh water once a week. Kind of like washing a car, we use a fire hose to rinse down the ship and brooms to help the salt over the side. Besides being good for the ship, it also affords an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the day with shipmates.

Between cleaning periods today we practiced firing our five inch gun. Some things at sea become routine, but I never tire of firing the gun. It is fast, accurate and effective. As one of our main weapons we routinely practice with it because our mission is to be ready if ever called upon.

We finished the day with another Saturday tradition, Pizza Night. One of the crew's favorite meals.

Underway Replenishment

6 August, 2009 - This morning we conducted an Underway Replenishment (UNREP in Navy lingo) to top off on fuel. We always like to keep our fuel levels at the top end of the gage just in case we are called on to execute a mission that takes us away from our current operating area. Kind of like keeping more than half a tank of gas in your car during hurricane season, because you never know when you might need that extra fuel.

Transferring fuel while underway is similar to pulling up beside an eighteen wheeler hauling fuel on the interstate and having him pass you a fuel nozzle to fill up your tank, all while going freeway speed. Of course we have standard procedures for all of this in the Navy and we routinely practice the skills necessary to execute an at sea refueling.

We had great weather conditions again today and our time alongside went quickly. Just over an hour to take on 100K gallons or so. The crew performed magnificently as always and before I knew it we were back on station conducting our next training event.

5 August, 2009

Today we conducted a torpedo exercise using a training torpedo. These types of events help us maintain proficiency at weapons firings and are a test for our Sailors and our equipment.

The training torpedo we use is inert and re-usable. One of the fun parts about these exercises is retrieving the torpedo once it goes into the water. This involves using our small boat and putting swimmers in the water to attach a retrieving line. Today’s weather was great and the Mediterranean water was warm. I had several volunteers to go into the water but in the end our two rescue swimmers got the nod and successfully recovered our torpedo for use the next time.

Promotion

1 August, 2009 - I send out congratulations to the Executive Officer. This morning he was promoted to the rank of Commander. The promotion to Commander is a great milestone for a Naval Officer. When an Officer is promoted from Lieutenant Commander to Commander, they join the ranks of senior Officers. Lieutenant Commander and junior ranks are considered junior Officers in the Navy.


After reciting the oath of office, XO continued a Navy tradition of passing down his old LCDR collar devices to deserving Officers who are yet to be promoted to LCDR.



I will leave you today with the Officer's Oath of Office as recited by CDR Stone.

I Chris Stone do solemnly reaffirm
that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States of America
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic
that I will continue to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution
and the Country whose course it directs,
and that I take this obligation freely,
without any mental reservation.
So help me God.

Great job Commander Stone!

Souda Bay, Crete

31 July - Early this morning, we said good bye to LT Patrick Murphy, STOUT’s former Assistant Supply Officer. Pat had a great impact on STOUT. Serving as the Assistant Supply Officer, he did an outstanding job leading Supply Department and ensuring our logistics needs were met. As the Ship’s photographer, he documented all the great moments of STOUT over the past two years. He served as the Public Affairs Officer, further documenting STOUT’s great triumphs, coordinating last deployment’s cruise book, and helping to get this Blog up and running. In addition to these accomplishments, he was a superb watch stander, always navigating STOUT safely across the seas. His presence and contributions will be missed by all.

We also had the opportunity this morning to recognize the outstanding efforts of a few of our Sailors. Prior to starting the events of the day an awards ceremony was held on the flight deck to acknowledge individuals that went above and beyond to support STOUT’s mission during this deployment. While all crewmembers have put forth an outstanding effort, and none of the Ship’s accomplishments were possible without the entire STOUT team, the effort of the twelve individuals we recognized today made them stand out amongst their peers, earning them the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Turkish Straits Southbound

27 July, 2009. - Today we transited the Turkish Straits from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The waterway between the two seas contains two narrow straits, the Bosporus to the north and the Dardanelles to the south, connected by the Sea of Marmara. The entire transit takes about twelve hours and requires the full attention of the bridge team. To the right you can see the Helm, Lee Helm and Helm Saftey Officer in action.

Below is a picture of Istanbul as seen from the bridge.

Reception - 23 July

Continuing the mission of strengthening maritime partnerships in the Black Sea we were able to host a reception onboard for several Romanian Naval Officers, local Officials and members of the Black Sea Council of the Navy League.
Helping me cut the cake this evening was the Romanian Deputy Chief of Naval Forces, VADM Nicolae Valsan. We spoke about our many things throughout the evening including the growing relationship between the US and Romanian Naval forces.




Tonight's reception was a great event made possible by the hard work of the crew. I included several pictures of those from behind the scenes that made the event so successful.