The sixth USS Boxer (LHD-4) is a of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She is the sixth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for a British ship captured by the Americans

Capture of HMS Boxer

The capture of HMS Boxer in 1813 was a naval battle of the War of 1812, in which the United States Navy brig USS Enterprise defeated the Royal Navy brig HMS Boxer. The ship was sold at auction and continued for at least a decade as a merchantman...

 during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Boxer was constructed at Ingalls Shipbuilding

Ingalls Shipbuilding

Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...

, Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...

, launched 13 August 1993, and commissioned 11 February 1995. She immediately left for San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, and although she was designed to fit the Canal

Panamax

Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...

, her bridge wing

Bridge wing

A bridge wing is a narrow walkway extending outward from both sides of a pilothouse to the full width of a ship. Officers use bridge wings when docking or maneuvering in locks and narrow waterways. Many of them are equipped with a control console allowing the rudder and engines to be controlled...

 and other smaller components were sheared off in the transit.

After minor repairs and system checkout, Boxer deployed to the Western Pacific 24 March 1997 to 24 September 1997, along with and , and visited many foreign ports of call. Boxer also participated in RIMPAC

RIMPAC

RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...

 the following year, then on 5 December 1998 deployed again to the Western Pacific.

Boxer deployed again to the Western Pacific, Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 and Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 on 14 March 2001 in support of Operation Northern Watch

Operation Northern Watch

Operation Northern Watch, the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a US European Command Combined Task Force charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq...

. She visited Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Jebel Ali

Jebel Ali

Jebel Ali is a port town, located 35 kilometres southwest of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates . The village has a thriving expatriate community with over 300 residents. The area is also home to "5,500 companies from 120 countries"....

, Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

, and Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, returning to the United States on 14 September 2001, just three days after the attacks of 11 September 2001

September 11, 2001 attacks

The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

.

In 2003, as a result of the impending war and need for troops in Iraq, Boxer found herself deploying yet again, this time six months ahead of schedule. This was a six month deployment in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

. She deployed with six other ships from San Diego

Naval Station San Diego

Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...

, CA on 17 January 2003: , , , , and .

She returned to the United States on 26 July 2003.

Also in 2003 she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award

Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award

The Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award is presented annually by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations to one ship in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and one in the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 for the Pacific Fleet.

In another early deployment to become known as a surge deployment, Boxer steamed alone from San Diego on 14 January 2004 to support on the ongoing rebuilding efforts in Iraq, dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom II. She delivered equipment and supplies to Kuwaiti Naval Base

Kuwaiti Navy

The Kuwaiti navy, or Kuwait Naval Force , is the sea-based component of the Military of Kuwait. The headquarters and sole naval base is Ras al-Qulayah Naval Base, located in the south of Kuwait, approximately 35 miles south of Kuwait City...

 in the northern Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 for the continuing support of the post-war rebuilding of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. She returned home on 29 April 2004.

The USS Boxer was deployed with the 15th MEU from its San Diego port on 13 September 2006. It arrived to Iraq in November and returned to dock in San Diego on 31 May 2007.

From 20 April 2008 to 26 June 2008, Boxer conducted a humanitarian mission in Central and South America.

Anti-Piracy Task Force

The Boxer is designated as the flagship of Combined Task Force 151

Combined Task Force 151

Combined Task Force 151 or CTF-151 or Combined Task Force One Five One is an international naval task force, set up in response to piracy attacks in shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia...

, the international anti-piracy task force pursuing pirates off the coast of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

.

On 10 April 2009, the USS Boxer was en route to assist USS Bainbridge

USS Bainbridge (DDG-96)

USS Bainbridge is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to carry that name, and the 46th destroyer of a planned 62-ship class...

 and the USS Halyburton

USS Halyburton (FFG-40)

USS Halyburton , an , is a ship of the United States Navy named for Pharmacist's Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton, Jr....

 in negotiating the release of Richard Phillips, captain of U.S. flagged container ship

Container ship

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

 MV Maersk Alabama

MV Maersk Alabama

MV Maersk Alabama is a container ship owned by Maersk Line Limited and operated by Waterman Steamship Corporation....

 who was held hostage by Somali pirates 300 miles off the Horn of Africa. On 12 April 2009 Captain Phillips was freed during a US Navy assault. Three of the Somali pirates were killed, and one was captured. Captain Phillips was transported to the USS Boxer for medical examination and rest.
Around 1 May 2009, the USS Boxer assisted around 200 members of the German special operations unit GSG-9 get close to the hijacked German container ship Hansa Stavanger. During the last phase of the operation President Barack Obama's security advisor James Jones withheld final approval for the operation out of concern for the safety of the 25 sailors aboard the vessel. This led to the decision by the German department of defense and the German department of the interior to abort the planned attack on the freighter for now and the GSG-9 unit, which is under the command of the German secretary of the interior, returned to their base of operations at the airport of Mombassa, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. It is rumored that the German department of defense influence and contacts to James Jones led to the U.S. decision to withdraw from the scene.

The ship returned to San Diego on August 1, 2009. During its transit of the Pacific 69 of the sailors and Marines aboard the ship contracted Swine influenza, forcing the cancellation of a planned "Tiger Cruise" from Hawaii to meet the ships for several hundred relatives and friends.

The ship, with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit

13th Marine Expeditionary Unit

The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of a command element, a reinforced...

, departed San Diego 22 February 2011 for a seven-month deployment in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Accompanying the ship on the deployment were the USS Green Bay (LPD-20)

USS Green Bay (LPD-20)

USS Green Bay is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. She is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city and bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin...

 and USS Comstock (LSD-45)

USS Comstock (LSD-45)

USS Comstock is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Comstock Lode in Nevada...

.

External links

• USS Boxer homepage
• Maritimequest USS Boxer LHD-4 Photo Gallery
• A Day on a US Warship USS Boxer participated in Malabar 2006 - the eighth, in a series of naval war games involving the forces of the United States and India, that had its genesis in 1994.
• USS Boxer Veterans Association
• USS Boxer history at U.S. Carriers
• U.S. Navy detains, releases six suspected pirates, CNN.com