OT: Wake, Pearl, Gitmo Pictures 3

[pnzrgnral]

This is the guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, entering Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. She arrived to commemorate the base's centennial, and Burke had been a former base commander. Taken in late 02.

[Hermit]

I served as a lifeguard-for-the-day at Gitmo in February of 1990. I was stationed on the USS South Carolina (CGN-37) and we pulled in for a break from drug interdiction patrols, and to provide electrical power to part of the base while they worked on their generators. We had 2.5 Megawatts due to the nuclear reactor powering our ship's generators. As a thank you, they threw us a steak and potatoes dinner (with beverages) at the club. But they didn't have any lifeguards available to keep the pool open for the inevitable drunken swim-fest. I had been certified as a Navy Lifeguard the previous summer and was still current, so they installed me as lead babysitter. I still have my Gitmo Lifeguard t-shirt to prove it! I wouldn't want to be stationed there, but it was a great place to visit for a few days.