A Sailor aboard USS Paul F. Foster "mans the rail" aboard the Spruance-class destroyer as the ship makes its final approach for a scheduled port visit to Qingdao, China. The custom of manning the rail evolved from that of "manning the yards," which dates from the days of sail. In sailing ships men stood evenly spaced on all the yards (the spars holding the sails) and gave three cheers to honor distinguished persons. Today the crew are stationed along the rails and superstructure of a ship when honors are rendered. Paul F. Foster, homeported in Everett, Wash., is the first U.S. Navy ship to visit mainland China since March 2001, following an incident involving a U.S. Navy EP-3E ARIES reconnaissance aircraft in April 2001. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Shawn Burns.