Interesting - a recurring theme! Dave in 1966, John in 1976, and me in 1986.
Our CO in '86 was CDR Steve Woodall and he, too was a serious motivator. We worked hard (and played hard) and ALWAYS got the job done. We took great pride in not only meeting our commitments, but in doing them better than anyone else. There was a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears not to mention a fair share of sacrificed liberty time for all hands. From 1986 (and probably earlier, but that's when I came aboard) through to when I left in late 1990, we spent more time underway than any other ship on the waterfront. We were the "go-to" ship for DESRON 2. If another ship in the Squadron couldn't make it, they called us. I remember breaking away from 6 weeks of carrier ops in the Caribbean to make a full power run back to Norfolk just so we could on load foul weather gear over the weekend, then run to the Arctic Circle to participate in a 6 week NATO exercise there (I believe that was NORTHSTAR 89).