NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (WENY) -- Last month, WENY's Renata Stiehl and Nick Quattrini participated in a special program with the United States Navy Fleet Forces Command.

Called "Sailor for a Day", they spent the better part of a week at Naval Station Norfolk, learning about the roles of the Navy, and meeting the sailors who stand ready to answer the call when America needs them. We heard from sailors of all parts of the country, including New York state - who all have their own reasons to serve.

The first day of the program introduced us to the USS Gettysburg (CG 64). She's a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. Commissioned in 1991, the ship pays tribute to the famous 1863 battle that helped turn the tides of the Civil War. Currently stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, the ship's crew is working daily, training after the ship completes a multi-year overhaul, getting ready for its next mission. 

"It's a little bit older when you look at our newer destroyers, we have a lot of work going on, a lot of improvements. It's the first ship to complete SLEP, the Ship Life Extension Program, so she was in an eight year overhaul, pretty much of improvements, system upgrades, and it's pretty much the advanced cruiser in the fleet nowadays," explained Ensign Lauren Potesta, who was commissioned in the Navy just over a year ago. "As a cruiser, we're the whiskey ship, so we do mostly air defense, that's our job when we go out on deployment with a carrier, we play whiskey and manage the air battle space."

Ensign Potesta is one of 330 sailors who serve with the ship; each with a critical job. 

"I'm the strike officer on board, so I do all things missiles. Mostly tomahawk, I own the launcher they go in, that's these right here. Each square is a cell that a missile would go to. I say specifically Tomahawk because that's the ones my guys will launch," she said.

While some sailors like Potesta are new to the service, others have made it a career. Each have their own reasons for joining, like Gunner's Mate Chief, Christopher Rommel, who is originally from Newark, New York, in Wayne County. He's now been in the Navy for 17 and a half years.

"I had graduated college in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and tried to get a job in law enforcement for two years, which didn't work out, so I ended up looking at the service, and it had been something I had thought about since high school, and in college when 9/11 happened, that was kind of an inspiring moment, so it just seemed like the right time after that," said GMC Rommel. 

The crew on board the USS Gettysburg (CG 64) is hard at work, getting the ship sea-ready, and training for the necessary certifications before an upcoming deployment. The sailors will spend months out to sea, away from family and the comforts of home. For some sailors, this will be their first deployment - but they have experienced leadership who've been through it before to guide them.

"When we go away for longer periods of time, you're able to settle into a routine. And just find the joy in the little things, in the day to day. Whether it's a meal, or a quick laugh or a game or whatever you can get in. They're long days, they stack up pretty quick, but it's what we signed up to do at the end of the day. The days go slow, but the months go quick when you're out there," said Lt. Spencer Craig, who has served in the Navy for four years. 

The USS Gettysburg (CG 64) is one of 13 active cruises of its kind in the U.S. Navy. She isn't the only ship we'll be sharing during our special report series, Valor at Sea. We'll also be learning about naval submarines, and head out to sea - on board the USS George Washington (CVN 73).