USS Anchorage Completes AMW Certifications, Arrives in Pearl Harbor

Courtesy Photo | A Sailor and Marine man the rails as San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) pulls in to Pearl Harbor. Since arriving off of Hawaii's coast, Anchorage has been working with Marines at Kaneohe Bay on joint Navy-Marine amphibious training. (U.S. Navy photo by Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Daniel DeMotts/Released)  

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

03.28.2014

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Lindahl 

Expeditionary Strike Group 3

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23), along with the embarked Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, ASEAN, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), arrived in Pearl Harbor March 28, 2014.

Prior to the transit to Hawaii, Anchorage set off to achieve certifications AMW 2.3B and 2.4B off the coast of Southern California. The certifications are a series of exercises designed to assess an amphibious ship’s ability to recover a wide range of amphibious vehicles.

The certifications included recovering a landing craft utility boat (LCU), Marine amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs) and a simulated emergency recovery of a stranded landing craft, air cushioned (LCAC) as the LCAC simulated complete loss of power while off cushion.

“It is a very challenging and tedious recovery, but like always, Anchorage left nothing to chance and executed it flawlessly,” said Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Ellis, the ship’s Boatswain.

Despite the challenges, the crew of Anchorage completed the certifications before setting course for Pearl Harbor.

“I am proud to say that we have met every certification on our first try,” said Cmdr. Joel Stewart, commanding officer of Anchorage. “It is this crew that does it. They go out there and they make it happen every time.”

• Date Taken: 03.28.2014
• Date Posted: 03.31.2014 15:29
• Story ID: 123349
• Location: PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, US