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USS Austin Wins Battle 'E'

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060320-09
Release Date: 3/20/2006 1:32:00 PM

By Lt. j.g. Jennifer Stephens, USS Austin Public Affairs

USS AUSTIN, At Sea (NNS) -- Crew members of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Austin (LPD 4) received the news that they were the winners of the 2005 Battle Efficiency award, March 12.

Austin won the Commander, Amphibious Group 2 medium category. The ship had a clean sweep of all five categories, including maritime warfare excellence, engineering/survivability excellence, command, control, communication and information warfare excellence, logistics management excellence and the type commander (TYCOM) safety award.

"We spent an intense training cycle, with a lot of time underway, getting this 41-year-old ship back in fighting form, back on top,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) (AW/SW) Eric Tomczak. “This crew worked extremely hard to earn the Battle 'E,' and I can't think of a better way for the crew to see that their hard work paid off."

“It was awesome for the crew to get the recognition that they deserved for a fantastic 2005,” said Lt. Cmdr. Dan Evans, Austin’s executive officer. “It was also fitting that we found out about the award four months into an Arabian Gulf deployment, the day after we back-loaded our Marines from Iraq. It really made for a great day on ‘The Oldest and the Best’."

"I'm very pleased to see the crew and ship get the recognition they deserve,” said Cmdr. Kevin Flanagan, Austin’s commanding officer. ”Austin is the only LPD in the fleet to garner all five command excellence awards and the Battle ‘E’. This accomplishment, and many more, demonstrate she's the ‘lead ship in the class’ in all respects."

Austin left Norfolk, Va., Nov. 4 as part of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 8. Austin is currently deployed to the Persian Gulf conducting maritime security operations (MSO). MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. Austin's mission denies international terrorists the use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.