Midshipmen spent their first day aboard getting organized, familiarizing themselves with their surroundings and meeting their running mates, who would serve as guides to help them through the rigors of serving aboard a ship.

After meeting with Rushmore’s captain, executive officer and command master chief the next day, the midshipmen assembled in the ship’s well deck to help celebrate Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. The celebration included examples of native dress, dance and more than 14 different kinds of cuisine.

‘‘It was a lot of fun participating in the hula dance. It’s not what I expected to do on my summer cruise, but I enjoyed celebrating,” said Naval Academy Midn. 3⁄C Patrice Sarlese.

Later, midshipmen were invited to join the crew in hosting the Chilean Training Sail Ship Esmeralda during its stay in downtown San Diego. In addition to providing translation for Chilean sailors, midshipmen provided tours of Rushmore and joined their Chilean counterparts at a number of public and diplomatic receptions. In addition to acting as diplomats, midshipmen were engaged in helping Rushmore prepare for her Final Evaluation Problem, an assessment certifying the ship for deployment.

Using a building block approach of crawl, walk, run, midshipmen were assigned to stand battle watches that started with the ship’s in-port rehearsals and concluded in underway graded drills.

‘‘FEP drills were both extensive and impressive. It was good to get involved and participate as a member of the crew,” said Naval Academy Midn. 3⁄C Christian Gotcher.

Following FEP evaluations, Rushmore loaded elements of Assault Craft Unit 5, Beach Master Unit 1, Naval Special Clearance Team 1 and Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines in preparation for exercises Rim of the Pacific 2006 and Trident Warrior 2006.

‘‘I was amazed by the amounts of cargo, vehicles, miscellaneous gear and personnel that the Rushmore could support,” said University of Wisconsin Midn. 1⁄C Brian Brustuen. ‘‘It gave me a deeper insight into the amphibious operations of the Navy.”

Rushmore and her assigned midshipmen participated in RIMPAC 2006 with USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Denver (LPD 9), USS Pinckney (DDG 91), Seafighter (FSF 1), HMCS Regina (FFG 334) from Canada, CS Blanco (FF 15) from Chile, and BAP Mariategui (FM 2) from Peru.