There are two captain's rooms on the Fletcher-class destroyer. One is located in the front deck, which is very spacious and is the captain's daily living room. It is equipped with a single bed, a modular desk, a wall-mounted bookshelf, a ventilation fan, etc. There is also a lounge at the rear of the navigation bridge for the captain to rest between battles or shifts.

At this time in the captain's living room, Fang Lang and De La Torre both had serious expressions.

"Time is tight, we must form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, Lao Lei, do you have any good suggestions?"

De La Torre also felt embarrassed when he heard Fang Lang's question. The current situation was that although everyone had studied on other ships of the same type for more than a month, the navy was not something that could be quickly mastered in just one month of familiarity. Everyone had only learned the basics and was far from truly understanding it.

"It seems that we can only take advantage of this time before departure to get familiar with each other."

"It's not enough to just be familiar with the equipment. We need to conduct actual combat drills to make everyone know what they should do and how to do it when a battle occurs! Let's put it this way! Lao De, our destroyers mainly face three aspects of enemies. The first is the enemy's aircraft, the second is the enemy's submarines, and the last is the enemy's surface ships.

Our main task now is escort. We have few chances of encountering Axis surface ships. Our enemies mainly come from the sky and the bottom of the sea.

So I need you to organize everyone today to work out a detailed process for dealing with the enemy under what circumstances we will encounter and what kind of enemy we will encounter. Let every crew member participate in the discussion and use their own brains to know what they should do, why they should do it this way, and whether there are better ways to improve efficiency.

Starting tomorrow, we will conduct drills that are close to actual combat throughout the process. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. After each drill, we will hold a summary meeting to find our mistakes and improve them next time. After we officially set off, we will have at least three such drills every day, one in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Can you do it? "

...

...

Fang Lang's words made De La Torre's eyes light up. This was indeed a good way to improve combat effectiveness.

"Boss, this is a great idea! I'll go back and organize everyone to implement it right away."

He was about to stand up and start executing orders. Fang Lang quickly stopped him and walked around the room, saying:

“It’s not enough to just practice. So, we will link the performance of the practice to our allowances, set a standard for each process, reward the best crew members and teams that can complete it in the shortest time, and punish those who perform poorly, such as cleaning toilets, washing decks, washing socks for outstanding comrades, etc.

We will also create a mobile red flag to commend outstanding teams and create an atmosphere of competition. Wait a minute! Our current crew members do not sleep in the same cabin with the same position, right? "

De La Torre was just marveling at Fang Lang's ingenious ideas! Suddenly he heard Fang Lang's question and asked in confusion:

"Yes! We are all together so it is convenient for us to learn and communicate together!"

"No, you must go back and readjust the cabins for all crew members. People in the same position cannot live together. Try to disperse them as much as possible."

Looking at Fang Lang's serious expression, De La Torre was confused. Why is this happening? They have always lived together!

"Ah! Why is that?"

Hearing De La Torre's question, Fang Lang couldn't help but sigh secretly. Brazil really had a navy that had never experienced actual combat! These details were all knowledge gained at the cost of one's life.

"Because if people in the same position live together, if their cabin is hit by the enemy, there will be no one on our ship to replace them. The Navy is a highly specialized branch of the military, and some positions are irreplaceable. If such a situation occurs, we cannot afford it."

When De La Torre heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead and he nodded quickly:

"I understand. I'll arrange it right away. Do you have any other instructions?"

Fang Lang had no other ideas for the moment and could only walk and watch.

"That's all we have for now. Let's hurry up and prepare! Remember to ask the logistics department to restock the ammunition and supplies as soon as possible."

The busy time always passes quickly, and soon it is time for the fleet to set off. This time the escort fleet has only five destroyers and a supply ship, but they have to protect more than fifty Victory ships crossing the Atlantic to Britain.

Looking at the densely packed cargo ships on the sea outside New York Harbor, Fang Lang felt both nervous and excited.

"House! This is the fleet flagship Callaghan. I'm Lieutenant Commander Becky. Please reply!"

A call came from the bridge communicator from the fleet commander, Lieutenant Commander Becky.

Fang Lang went over and picked up the intercom and answered loudly:

"Commander Becky, I'm Captain Fang Lang of the House."

House is the name of the first new destroyer determined by the Brazilian Navy according to the Navy's naming rules.

"Major Fang, this time your ship and the HMS Harry of the British Royal Navy will be responsible for the safety of the left side of the fleet. Please maintain the formation and ensure the course. Is this clear?"

The lieutenant colonel's words made Fang Lang stunned. It was true that enemies would always come together! As far as he knew, the captain of the Harry was Lieutenant Commander Reinhardt of the British Navy, who was one of his classmates and often pointed fingers at him. He was said to be a noble son of a naval family and was extremely arrogant.

But now that they are on the battlefield, no matter what their original relationship was, the two people on the same front must advance and retreat together.

Fang Lang replied loudly:

"Understood, sir. Our ship will be responsible for the fleet's left line of defense together with the Harry!"

After the call ended, Fang Lang began to command the ship to move to the left defense line. As soon as he arrived at the left defense line, Fang Lang received a communication request from the Harry.

"House, this is Captain Reinhardt of the Harry. I am now in command of the left line of defense. Please maintain formation."

Fang Lang was stunned when he heard what the other party said. What the hell, we are all under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Becky. Where did you come from? But thinking about the other party's character, this arrogant British nobleman probably looked down on Lieutenant Colonel Becky, the commander-in-chief of the fleet.

After all, the Americans are all nouveau riche in the eyes of the British! But you don't even think about how much you are worth. How arrogant it is for a novice captain to want to be a commander!

Fang Lang couldn't help but start to worry about the next voyage. This arrogant guy must not do anything weird! But since they were on the same line of defense, since others wanted to show off, Fang Lang was too lazy to bother with such a fool. When the real battle began, he would definitely accept the command of Lieutenant Colonel Becky.

After all, they are actual commanders and captains who have participated in many actual combat operations. They are definitely better than you, a fledgling student soldier!

Fang Lang didn't want to waste time talking to him, so he ended the communication with a "Got it!"

At this time, Major Reinhardt on the Harry said with dissatisfaction:

"This damn Brazilian country bumpkin is so rude. He should feel honored to be under the command of the noble British Royal Navy. I will make him pay."

The naval officers and soldiers around him also looked dissatisfied. After all, the British Empire was a naval power, while the Brazilian Navy was a small character that had never been heard of.

In the first few days after leaving New York, the voyage was actually relatively safe, because air supremacy was in the hands of the United States. Therefore, on the USS House, there were unshakable actual combat drills every day, and the soldiers were tormented and exhausted.

However, the results are also obvious. The soldiers' progress is visible to the naked eye, and their reaction time is getting shorter and shorter.

Major Reinhardt of the Harry saw Fang Lang's warships through the telescope, and found that they often changed lanes suddenly and had crew members running around. At first, he thought that the enemy had been discovered, so he became extremely nervous and ordered his own warships to turn in the direction of the enemy's warships.

In the end, nothing was found, and no report was received from Fang Lang. Later, after learning that they were conducting actual combat exercises, Reinhardt was so angry that he cursed. After learning that Fang Lang and his men conducted exercises three times a day, he even cursed Fang Lang for not caring for his soldiers.

This made the British naval officers and soldiers on the Harry very nervous, fearing that Reinhardt would learn from Fang Lang, and they would have a hard time.

Five days passed by bit by bit, and the fleet was finally about to sail out of the combat radius of the American Air Force. In the next period of time, the escort fleet itself would have to face the German submarines.

The atmosphere in the fleet also began to become tense. Only on the House, actual combat drills were still being carried out from time to time. The soldiers had no energy to pay attention to the so-called tense atmosphere, because their time was fully occupied and they had no time to think about anything else.