Anchors Aweigh

Julia Spencer-Fleming: So a little over two weeks ago, I made a trip to Norfolk, Virginia, to do something I've never done before - see my son off on his first deployment. Petty Officer Spencer Hugo-Vidal - known here as The Sailor - and some three hundred shipmates are off as part of the US 5th Fleet operations in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

The USS Gonzalez is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and like all destroyers in the US Navy, is named after a Medal of Honor recipient - in this case, Marine Corps Sgt. Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez, who displayed unbelievable courage in the Battle of Huế and lost his life after saving his entire platoon.

Two days before the Gonzalez shipped off, Spencer's lovely girlfriend Veronique Pretlow - who also took these gorgeous pictures -  and I got to tour the ship! It was amazing how MUCH the Navy manages to fit in these ships. Crew can spread out a bit in the mess, but most of the doors, passageways and ladders are built with slim people no taller than 5'10" in mind. Luckily for Spencer, that describes him perfectly.

Since the US Navy isn't keen on civilians snapping a lot of pictures of the interiors of their ships, I only have one shot from inside: the Gonzalez's name plate. Why did I want this? Because the keel was laid down the day my son was born, both of them on the coast of Maine, only 36 miles apart. 

 I took Spencer and Veronique out to dinner - we did BBQ both nights. One thing the Tidewater VA area has lots of is fabulous BBQ. Here's my boy with his VERY regulation haircut. When I was a kid, we called these "Baldy sours."

I spent part of the day before they left port helping out with the shopping. The ship has its own small store, but if you want any choice in your toiletries, etc., you need to bring it along. Among the things I bought? One bottle of 80 SPF sunscreen for every month Spencer will be gone. The sun can kill you, you know...

 

And then it was the morning of their departure! Spencer and Veronique picked me up from my hotel at 0700. It was a beautiful morning, as promised (if you believe the old rhyme) by the red sky the night before. The ship was buzzing - friends and family were everywhere, sailors were showing them around, and at the same time, working on the complicated process of getting an 8,315 ton, 505 foot long vessel underway. 

We got to take part in an on-deck briefing for the Internal Communications Electricians and meet the Chiefs and Master Chief. Here's a picture of the whole team.

 At 0900 hours, it was time for all civilians and Navy personnel who weren't deploying to leave the ship. Veronique and I said goodbye...

 

And Spencer watched us as from the quarterdeck as we walked along the pier.

Have a safe cruise, Sailor! Anchors aweigh!