An unvarnished telling of life at sea onboard a U.S. Navy destroyer during the Gulf War era. As the Soviet empire began its crumble, the USS David R. Ray crosses the Pacific and Indian Oceans, sails through the Strait of Hormuz, and into the Persian Gulf, the crew struggles with leadership mistakes, key personnel losses, heat, and equipment failures. Chaos seems to be a familiar companion and when the Gulf War starts with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the David R. Ray is six miles off Kuwait City with a front row seat of the invasion.
As the allied build-up for war in the Gulf continues, the Ray's deployment ends and the ship and crew return to Long Beach but returning home only welcomes new challenges and troubles. Finally, for the crew, a new commanding officer arrives and the crew responds to and meets the challenges of a new leader and his team. The crew of the David R. Ray not only responds, they thrive before the ship deploys again to the Middle East.
Through the challenges of sea duty and life overseas and at home, readers will join the crew as ship's leaders are fired, the minds of men fail, and others struggle through success and failure. When power is lost in a war zone, a bucket brigade is necessary to bring their ship to life. When men pass their breaking points, straitjackets become common. When Sailors recognize good leaders, they thrive and succeed.
