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NORFOLK, Va. – Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, visited the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Nov. 7, to tour the ship and meet with Iwo Jima’s junior surface warfare officers.
Rear Adm. Alexis Walker, a career surface warfare officer, discussed important topics with the ship’s junior officers and highlighted several focus-areas on how to be effective Navy warfighters.
"Warfighting, warfighting, warfighting," said Walker. "I say that because I spent a 30-year career posturing and thinking about the things you are now doing. We spent our whole careers planning, training, and developing this and never really had a Red Sea. You have got to be really focused on your fighting efficacy throughout this."
As Iwo Jima prepares the ship for sea, there are many factors at play that can pull Sailors in multiple directions. Walker gave the junior officers advice on work-life balance and being mentally present.
"I think you should try for work-life focus," said Walker. "When you are here, you are focused and doing everything that you can to be as efficient and as effective as you can be while you are here, so that when you go home, you can focus there and maintain and remind the people that you care about that they are the reason that you get up in the morning and leave them every day and then leave them for months at a time."
With a strong focus on ship readiness in preparing for the next high-end fight, Walker discussed the importance of leading Sailors and the role it plays in the grander scheme.
"Help your Sailors understand their why," said Walker. "When you ask your Sailors their why, most of them are going to default to why they joined the Navy. But do they understand their why in terms of how they fit into the broader efforts that we are trying to do.”
In addition to Sailors understanding their why, he stressed the importance of each Sailor understanding how they are a crucial piece to the overall puzzle.
“Everybody at this command has raised their right hand, sworn an oath to support and defend up to their lives in that effort, they should understand why.” Said walker. “ How they fit not just in the specific job that they are doing, but how that ties into the CNO's strategy which ties into national military strategy, national defense strategy, national security strategy, and how you're not just a CS, or MM, or DC-man, you are an instrument of national power.”
Amphibious assault ships like USS Iwo Jima—homeported at Naval Station Norfolk—project power and maintain presence by serving as the flagship of the Amphibious Readiness Group and Expeditionary Strike Group at sea.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2024 21:01 |
| Story ID: | 485116 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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