Amphibious Assault Ship
LHD 4 - USS Boxer
Type, Class:		Amphibious Assault Ship (Multi Purpose) - LHD; Wasp - class planned and built as LHD 4
Builder:		Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: October 3, 1988 Laid down: April 18, 1991 Launched: August 13, 1993 Commissioned: February 11, 1995 ACTIVE / in service (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		San Diego, California
Namesake:		traditionally, see history below
Ship's Motto:		HONOR - COURAGE - STRENGTH
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Wasp class Amphibious Assault Ship - LHD
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San Diego, California - September 2011 San Diego, California - September 2011 Pacific Ocean - September 2011 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - September 2011 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - September 2011 Pacific Ocean - September 2011 Indian Ocean - August 2011 Indian Ocean - August 2011 Indian Ocean - August 2011 Indian Ocean - August 2011 Indian Ocean - August 2011 Gulf of Aden - June 2011 Gulf of Aden - June 2011 Gulf of Aden - June 2011 Gulf of Aden - June 2011 Gulf of Aden - May 2011 Arabian Sea - April 2011 Arabian Sea - April 2011 Arabian Sea - April 2011 Arabian Sea - April 2011 Arabian Sea - April 2011 Indian Ocean - March 2011 CH-53E Sea Stallions (HMM-163) - Indian Ocean - March 2011 Indian Ocean - March 2011 Indian Ocean - March 2011 South China Sea - March 2011 South China Sea - March 2011 Pacific Ocean - March 2011 Pacific Ocean - March 2011 Pacific Ocean - March 2011 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - March 2011 Pacific Ocean - February 2011 Pacific Ocean - February 2011 San Diego, California - February 2011 Pacific Ocean - December 2010 Pacific Ocean - December 2010 Pacific Ocean - December 2010 Pacific Ocean - December 2010 Pacific Ocean - December 2010 Off California - November 2010 Pacific Ocean - November 2010 Pacific Ocean - November 2010 Pacific Ocean - November 2010 San Diego, California - November 2010 San Diego, California - June 2010 San Diego, California - April 2010 San Diego, California - April 2010 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 San Diego, California - September 2009 San Diego, California - September 2009 Indian Ocean - April 2009 Indian Ocean - April 2009 Guam - February 2009 Gulf of Aden - April 2009 Gulf of Aden - April 2009 Gulf of Aden - March 2009 Pacific Ocean - December 2008 Pacific Ocean - November 2008 AV-8B Harrier II (HMM-163/REIN) - Pacific Ocean - October 2008 San Diego, California - October 2008 Pacific Ocean - October 2008 San Diego, California - October 2008 RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile live firing exercise - September 2008 San Diego, California - April 2008 Pacific Ocean - March 2008 San Diego, California - May 2007 North Arabian Sea - March 2007 January 2007 Persian Gulf - December 2006 Persian Gulf - November 2006 Arabian Sea - November 2006 Arabian Sea - November 2006 Indian Ocean - October 2006 San Diego, California - September 2006 San Diego, California - September 2006 Pacific Ocean - July 2006 Pacific Ocean - July 2006 Pacific Ocean - October 2005 San Francisco, California - October 2005 San Diego, California - September 2005 Pacific Ocean - September 2005 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - September 2005 Pacific Ocean - August 2005 Pacific Ocean - August 2005 Shoalwater Bay, Australia - June 2005 Shoalwater Bay, Australia - June 2005 Shoalwater Bay, Australia - June 2005 Shoalwater Bay, Australia - June 2005 Pacific Ocean - May 2005 Pacific Ocean - May 2005 Sasebo, Japan - May 2005 San Diego, California - April 2005 San Diego, California - June 2004 San Diego, California - April 2004 San Diego, California - April 2004 Arabian Gulf - February 2004 North Island, California - January 2004 San Diego, California - July 2003 San Diego, California - July 2003 San Diego, California - July 2003 Operation Enduring Freedom - February 2003 Pacific Ocean - January 2003 San Diego, California - January 2003 San Diego, California - January 2003 underway - September 2001 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2000 Pacific Ocean - December 1998 Pacific Ocean - December 1998 off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - August 1998 underway - January 1998 Pascagoula, Mississippi - December 1994 Pascagoula, Mississippi - October 1993
Namesake & History:
The sixth ship to carry the name BOXER would be the fourth ship of the Wasp class multi-purpose amphibious assault ship (LHD). Fabrication work for LHD 4 began at Litton-Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss. July 9, 1990. The ship’s keel was authenticated April 8, `99` and the ship was launched Aug. 13, 1993. The ship was officially christened the USS Boxer (LHD 4) Aug. 28, 1993. After post-launch outfitting and testing, Ingalls delivered the ship to the U.S. Navy Nov. 21, 1994. Boxer began its service to the Navy as its fourth LHD Feb. 11, 1995 almost four years after its construction began. The First Boxer The first Boxer in American history was actually Her Majesty’s British Ship (HMBS) Boxer, a Brig of 14 guns with a keel measuring 98 feet in length and just over 28 feet in width. Commanded by Captain Blyth, HMBS Boxer was sailing off the coast of Portland, Maine Sep. 5, 1813 when she was met by USS Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant William Burrows. The fight that ensued was heroic for both ships, and in the end Boxer’s crew surrendered her to U.S. forces. In January 1815, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry endeavored to build a squadron of four ships to aid fighting in the Mediterranean resulting from the War of 1812. The newly refurbished HMBS Boxer – renamed USS Boxer – would be one of these ships. The USS Boxer was launched May 17, 1815 with a new array of fourteen 32-pound cannons and two long 9-pound cannons. She was first commanded by Lieutenant John Porter who sailed her to the Mediterranean to join Commodore Perry’s squadron. The Second Boxer The second Boxer was the first USS Boxer built from the keel up. Constructed as a schooner, the second Boxer – sister ship to the fourth Enterprise – was launched Nov. 22, 1831 at the Boston Navy yard. The ship was 99 feet long, 23 feet wide, had a battery of 10 guns and cost the Navy $30,697 to build. The USS Boxer served the Navy for 17 years, sailing the seas of the world until decommissioning in 1848. The Third Boxer The third Boxer was an English-built iron “side-wheeled” steamer and was originally known as the Tristam Shanty. It measured 222 feet in length and 23 feet in width. The Tristam Shanty was used by the Confederate military to run blockades the U.S. had established during the Civil War. However, she was captured by the USS Kansas May 15, 1864, then purchased by the Navy from the Boston Prize Court and commissioned into service as the USS Boxer Aug. 12, 1864. The Fourth Boxer The fourth Boxer was a training brigantine launched Oct. 11, 1904 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, sponsored by Miss Helen Drury. The ship was commissioned May 11, 1905 with Lieutenant Hillary H. Royall in command. Until Oct. 20, 1912 Boxer served as a training vessel at Naval Training Station, Newport, R.I. Boxer then shifted to the U.S. Naval Academy where she remained until June 25, 1914 when she returned to Newport. Boxer continued in service at Newport until she transferred to the Department of the Interior May 14, 1920. The Fifth Boxer USS Boxer (CV 21), a Ticonderoga/Essex-class Light Aircraft Carrier was the fifth American warship to carry the name Boxer. CV 21 was first laid down by Newport News Shipyards Sept. 13, 1943, and was launched Dec. 14, 1944 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. The ship was commissioned April 16, 1945, with Captain D. F. Smith as her first commanding officer. Completed too late to take part in World War II, Boxer joined the Pacific Fleet at San Diego in August, 1945.
USS Boxer (LHD 4):
The sixth USS Boxer (LHD-4) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for a British ship captured by the Americans during the War of 1812. Boxer was constructed at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, launched 13 August 1993, and commissioned 11 February 1995. She immediately left for San Diego, California via the Panama Canal, and although she was designed to fit the Canal, her bridge wing 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 Ogden and Fort Fisher, and visited many foreign ports of call. Boxer also participated in RIMPAC the following year, then on 5 December 1998 deployed again to the Western Pacific. Boxer deployed again to the Western Pacific, Persian Gulf and Red Sea on 14 March 2001 in support of Operation Northern Watch. She visited Singapore, Thailand, Guam, Jebel Ali, Bahrain, and Jordan, returning to the United States on 14 September 2001, just three days after the attacks of 11 September 2001. 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. She deployed with six other ships from San Diego, CA on 17 January 2003: USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Anchorage, USS Cleveland, USS Comstock, USS Dubuque and USS Pearl Harbor. She returned to the United States on 26 July 2003. Also in 2003 she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award 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 in the northern Persian Gulf for the continuing support of the post-war rebuilding of Iraq. 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, the international anti-piracy task force pursuing pirates off the coast of Somalia. On 10 April 2009, the USS Boxer was en route to assist USS Bainbridge and the USS Halyburton in negotiating the release of Richard Phillips, captain of U.S. flagged container ship MV Maersk Alabama 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. 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, 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) and USS Comstock (LSD-45). source: wikipedia
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