In June of 1997, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff boarded the USS Benfold; he was the new commanding officer. Benfold is a guided missile destroyer staffed with 310 sailors. This was Abrashoff’s first sea command, so he was undoubtedly anxious as he walked onto the ship. What he found did nothing to calm his nerves.
As was military tradition, the Navy rolls out the red carpet for a departing commander, and to welcome the new one. About two weeks before the command change, routine work stops and the entire crew prepares the ship by painting it from top to bottom and preparing the deck for a dignitary- filled reception honoring the departing skipper.