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Tortuga's Boarding Team Prepares for Spring Patrol

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070117-13
Release Date: 1/17/2007 5:50:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David J. Ham, USS Tortuga (LSD 46) Public Affairs

SASEBO, Japan (NNS) -- The visit, board, search and seizure team aboard USS Tortuga (LSD 46) continues to perfect skills acquired over the past year as they prepare for the ship’s upcoming spring patrol.

“Our training has been well done," said Tortuga’s boarding officer, Lt. j.g. John F. Warner. "We have been training throughout the holiday standdown.”

As spring patrol approaches, the boarding team will concentrate more on the ladder climbs and small group movements that are critical to completing boarding operations effectively and efficiently.

“The training that we have conducted to be able to conduct the boardings, that will be coming up soon, have been nearly perfect," said Ens. Alan Presley. "I feel that we have tools to cooperate as a team when the real thing comes up.”

The idea of putting their training to use in real-time, real-world scenarios is what keeps the boarding team motivated and constantly striving for improvement.

“We will also do some more of the [administrative] training so we know what [intelligence] and information we would have to document when we do the actual boardings,” Warner added.

Spring patrol welcomes aboard another key element of the amphibious force, Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Boarding team members look forward to learning from their Marine counterparts.

“We are pretty much a new team, so the idea that we will be able to get some new ideas on various operations will be very valuable to how we conduct the boardings,” Warner said.

Despite the ever-changing environment posed by world events, Warner said there is no doubt Tortuga’s boarding team will be ready for any challenge.

Tortuga is a dock landing ship serving under Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7/Task Force 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force. ESG 7/Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.