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SAN DIEGO – Every summer, the United States Naval Academy and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps Universities send their students, known as midshipmen, to submarines, aircraft carriers, and surface ships for professional training. The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) hosted 44 midshipmen from July 21 to August 13, 2025, where the crew provided hands on experience and knowledge that will stay with them throughout their careers as officers in the United States Navy.
Midshipmen come from many paths and backgrounds, some from difficult home lives, others with prior service in another branch, and some with family who escaped communist countries to live in America. Though these future officers come from different walks of life, their paths have all led to the Golden Gator.
Each midshipman was assigned a sponsor to guide them during their time aboard Boxer, showing them what various jobs in the Navy entail and how they function. Each path was organized by the ship’s midshipmen coordinator, Lt. Cmdr. Cody Walker, Boxer’s plan and tactics officer.
“I had experience with midshipmen for my shore duty while I taught at Penn State,” said Walker. “I would send them off to their summer cruises, but I wanted to be on the other side of that this time.”
Visiting Boxer was an opportunity for each midshipman to see how the ship conducts business and to be inspired by a vision of what their future military service might look like. Boxer has both Sailor and Marine officers with many different designators aboard, which provided a broad spectrum of potential career paths for midshipmen to explore.
“Midshipmen have great ideas, but they don’t have a lot of opportunities to try out those ideas and see how they turn out,” said Walker. “So, a lot of their real leadership experience they get is once they show up and they become division officers after they’ve already commissioned.”
Boxer identified challenges for the midshipmen to come up with solutions so they could learn that process as early as possible. While working aboard, midshipmen took departmental walkthroughs and toured ships of other classes on the waterfront. During a short underway, the midshipmen got their first experience of life at sea aboard a landing helicopter dock.
“They saw a crew that was excited to be underway,” said Walker. “Every event we accomplished, everybody was high-fiving each other at the end of it. I think that sort of experience for a midshipman is one in a million, and I think that’s what’s going to drive them in the right direction for their career.”
One of the midshipmen sponsors was Religious Program Specialist 1st Class Anais O’Brien. “It’s been a good experience overall,” said O’Brien. “I have a lot of other command collaterals, but for me to be a sponsor, I’ve helped show what needs to be done when the Midshipmen are in charge of people and how they can better understand how different people interact with each other and the kind of things that some officers forget that junior enlisted sailors have to deal with.”
Sponsors showed the midshipmen what a normal day aboard the ship looks like. They taught them how to navigate their way around ship, understand its culture, and build relationships with crew members in order to develop skills that will help them when they are officers responsible for many enlisted Sailors.
“Just be open and honest,” said O’Brien. “Be able to understand that everybody was on those footprints at one point in time, so everyone goes through different experiences, but by being open with them, they can feel better connected to you, and you can build better camaraderie.”
Each Sailor aboard contributed to the midshipmen’s decision-making process as they pursue careers in the Navy. Working with officers in various warfare areas and specialties will help them make informed choices about their future paths.
One rising junior midshipman from the Naval Academy, Quang Le, chose his path after his parents escaped communism.
“My parents were immigrants from Vietnam, and they’ve been very thankful for the United States,” said Le. “I believe that this experience of growing up and feeling very thankful for the United States, for giving them that opportunity to have a voice, to have an escape from their system that they grew up with, was what primarily inspired me to be in the military and eventually join the Navy.”
Le visited the Combat Information Center many times while underway and observed the systems available for communication, navigation, and situational awareness.
“I felt that going underway was very interesting,” said Le. “I also thought that it was very important just to see the sun after working hard all day.”
After experiencing different jobs around the ship, Le saw how Sailors worked together to keep the ship running and noted how it created a sense of equality.
“I feel like in many fields, including the Navy or the military, you can still find a place where you are indeed happy. I think that’s what’s important, being in the military or Naval Academy, everybody, no matter what your background is, everybody is equal.”
Tanner Bryant, another midshipman aboard Boxer, served as an enlisted Marine for three years before attending the Naval Academy to become an officer.
“It’s been a big difference in the way people focus on certain things,” said Bryant. “The platoon I was in was a highly physically motivated platoon. We were all focused on the physical mission, and then coming to the Navy, there’s definitely a bigger focus on job efficiency.”
Things may be less physically demanding for Bryant, but seeing the many jobs Sailors perform on Boxer and the long hours they work gave him a new perspective.
Bryant had served briefly on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), so he has an understanding of life as both a Marine and a Sailor aboard a ship. Assimilating to the cultures of different branches isn’t always easy, but these future officers are learning to work within both the Navy and Marine Corps.
“They’re different depending on the job you do,” said Bryant. “But at the end of the day everybody has the same goal of wanting to go home.”
Some midshipmen, like Jaden Snow, have overcome significant personal challenges to reach the Academy. Snow was adopted after being born to parents struggling with drug addiction, which left him very sick during his early years.
“The doctors told me I had asthma, so the possibilities of me playing sports or anything like that was kind of up in the air,” said Snow. “This caused a lot of resentment towards my parents, which led to other behavioral stuff growing up, so for a long time I was always proving to myself that I was capable of doing anything.”
Snow chose the Naval Academy after narrowing his options to either joining the Academy or earning a scholarship. With several mentors from military backgrounds, he said it was a “no-brainer” to join the Navy.
“I just thank my mom who adopted me for doing what she did,” said Snow. “She took me out of a bad situation, and she really set me on a path to be here. I tell people if it wasn’t for her and for God, I wouldn’t be here at the Academy. I’d probably be in a worse situation. Instead, I’m here and doing my absolute best, and serving my country as she did in her time, and now both of my biological parents have been clean and sober for 10 plus years now.”
Being on Boxer gave Snow a better understanding of enlisted Sailors, many his age or older, and insight into how to motivate and lead them. “The Boxer has been a great opportunity,” said Snow.
No matter their backgrounds or differences, every Sailor’s path is to serve with the core values of honor, courage, and commitment. The same is true for these midshipmen, who will carry those values throughout their careers. Boxer was honored to host them and provide a glimpse into their future.
Boxer is homeported in San Diego. Boxer’s crew is made up of approximately 1,200 officers and enlisted personnel and can accommodate up to 1,800 Marines.
For more news from USS Boxer, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at https://www.facebook.com/USSBOXER, https://www.instagram.com/ussboxer/
or visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/lhd4.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.07.2025 20:54 |
| Story ID: | 547462 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 209 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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