ON THE USS BOXER IN THE ARABIAN GULF, 9 April 2003 — As the world’s media attention focuses solely on the war in Baghdad, less attention has been given to the thousands of US military support units sustaining the combat operations.
Few know of the USS Boxer’s support role, for example, in the Jessica Lynch rescue operation, or the “Blue-Green’s” (the Navy and Marine’s) marriage in “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old army supply clerk, was freed last week by US Special Forces after 10 days of captivity in an Iraqi hospital. Military authorities have called the raid by US forces the most successful rescue operation since World War II.
“The day that Jessica Lynch was rescued was a challenging day,” said Capt. Thomas Culora, the Boxer’s executive officer. “It was our vertical replenishment day, and we were delivered a supply of 270 palettes, all of which were critical to the crew and aircraft.
“It was a busy schedule for the folks on the flight deck to move cargo, strategically locate airplanes and prepare the flight deck for the (Jessica Lynch) launch.”
“Whenever we do wave launches it’s a busy day and all the aircraft need to be spotted on deck in the right places. It needs a lot of coordination between the Blue and the Green,” said Capt. Thomas Crowley, the ship’s commanding officer.
On the day of the rescue operation, Capt. Crowley said the “evolution” was supposed to start at 8 a.m., but didn’t begin until 11 a.m., due to the delay of a supply ship. “We had to be done by 2 p.m. in order to support the launch and recovery mission.”
“It’s a very large event (involving multiple aircraft), which normally takes up to six hours to accomplish,” said Capt. Crowley. He said his crew scrambled to get all the material off the deck in order to free up the spots for the launch of the aircraft that were involved in the mission.
According to the ship’s captain, the day was an extremely difficult balancing act in terms of coordinating dissimilar events and due to timing restraints and schedules.
Many would view it as a real nail-biting episode, but the captain simply said: “There were a couple of us watching the clock fairly carefully, but most of the folks involved (on deck) were just focused on what they needed to do. It wasn’t widely known, for obvious reasons.”
He was equally taciturn when describing the mission: “They went ashore, finalized their mission briefing, picked up the various teams involved in the mission, and then executed it.”
“Our piece in this was relatively small, there were lots of other players and it was a busy day for all concerned,” he said. “I just had to make sure they had the aircraft.”
His helicopters did not return following the rescue operation, he said. “When they finished, they remained on the beach for crew rest reasons and came back the next day.”
He said he wasn’t sure if all the Boxer’s CH-53s and CH-46s (transportation helicopters) were used in the Lynch rescue mission, adding it was “about as ‘joint’ as I’ve seen,” due to the participation of all four military branches in the mission.
Capt. Crowley views the mission “as a good metaphor” for the way the Blue-Green teamwork worked together to help make the mission a success.
“It also shows what tremendous respect Col. Knoll had for this ship’s ability to execute this vert-rep support and his mission. He could have asked us to call it off and just focus on the rescue mission,” said Capt. Crowley. The colonel and his fellow aviators flew the Boxer’s helicopters to pick up the multi-service forces used in the mission.
The captain acknowledged that one helicopter was almost lost, due to the fact that it snagged an antenna going in. He said it was dangerous for two reasons: “It can either throw the helicopter off balance and cause you to lose control of the aircraft, or it can get caught in the rotor blades. The gash was in one of the struts of the wheels,” he said. The wire snapped before causing the helicopter to crash.
“As a helicopter pilot I was very worried about them, said Capt. Culora. There was definite risk involved. My job was to be there and to keep the routine ‘routine.’ The launch was professional and uneventful.” He called the rescue operation one of the “high points” of this deployment with the Blue-Green team. “It was a non-traditional use of aviation in a non-traditional deployment.”
“These types of operations are as much about our values and our interests as they are about the individuals. Our willingness to commit these resources, with some obvious risk, in order to save the life of one person, is a statement about our whole mission,” said Capt. Crowley. “We’re all part of a great big team.”
“The working relationship on board the Boxer between the Marines and the Navy is the best that I have ever experienced,” Col. Knoll said during a farewell dinner hosted by the ship’s captain and company officers on Saturday prior to the Marine’s departure to shore.
The relationship between the Boxer crewmembers and the embarked Marines started just five days prior to deployment from San Diego. “There was some competition in the weight room, for PT gear and the chow lines, but we developed into a ‘one team, one fight’ relationship,” said Lt. Jerry Boyd, the administration officer for the ship. The Marines on board represented two major parts — a ground component and an air component.
The ship left six months earlier than scheduled. Normally this time is used for training and integration of the many elements that comprise the Boxer’s mission.
“We’ve been supporting the Marines every day since the war began. We’ll be here as long as they need us,” said the captain.
