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Boxer Sailors Get ULTRA Ready

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080118-13
Release Date: 1/18/2008 3:11:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Jon Rasmussen, USS Boxer Public Affairs

ABOARD USS BOXER (NNS) -- USS Boxer (LHD 4) was back at sea off the southern California coast Jan. 10-16 preparing for its upcoming series of Unit Level Training Assessments (ULTRA).

The ULTRA series, administered by Afloat Training Group Pacific, is the first challenge Boxer Sailors face in ensuring the ship is ready for operational tasking.

"This is important because if Boxer doesn't successfully complete the ULTRA cycle then Boxer will not be available for higher level tasking in support of the global war on terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi freedom," said Lt. Cmdr. Waymon Jackson, Boxer operations officer.

In order to prime themselves for upcoming assessments, the Boxer crew is using this time at sea to hone Sailors' skills in emergency scenarios for damage control, mass casualties, ship's defense, as well as routine operations like underway replenishments and amphibious operations with various landing crafts.

"The challenge we have to face is having only a short period of underway time to effectively get a lot of evolutions and drills in," said Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Clauze, Boxer training officer. "We have to maximize the time we're underway to practice perfect and make sure we're ready to enter the ULTRA scenario."

These evolutions will also help to familiarize new Boxer Sailors with how the ship operates at sea.

"We have a lot of new people," said Jackson. "Some of them have limited amphibious experience. Some have their own way of doing things and now we have to train them to do business the way Boxer does business and how to operate in the amphibious community."

According to Jackson, getting new Boxer Sailors experienced and integrated into established teams and routines is important to preparing them for the future operations they will conduct as a part of the Boxer team.

"At the end of the ULTRA series we want to do is achieve all the certifications that we need to effectively be ready to deploy at anytime to anywhere the Navy needs us to go," said Clauze.

Boxer is scheduled to begin the ULTRA Series in February.

For more news from USS Boxer, visit www.news.navy.mil/local/lhd4/.