Boxer heeds 'call of duty'

[thedrifter]

Boxer heeds 'call of duty'





Ship to deliver copters and equipment to gulf
By James W. Crawley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
12:23 a.m. January 10, 2004



Ernesto Flores and the 992 other crew members of the amphibious assault ship Boxer will learn the new reality of life in the Navy when they leave Wednesday for Iraq, most for the second time in a year.

For Boxer sailors such as Flores, a petty officer third class, it has only been 168 days since he got back from his last deployment to the Persian Gulf.

"I really don't want to go, but it's the call of duty," he said.

With about six weeks' notice, the ship will carry 16 Marine Corps CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters, support equipment and more than 200 Marines to Iraq as part of the massive troop rotation that will send more than 20,000 Marines, most from local bases, to the region.

On a routine deployment, the vessel would carry 1,200 Marines, Harrier jump jets, helicopters, landing craft and vehicles that could be sent ashore via air and sea. But for this journey, the ship will function as a cargo transport, ferrying helicopters but no combat troops, who will be flown over by jet later.

"It's true we're just doing the U-Haul thing, but at the other end we're part of a real mission," said Capt. Thomas Crowley, the ship's commanding officer.

He supervised the landing of the heavy-lift helicopters Thursday and yesterday as the crew made final preparations for departure.

The Boxer's return trip to Iraq comes as the Navy implements a new strategy that substitutes pre-planned deployments for "surge" operations that can send warships to trouble spots on short notice. Called the Fleet Readiness Program, the strategy was developed to deal with the continuing war on terrorism.

Although the amphibious assault ship's departure is not officially part of the readiness program, officers and sailors say the upcoming cruise is a sign of the future.

"We consider it a surge deployment," Crowley said.

This deployment will be easier than last time because the ship has maintained its training, maintenance and combat proficiencies from the previous deployment, which started Jan. 17, 2003, and ended July 26 with the ship's return to a berth at San Diego Naval Station at 32nd Street.

Three-fourths of the ship's crew was on the last deployment, the skipper said. And if everything goes as planned, the Boxer should be back in San Diego in about four months ? two months sooner than a typical six-month overseas cruise.

The sailors are adapting to the changing deployment plans and the shortened time between deployments, several senior enlisted personnel said.

"I haven't seen morale going down, and I've been looking for it," Master Chief Petty Officer Dennis Macaoile said.

But he and other enlisted sailors said the quick turnaround, coming during the recent holidays, has been hardest on the families.

"It hurts the family more than anyone else," Petty Officer 1st Class Elmer Sena said. "I don't think the families were prepared to go back" so soon.

"I haven't taken all my stuff off (the ship) from the last deployment," Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Staten said. "This was a bit of a surprise. I knew it was a possibility."

He said his wife and two preteen children aren't happy with his pending absence ? his seventh deployment since he joined up.

While Staten believes the shorter deployment will make his absence easier for him and family, he is concerned about the unexpected.

"I worry that once we get in the theater, it will be, 'Tag, you're it,' and we'll get tasked for another mission," he said.
James W. Crawley:
(619) 542-4559; jim.crawley@uniontrib.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/...9-7m9boxer.html


Sempers,

Roger