Gary (FFG 51) - Naval Cruise Book

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GOLD TE AM L to R: LI Bullard STGC lones, GSM2 Garrelt. STG2 Crowl. MAI Sanders. BM2 Kinney. HM2 Simpson. STGSN reels. Wis: Sloane SMSN Balsamo I he mission ol the Visit, Board. Search and Seizure Teams as in support United Nations ' sanctions by boarding vessels and inspecting cargo moving to and from Iraq to ensure no contraband was earned on board. Discover) of illegal smuggling, mainl) weapons and fuel oil, was the pri mar) objective of the Boarding Teams while in the Persian Gulf. VBSS teams were composed oi personnel from all departments on the ship and, during Gar) ' s deployment, played a major role in dail) operations in the North Arabian Gulf conducting Maritime Interception Operations. Throughout the d eployment. Gary ' s VBSS teams boarded over twent) vessels inspecting various cargos from bulk wheal to over one thousand cargo containers. Boardings were long and tiresome and the crew was exhausted on a dail) basis. Teams often performed more than one boarding per day and were flexible in performing duties tasked to them.

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Ill IB 1 Although Thanksgiving came a day late, it did come. Despite the fact that we leinport Dubai and that holida) routine was nut lea. mosi ol us waited on the ml 1400 to see what SUPPO and the gang had put together. Aftera beautifully jared turke) dinner, we ate some ol the traditional deserts such as pecan pic. lpkin pie, and ice cream, After that, sonic of us went and kicked hack at the men ' s Center or went down to the coops :we to catch up on some much needed P- Although we were underwa) on Christmas Day, we hada ver) memorable ;onthe U.S.S.( far) About eight o ' clock on Christmas Eve, we heard the word ;ed: Christian Fellovi ship is now being held on the Flight Deck. Those v. ho it out to the deck to found DK2 Parker and DISB( ) setting upaChristmas tree an overhead projector. Little did we realize, we would soon find ourselves ling aboard a na vessel in the middle of the Arabian Gulf. B the time MSSN ashington ' s cookies arrived, enough people had shown o make for a good time, Doing our best to hold out againsi a cold wind from North Pole, we gathered around lightly and sang such favorites as Hark. Herald Angels Sing and Silent Night. When we had sung all the ones knew, we skirled over and sang them again ' With a little help from Gar) ' s s. we weie all Healed to a reflective and nostalgic lime. ForChristmas dinner the MS ' s turned out a delicious turke feast withal! trimmings. After we stuffed ourselves, we retired to the lounge for everyone ' s isimas favorite, It ' s a Wonderful Life. Although we were not able to spend istmas with our families, there were enough familiar reminders around that we Id spend U with them in our minds and hearts land, ol course, on-line la L : - 1). I ot New Year ' s Eve, Gar) was one ol the few ships luck) enough to be in [(although New Year ' s Eve in-port Bahrain is incalculabl) different from New it ' s Eve anywhere else in the world, at least we were not out to sea). At the Desert ne, there was a live rock ' n roll band playing some of out favorite classics Aftei ing a tew drinks, toll-free morale calls allowed us to make New Year ' s lutions with the ones we love Meanwhile, at the Shack the) put the ne-thrower ' s in standby due to the increasing demand of Flaming nroe ' s told back at the Quarterdeck ol the USSGary, we shook up coke bottles, let li shoot ovei the side, popped balloons and at midnight we rang off the New tr... . 1997 departing.... 1998 arriv it III r