I did stars, and then we went to dawn GQ as usual. The doc checked on the skipper, who was still asleep. Doc suggested that we station a trusted petty officer outside his inport cabin in case we had to rouse him for his safety. I told him to get Chief Lamont to take care of that. We held morning quarters for the first time in two weeks, at which I had the division officers read an announcement to all hands paraded in their divisional spaces that I had assumed temporary command of the ship until the captain could receive medical treatment. Marty asked me what they should call me now. I told them XO. This was a temporary situation until either the skipper came back to us or a new one came onboard. Either way, I’d remain the exec, assuming someone didn’t court-martial me. So XO it was to be. We picked up one lone bogey late in the morning, way out there at seventy miles, which meant it had to be a fairly large plane, probably a multiengine bomber of some kind. He came within fifty miles of the picket line and then loitered out there.
