STATUS of the NAVY LAYOUT & As of May 19Th, 2019 DESIGN

BOXER TRIAD TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAPT. RONALD COMMANDING DOWDELL OFFICER Golden 3 11 Gators

EXECUTIVE CAPT. DALE STAYING OFFICER HEINKEN Burial 4-5 at Sea SAFE 12-13

CMDCM (SW) COMMAND VERONICA MASTER CHIEF

HOLLIDAY 6-7 14-15

PUBLIC PUBLIC AFFAIRS AFFAIRS OFFICER MCC (SW/AW) ADAM VERNON 8-10 PUBLIC AFFAIRS MC1 (SW/SCW/AW/IW) LPO BRIAN CARACCI

EDITOR MC2 (SW/AW) JUSTIN RANKIN

OVERALL MC2 (SW/AW) JUSTIN RANKIN STATUS OF THE NAVY LAYOUT & As of May 19th, 2019 DESIGN

CONTRIBUTORS Amphibious Assault Ships underway Active Duty: 332,507 USS Boxer (LHD 4) Ready Reserve: MC2 (SW/AW/IW) DAVID ORTIZ Officers: 54,263 East Pacific MC2 DALE HOPKINS Enlisted: 273,832 101,865 USS America (LHD 6) Selected Reserves: Midshipmen: 4,412 East Pacific MC3 (SW) JUSTIN WHITLEY 58,801 MC3 (SW/AW/IW) USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) 6th Fleet ALEXANDER KUBITZA MC3 (SW) KEYPHER STROMBECK Navy Department Deployable Battle MC3 (SW) JOHN MCGOVERN Individual Ready Civilian Force Ships: Aircraft MC3 JESSICA HATTEL Reserve: Employees: 289 (operational): MCSN ZACHARY BEHREND 43,064 274,854 Deployable Battle 3700+ Reserves currently Force Across the Fleet: mobilized: 92 3,071

Deployed Ships Air Craft Carriers Underway: Underway 53 (19%) FAIR USE NOTICE USS Roosevelt (CVN 71) Ships Underway for East Pacific Not withstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a Local Ops / Training: USS Abraham Lincoln copyrighted work, including such use by a reproduction in copies or phonorecords or 39 (14%) (CVN 72) by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, 6th Fleet news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

This publication is an authorized publication for military members aboard amphibious assault ship USS BOXER (LHD 4). The contents of Bark of the Boxer are not the official views of, or endorsed by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the United States Navy. GATOR ON THE STREET SN Eric James Gaithersburg, Maryland 1 What was your favorite part of Hawaii? Relaxing, I just got a hotel and relaxed while talking to my family. 2 What are you looking forward to most on this deployment? I just picked up MA as my new rate so I am looking forward to going to A-school. 3 What are your goals for this deployment? Save money and get qualed up so I am prepared for shore duty. 4 Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I see myself out of the Navy with my degree and I want to get into real estate. BM3 Joyce Nichols Cincinnati, Ohio 1 What was your favorite part of Hawaii? China’s Hat, it was this rock that was in the ocean by the beach, and the snow cones! 2 What are you looking forward to most on this deployment? Sightseeing, nature, experiencing different cultures, and the food. 3 What are your goals for this deployment? Continue getting my degree, save money and make 2nd Class. 4 Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I see myself as a childrens counselor or teacher.

DC2 Kimberly Hammond New Caney, Texas 1 What was your favorite part of Hawaii? The food. I had chicken katsu from Dukes. 2 What are you looking forward to most on this deployment? I am looking forward to touring ports and doing some COMRELS. 3 What are your goals for this deployment? To get my Air Pin. 4 Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In 10 years I will be retired from the Navy with my degree in animal sciences.

3 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 For many in attendance, this was the first burial at sea they’ve experienced. “I’ve done many burials at cemeteries, but this was the first one at sea for me,” said PACIFIC OCEAN – Sailors and Marines aboard Taylor “Just seeing the process amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) participated in and seeing how the ship gets a burial at sea ceremony on the ship while underway in the involved was pretty awesome.” Pacific Ocean, May 7. “There were a lot Eighty five of players in this burial who participants laid to rest the have never participated in all worked so flawlessly remains of 21 people on the one before, and they came together,” said Young. “I starboard side elevator as together and delivered a superb the ship was approximately am so grateful for the men ceremony,” said Young. “I “We might conduct 1,080 nautical miles and women of USS Boxer, think it was the logistical and administrative support from another burial at sea on southwest of San Diego, marines and sailors, who took Boxer’s religious program specialists and crew that set this our return,” said Young. Boxer’s homeport. the time out of their hectic one apart. Bravo Zulu!” “There were so many “This really raised schedule to execute this Sailors and Marines who are interested in participating Sailors and marines who the bar for burial at seas that solemn ceremony.” in a burial at sea aboard Boxer may have an opportunity in the expressed interest in I have seen,” said Cmdr. Active duty members near future. future support for burial Leroy C. Young, Boxer’s of uniformed services; at sea ceremony.” command chaplain. “I can’t retirees and veterans who According to the express how proud I was to see this burial actually take place were honorably discharged, Navy’s official website, so well and with such limited time for rehearsal.” U.S. civilian marine personnel of the Military Sealift navy.mil, the practice Members of Boxer, 11th Marine Expeditionary Command, and dependent family members of active duty has been around as long Unit (MEU), Combat Logistics Battalion 11 (CLB 11), personnel, retirees, and veterans of the uniformed services are as people have gone and Amphibious Squadron 5 (CPR 5) all participated in all eligible for the Navy burial at sea ceremony. to sea. In earlier times, the ceremony. “This is the deceased’s final desire,” said Young. the body was sewn into “There were so many “To be a part of a burial at sea gives you a sense of honor in a weighted shroud, usually sailcloth. The body was then sent different players and fulfilling their desires. Each service member is called to serve, over the side, usually with an appropriate religious ceremony. teams at work, and they and this is a final extension of their service to our nation.” Hospital Corpsman 1st Many burials at sea took place Class Jeremy Taylor, a native as recently as World War II of Washington and assigned when naval forces operated at to CLB 11, participated in the sea for months at a time. Since ceremony by helping commit World War II, many service to the sea two individuals. members, veterans, and family “I felt a sense of members have chosen to be honor with this opportunity,” buried at sea. said Taylor. “Being a part of the honor guard made me feel like I was a part of something special.”

4 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 For many in attendance, this was the first burial at sea they’ve experienced. “I’ve done many burials at cemeteries, but this was the first one at sea for me,” said PACIFIC OCEAN – Sailors and Marines aboard Taylor “Just seeing the process amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) participated in and seeing how the ship gets a burial at sea ceremony on the ship while underway in the involved was pretty awesome.” Pacific Ocean, May 7. “There were a lot Eighty five of players in this burial who participants laid to rest the have never participated in all worked so flawlessly remains of 21 people on the one before, and they came together,” said Young. “I starboard side elevator as together and delivered a superb the ship was approximately am so grateful for the men ceremony,” said Young. “I “We might conduct 1,080 nautical miles and women of USS Boxer, think it was the logistical and administrative support from another burial at sea on southwest of San Diego, marines and sailors, who took Boxer’s religious program specialists and crew that set this our return,” said Young. Boxer’s homeport. the time out of their hectic one apart. Bravo Zulu!” “There were so many “This really raised schedule to execute this Sailors and Marines who are interested in participating Sailors and marines who the bar for burial at seas that solemn ceremony.” in a burial at sea aboard Boxer may have an opportunity in the expressed interest in I have seen,” said Cmdr. Active duty members near future. future support for burial Leroy C. Young, Boxer’s of uniformed services; at sea ceremony.” command chaplain. “I can’t retirees and veterans who According to the express how proud I was to see this burial actually take place were honorably discharged, Navy’s official website, so well and with such limited time for rehearsal.” U.S. civilian marine personnel of the Military Sealift navy.mil, the practice Members of Boxer, 11th Marine Expeditionary Command, and dependent family members of active duty has been around as long Unit (MEU), Combat Logistics Battalion 11 (CLB 11), personnel, retirees, and veterans of the uniformed services are as people have gone and Amphibious Squadron 5 (CPR 5) all participated in all eligible for the Navy burial at sea ceremony. to sea. In earlier times, the ceremony. “This is the deceased’s final desire,” said Young. the body was sewn into “There were so many “To be a part of a burial at sea gives you a sense of honor in a weighted shroud, usually sailcloth. The body was then sent different players and fulfilling their desires. Each service member is called to serve, over the side, usually with an appropriate religious ceremony. teams at work, and they and this is a final extension of their service to our nation.” Hospital Corpsman 1st Many burials at sea took place Class Jeremy Taylor, a native as recently as World War II of Washington and assigned when naval forces operated at to CLB 11, participated in the sea for months at a time. Since ceremony by helping commit World War II, many service to the sea two individuals. members, veterans, and family “I felt a sense of members have chosen to be honor with this opportunity,” buried at sea. said Taylor. “Being a part of the honor guard made me feel like I was a part of something special.”

5 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 USS

BOXEROPERATIONS

6 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 USS

BOXEROPERATIONS

7 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 Story & layout by MC3 John Luke McGovern

Story & layout by MC# John Luke McGovern

8 8 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 We’ve only had three weeks of “Keep yourself doing something in the deployment so far, and it has still managed to be educational realm,” said Derby. “It also makes exhausting. For one, it’s hard to find excitement for more of a well-rounded Sailor. Not everyone when there’s a disturbing lack of space travel and is meant to spend 20 plus years in the Navy. Stan Lee cameos. For another, there’s no wise- Some people will spend four or six and get out. cracking Spiderman. [Education] will help them move towards that end game if that’s college or a vocational trade. It keeps We do have a lot of dust though. you learning and becoming a better individual.”

Too soon? Having a long-term goal of completing a bachelor’s degree will help that, but, just like But, while the Boxer’s mission in keeping the inappropriately witty banter during chaotic America, and by extension the world, is fight scenes in the movies, learning to have fun comparably as high-stakes as a Marvel movie, where you are can be just as important to long- there are no riddle-spewing, bald-headed oracles term survival. to help you work through the stress of deployment. The only one who can help you is you…. (Side note – those guys are really too with your six infinity stones of resilience; Power, nonchalant to be taking on life or death situations.) Mind, Reality, Soul, Space and Time! Learning this skill holds the key to changing Stay with me here. your reality. Who better to teach about reality than Maleka Lipscomb, Boxer’s Fun Boss? With these six, you can’t just snap your fingers to make six and a half months disappear, Lipscomb’s role in orchestrating karaoke (believe me I’ve tried), but you can endure and nights, video game tournaments, and port visit come out on the other side stronger and more tours is just part of her bigger mission to help capable with no boring origin movie necessary. Sailors try new experiences and enjoy (Sorry, not sorry, Captain Marvel.) the company of others. In order to get that though, you first have to “I think taking the time to do step into the gym to meet Daniel Venegas, Fitboss something that you like is very important and wielder of the Power stone. for your sanity,” said Lipscomb. “If you’re always working and never take the time Venegas is working through his fourth to take part in something that interests deployment now - three as an Aviation you and taking time to hang out with others, your Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) - and between the 16 deployment, your life, won’t be good.” to 18 hour days, he found the gym could help him power through grueling days that never seemed to Learning what interests you can feel like end. hard work when alarms ring throughout the day, each more attention-grabbing than the last. Heck, “You have to maintain your mind and body finding space to just be alone with your thoughts and you have to take care of both,” said Venegas. can even be a chore. “You’re your only doctor, and your best doctor. So, if you can take care of yourself, you don’t need It is for those reasons that the heiress to the anything else.” Space stone and Chief Personnel Specialist Soledad Arcefuentes takes deliberate steps to space herself Taking care of body is easy enough in the from ship life when work is done. gym, but taking care of mind requires putting an effort towards starting a secondary education, says Arcefuentes makes her rack into a sanctuary Mind stone holding Chief Cryptologic Technician where she can be alone after working hours. (Technical) Kyle Derby, the ship’s Educational Service Officer. “I did that purposefully… to just calm my brain,” said Arcefuentes. “Because of the noise The key is to simply get started. going on around, and it is non-stop, you’re never 9 completely in your own element. I believe it’s pull a rabbit out of a hat…. and combat ship-born good to be in your own head.” stress with just five minutes of time.

It’s in those times to space out that “The thing that you can do [to combat reflections can be vital opportunities to finally stress] when you have a little bit of time connect with your own spirit. Spirituality and, available, and everyone gets some time in our case, attaining a Soul stone of resilience available,” said Rich. “Set aside a little bit of time (no cliff-side sacrifices required) requires to constructively shut down.” connectedness to ourselves, according to Lt. Cmdr. Nashaunna Sanders, Rich goes on to say that our sympathetic Boxer’s command chaplain. nervous system, the part of our brain that keep us alert, is activated all hours of the day because “I like to spend a lot of time on personal anything could happen for which we’ll have to be growth during deployment,” said Sanders. ready. This system needs to be reset, which can be done with just five minutes of calm. Sanders adds that deployment may be the best time to do soul work because we are What’s the key to finding this calm? Rich ‘involuntarily removed’ from the distractions of says the key is learning to be present. outside relationships providing rare opportunities to work on a sincere and peaceful relationship “If you could spend time focusing on the with ourselves. here and now – right this very second, you’re not in the future, you’re not in the past,” said “Depending on what’s happening in your Rich. “You’re avoiding the anticipation and life, a lot of times we carry a lot of this invisible the depression, and you can sit quietly baggage, we all have these invisible rules, and wherever you are, close your eyes and be we carry them,” said Sanders. “It’s kind of like present and focused. If you can just do that Pandora’s Box, and nobody opens the box. There for 5 minutes daily, you increase in serotonin, are lessons attached to some of the stuff in the you increase your longevity and you can be box. Sometimes the lesson is that we need to get happier longer.” rid of it, and when we go in and start dealing with some of the stuff in the box, you really find pieces So, more than 200 days of sea time, work of yourself that you were denying or rejecting.” and musters can still seem like the furthest thing from a calming experience, but that’s not in your These painfully necessary epiphanies can control. What you do have control of are the be long-overdue overhauls for a tired psyche. daily opportunities to create your best self – to Spiritual resilience fosters an environment of self- hit new strides in the gym, acquire new levels love and trust through working towards heart-felt of knowledge, shape your nights into lifelong authenticity with those with whom you work and, memories with friends, learn to enjoy peace more importantly, yourself. This is how you build where you are, find true authenticity with yourself, inner strength in the calm. and understand your own nervous system in the process. You just have to make the choice to make But, this can never be achieved without it so. perhaps the most powerful of the stones: Time. Your resilience through this journey across Without time management, there is no the Pacific is the Endgame. power from the benefits of working out, no mind work, no shaping of your reality on the No end-credits scene required. ship through fun events, no space to yourself, and no time to soul-search and earn the calm of discovering your complete self.

Boxer’s resiliency counselor and sorcerer supreme of the Time stone, Kiefer Rich believes there’s even more to it than that. He can also Golden Gators of the week

AZ3 Timothy Mun AIMD/IM-1 Hometown: Centennial, CO Time in the Navy: 2 years. Hobbies: Building gaming PCs, Golfing. Favorite Navy experience: Watching my first Missilex on NSSNS. Goal for time in the Navy: I want to get my college degree. Why I joined the Navy: To explore the world.

HN Kyle Rund Hometown: Middletown, CT CLB-11/HSP/STP Time in the Navy: 2 years, 8 months. Hobbies: I like to play baseball and basketball and do outdoor activities. Favorite Navy experience: Being a part of the Casevac Team and taking care of Marines. Goal for time in the Navy: Become a better leader and become a paramedic. Why I joined the Navy: To get a new start and continue to grow.

MM2 Elijah Welsh ACU-5/DET Charlie

Hometown: Port Orchard, WA Time in the Navy: 4 years. Hobbies: Surfing, playing rugby. Favorite Navy experience: RIMPAC. Goal for time in the Navy: To progress my career as much as possible. Why I joined the Navy: To serve my country.

11 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 STAYING I N T H E G Y M

People go to the gym more often underway than they would with all of the distractions of being at home in port. SAFE Former national championship olympic weightlifter and weightlifting coach MC3 John McGovern explained how being safe in the gym is just as important as being safe anywhere else on Boxer.

“Any kind of free weight exercise becomes much more dangerous. Specifically deadlifts and squats,” said McGovern. “Trying to correlate the movement of your body with the movement of the ship with all the added weight on your back makes it much easier to hurt yourself if you aren’t well adjusted. Going to the gym underway is an excellent way to stay healthy but it is important that you do it safely. Any kind of injury that happens in the gym not only affects your overall fitness progress, but also your ability in the workplace, to be able to do your job.”

DEPLOYMENTStory by MC22019 Dale Hopkins A T W O R K As we start our 2019 deployment, we are beginning to accept the fact that for the better part of the year, we will have to eat, sleep and breathe Boxer. After the first few We are here to get the job done, and get it done safely. Boxer’s #1 safety expert, Lt. Michael Feay gives us some weeks you may already have a scratch or two and maybe significant pointers on how to get through the day in one piece. a head bump here and there. You may be asking yourself “Am I getting out of this deployment in one piece? How did “The first thing I want to talk about as we continue on our path is the heat. If your office has become warmer over these bruises get here? Why does this keep happening?” the last three weeks, try to imagine what the engineering team is experiencing keeping two boilers running. An important way to prepare for the heat is eating well. Getting three good meals a day is key to providing our bodies Fear not, Boxer’s safety experts are here for you. the energy and nutrients it needs to perform and recover. We also get a significant portion of our water from food. On to water, it is important to have access to water while in heat stress areas of the ship such as engineering spaces, laundry, messing, and the flight deck. Along with the electrolytes, potassium, and magnesium that you get from your food, water keeps the body working and cool, and needs to be replenished regularly. Occasional sports drinks can help maintain an electrolyte balance, but should not completely replace your water intake. MONSTER IS NOT A SPORTS DRINK! If you are thirsty, drink water, but also plan ahead to stay hydrated around the clock.

A T H O M E The second topic that will keep us from being successful this deployment is complacency. As we have gained experience, we gain confidence. We have excelled at having supervision in place during our simultaneous, complex While Boxer heads farther away from San Diego every day, the closest thing we have to going “home” at the end of evolutions of the workup cycle. As our proficiency fluctuates, our supervision needs to be appropriate. The missile the day is laying down in our racks and shutting the curtain. So what could possibly hurt us in our own beds? Where upload was a great example by the C5I team. They planned ahead, communicated the plan to everyone involved, people gather, you can expect sickness to follow. executed a walkthrough first then the actual evolution, and debriefed thoroughly to provide lessons learned for next time. Even with smaller scale events, we need to ask ourselves, “What is different this time?” “Is the weather “A lot of injuries that people encountered when we first came to the ship were just basic scrapes and head bumps,” the same?” “Do I have the same people or do I need to make sure that one or two sailors are up-to-speed?” To explained HM3 Miguelandre Moraleta, assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). “Those usually come continue to be successful, we need to take each day one at a time and not fall into the trap of treating it like the day with adapting to life on a ship and not being aware of your surroundings. As far as long term injuries, a lot of it I’ve before. It may work for two days without a negative outcome, but eventually an incident will occur that we will not seen comes from lack of cleanliness. Make sure that cleanliness is paramount. Always wash your hands and yourself be able to stop and it will most likely cause the injury or death of at least one of our sailors or marines. Keep your as much as possible. How I like to think about it is to treat the berthing floor like a “the floor is lava” kind of situation. eyes open and stay engaged. Just don’t put your bare feet or bare skin on the floor in berthing. The heads especially can get pretty nasty over time. That’s the very last place you would want to have your bare feet on. Think even further that if you get whatever is on We are not sure what this deployment has in store for us, but we are ready and we need to continue to lookout for that floor on your bare feet and then climb into your rack, you just got all that nasty stuff in your rack.” one another.”

12 USS BOXER (LHD 4) | BARK OF THE BOXER | 2019 STAYING I N T H E G Y M