The U.S. 6th Fleet command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed the Viktor Lenac dry dock staging area in Rijeka, Croatia, April 30 for the first time since staging began Jan. 15, 2015.

The 640-foot flagship came to the Viktor Lenac Shipyard for a regularly scheduled maintenance period intended to upgrade its physical, electrical, and warfighting capabilities. Mount Whitney is scheduled to depart the shipyard later this summer.

Quotes:

"The efficiency of this evolution demonstrates all of our efforts from the Navy, Military Sealift Command (MSC) and shipyard counterparts for the past 4 months. We have come together to meet one common goal, and that is to show our naval capabilities."
- Lt. Arnold Luminarias, USS Mount Whitney supply officer.

"Mount Whitney is currently 60 percent complete with its main electrical upgrades and hull beautification. MSC Mariners and Navy crew have been working around the clock, focusing on enhancing the ship's internal infrastructure."

"With the new and improved facilities on the Mount Whitney, it will allow her and her crew the ability to complete their missions as expeditiously as possible. I cannot wait until we are finally underway in the Mediterranean and Europe again."
- Electronics Technician 2nd Class Rui Au.

Quick Facts:

* Mount Whitney, a Blue Ridge-class command and control ship, forward-deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the U.S. Navy.

* As the command and control flagship for the U.S. 6th Fleet, and the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, Mount Whitney had accumulated hundreds of thousands of sea miles in support of operations and humanitarian missions globally.

* U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/.