Mobile Bay (CG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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UUk ' sI ' » ■ ' 4-- mi iBS¥%»| i Aegis strike cruiser takes a brea titer. Dockside UNREP training. Windmill Beach weekends another day in paradise. just Hi Mom, send cookies! OPPE certified 21 days after commissioning: an engineering clean sweep !!! Sorry guys . . no riders

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GTMO S OPPE Central. Aux ONE letterrrip! Fleet Training Group Guantanamo the Navy ' s finest instructors. Top Gun athletes conquered all to earn Git mo Warrior honors. Whaddaya mean the drill was unsat? Following commissioning. MOBILE BA Y proceeded directly to Guantanamo Bay. Cuba, for three weeks of shakedown training in preparation for upcoming Shock Trials. After pass- ing through a severe winter storm, which quickly made sailors out of the pre-com crew, we arrived in Cuba to conduct around-the-clock engineering and damage control exercises, punctuated by weekend sporting events against other Navy ships undergoing refresher training. Our engineering team quickly jelled and MOBILE BA Y became the first Navy ship on record to successfully complete accelerated engineering qualification so rapidly after commissioning. Our lime at Gitmo proved to be a great operational start for the MOB. setting a high standard of excellence for future challenges. Underway for another day of drills.

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Sun, fun. the strip , bikini contests, and more sun! Fort Lauder- dale provided Gitmo and OPPE — weary MOBsters with four days of R S R in early April. This port was. for a majority of the crew, the first exposure to the Florida lifestyle. Fort Lauderdale has traditionally been the Mecca of Spring Break bound college students from the north, and MOBsters found nothing lacking in nightlife, beaches, or enter- tainment facilities. While most crewmembers rested their weary bones on the beach with a cold beer and a warm bottle of Coppertone. others sought out golfing, diving, biking, jet skiing, and water skiing as a way to unwind after four long weeks of 18-hour days. Naturally, the duty sections found time to hold tours for several thousand interested sightseers. So. while MOBsters were busy enjoying the local atmosphere, the locals were equally as busy learning about the Aegis cruiser ' s awesome capabilities. It ' s twice as good and twice as cold this way. Thousands visited the MOB during her stay in Fort Lauderdale. FCI Mason tries out FCCM Leary ' s trained darts.