{"id":6467,"date":"2023-04-21T14:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6467"},"modified":"2023-04-22T06:48:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T06:48:07","slug":"uss-boxer-a-foundation-of-excellence-in-deck-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6467","title":{"rendered":"USS Boxer: A Foundation of Excellence in Deck Department"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The officers, boatswain\u2019s mates (BMs) and undesignated seamen who make up the deck department on Boxer maintain the highest Navy standards because they know their work is essential to the mission.<\/p>\n

Boatswain\u2019s Mate 1st Class Henry Williams has been assigned to Boxer for a year. He explained that BMs consider themselves a \u201cjack of all trades,\u201d responsible for everything from steering the ship while at sea, to managing heavy equipment during underway operations, to constant shipboard preservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBMs are one of the first rates we had in the Navy and we really take pride in that,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n

Williams emphasized that deck department operates like an engine.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery functional piece has to work for the engine to actually flow and work. You have to be connected,\u201d explained Williams. \u201cThe ship can\u2019t run without personnel, personnel can\u2019t run if they\u2019re not committed, and when you take away that connection piece, there\u2019s going to be a failure somewhere \u2013 and that can be catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catastrophic is no exaggeration. Underway operations are inherently dangerous. Boxer is more than 800 feet long and weighs more than 40,000 tons. Add a contingent of Marines, their vehicles, and all their equipment, and operational risks only increase. Keeping that sense of unity and focus on teamwork helps mitigate risks in complex and arduous underway environments.<\/p>\n

This is one example of why professionalism, pride, and discipline are fundamental elements of the concept of readiness. A professional crew working like an engine is what makes a ship ready to complete any mission it is assigned. This is a mindset professionalism and high performance that creates a culture where crews thrive.<\/p>\n

According to Williams, no one knows this better than deck department as material readiness and shipboard preservation are core to the mission of any ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the things that a lot of people don\u2019t think about is that no matter what you\u2019re doing, once you take pride in that responsibility, everything else will just start flowing and aligning,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n

Underway, Boxer sports 116 life rafts in case of emergency. Every five years, these rafts are removed for inspection and re-packing and then re-installed. With the help of a crane, several safety harnesses, and skilled line handling, the deck department spent a day installing 50 rafts off the starboard side of the ship.<\/p>\n

Boatswain\u2019s Mate 1st Class Aaron Walker spent most of that day tying lines, giving helpful directions, and ensuring the safety of his shipmates throughout the project. Though it\u2019s hard work, the team was all smiles and kept count proudly with each installation.<\/p>\n

Walker never took his eyes from his work when he said about the job, \u201cI couldn\u2019t see myself doing anything else in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 passion for the job is also clear when he recalls past operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite thing about this platform is the well deck,\u201d he said, grinning proudly. \u201cI think it speaks dividends of what our job scope is, the camaraderie that we have with the Marines and the Navy, and how you get those two branches to work together to actually accomplish a mission \u2013 it\u2019s powerful. And it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether in port or at sea, the work never stops to keep a ship in working shape. Shipboard preservation is a priority balanced with operational requirements because a preserved ship is one that can successfully stay on mission. This work takes a mindset of professionalism, discipline, and high performance \u2013 and Boxer\u2019s deck department embodies these traits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this community instilled in me a sense of purpose outside of just the scope of my duties,\u201d said Chief Boatswain\u2019s Mate LV Rosebud, also assigned to Boxer.<\/p>\n

Rosebud has served in the Navy for 10 years and transferred to Boxer three months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving pride in our job is important because it amplifies the importance of what we\u2019re doing and it gives us a sense of ownership,\u201d said Rosebud. \u201cIt goes beyond just doing the job to also doing it well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maintaining a ship is both a sprint and a marathon. Part of the marathon is keeping the crew invested in the importance of readiness. Deck department is a place where that pride begins and can spread across the crew and the whole fleet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of pride like an overflow,\u201d said Williams. \u201cOnce you fill that cup, next thing you know you\u2019re filling up another cup \u2013 and that\u2019s how you build great leaders. It\u2019s contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Navy ships deploy for longer periods and more frequently than any other Navy in the world. As a result, our ships face greater maintenance and preservation challenges. Preservation efforts are constant, even while out to sea. Walking the weather deck of a ship underway, it\u2019s common to find deck department working hard to eliminate rust and corrosion. Rust is an unfortunate but normal part of being out to sea, and the crew\u2019s efforts to fight it never stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times it seems like it\u2019s not the best job or the most glorified one, but it\u2019s definitely vital to movement and vital to mission accomplishment,\u201d said Rosebud.<\/p>\n

A shipshape unit means a mission ready unit, but it also means greater speed in identifying safety hazards and equipment failures. The faster problems are identified, the faster they can be solved and the ship can return to its responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Every member of the crew makes readiness possible. For Williams and Rosebud, though, they can\u2019t imagine doing any other job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat made me choose boatswain\u2019s mate was that sense of pride that we have when we are getting things done in the major evolutions,\u201d said Rosebud. \u201cThey\u2019re always exciting for me. I like the thrill of it being inherently dangerous, but also knowing that we have safety measures in place. You have to have a lot of trust, a lot of communication and a lot of rehearsals and time spent together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the ship will always depend on a boatswain, with everything we do around the ship,\u201d said Williams. \u201cThat\u2019s why I take so much pride in my job and my love for the military. I love what we do and the impact we have on the world. I know when I see a ship out there that\u2019s \u2018haze gray and underway,\u2019 it couldn\u2019t get underway without the boatswain\u2019s mates.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The officers, boatswain\u2019s mates (BMs) and undesignated seamen who make up the deck department on Boxer maintain the highest Navy standards because they know their work is essential to the mission. Boatswain\u2019s Mate 1st Class Henry Williams has been assigned to Boxer for a year. He explained that BMs consider themselves a \u201cjack of all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6469,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467\/revisions\/6469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}