The night was filled with hard-hitting, exciting bouts that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.

As the boxers stepped out of the smoke-filled tunnel at the Warfield Gymnasium, you could see the determination in their eyes, fueled by the desire to make their service and team members proud.

The moment the first-round bell rang of the 2010 Armed Forces Boxing Championship finals, the excitement of the standing-room-only crowd was high.

Friday, April 23, was the finals night for the championship, held at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Port Hueneme. All during the week, boxers from the four armed services had been training and fighting in preliminary bouts, competing for the chance to advance to finals night.

Although the Army took the gold medal, their team members were not the only ones who performed impressively. Navy boxer BNSN Justin “Diamond Hands” Diaz earned his second individual gold medal Friday night and his place to represent the United States Armed Forces in the 2010 CISM World Military Boxing Championship.

“When I go into a match I pay attention to my opponent,” Diaz noted. “I see what he has and how he acts. If they come out with power and speed, I match and counter.”
 
While the Army team took home the gold medal with an overall score of 15 points, the Marines took the silver with seven points, the Navy earned five points, and the Air Force received zero points.

The championships were coordinated by NBVC’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department. Athletics Director Kent Blankenship led a dedicated planning team, whose efforts paid off with an impressive turnout Friday night of more than 900 spectators.

Diaz and the other gold medalists will move on to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to compete in the CISM 53rd World Military Boxing Championship, scheduled for Oct. 8-17. They will all participate in a special training camp Sept. 23 through Oct. 7 at Camp Lejeune to prepare for CISM.

The U.S. team will face 22 other countries that are expected to send their boxers to the competition.

The Armed Forces Championships are conducted under the auspices of the Armed Forces Sports Council, which is responsible to the senior military advisor for all matters pertaining to the organization and administration of Armed Forces participation in national and international sports competitions. The purpose of this program is to promote understanding, goodwill and competition among the Armed Services through interservice sports competition and to provide the means of selecting teams and individuals to represent the Armed Forces in national and international competition.

Armed Forces sports competitions involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard (which combines with Navy except for rugby) are conducted for men and women in the sports of basketball, wrestling, bowling, marathon, volleyball, softball, cross country, golf, triathlon, rugby, boxing and soccer.

Participants for each sport are selected at highly competitive training programs and trial camps by each of the respective services. At the conclusion of the Armed Forces competitions, the best players are selected to represent the U.S. at international military sports competitions hosted worldwide or at U.S. national championships.

Seabees, Sailors and family members from Naval Base Ventura County were paid a visit by Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, vice chief of naval operations, April 19 and 20.

The main purpose of his visit was to assess and discuss quality of life and Family Readiness programs at the base and in the Southwest Region.

During his visit Greenert toured both the Port Hueneme and Point Mugu bases, talked to ombudsman from various commands and had an all hands call in the Port Hueneme theater.

During the all hands call he emphasized that top flag officers in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been very impressed with the naval construction and naval aviation support to those regions.

"I have deep respect for what you do," he said to the standing room only crowd.

Greenert said that he wants to ensure that as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq draw down that Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) programs do not draw down as well.

He talked about a new planned-modular-training program that will teach and refresh Sailors about the many support programs available to them and to their families. The program is set to begin in August and be fully implemented in the Navy by December. From the time the Sailor enters the Navy at their Military Entrance and Processing station throughout each milestone in their career, Sailors will receive formal training about the programs available to them and their families.

After talking about Family Readiness and FFSC programs he opened the floor up for questions.

Questions during the all hands call focused on existing FFSC programs with some questions regarding to the Perform to Serve program, new uniforms and current medical programs and benefits.

Greenert concluded the all hands call by reminding everyone that April is Sexual Assault Prevention month. He stated that everyone needs to display the courage to stop a situation that is conductive to sexual assault.

"We must step in, be intrusive and be a good shipmate," he said.

Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert visited Naval Base Ventura County April 19-20 to learn about the base's family readiness programs from the people who use them - the Sailors and their families.

The admiral has toured several naval bases recently, focusing on the family support programs and encouraging awareness among the Sailors of the available support. In doing so Greenert has been impressed with the quantity and quality of the family support services.

"I expected to find between three to five programs at each support center," he said. "Instead I was impressed by the extensive range of programs the Fleet and Family Support Centers (FFSCs) provide, the spectrum of support available and the ability of the FFSCs to adapt to a rotational, expeditionary culture."

Greenert also noted the dedication and skill set exhibited by the FFSC counselors.

At NBVC Greenert's lesson began shortly after he arrived on April 19 with an hour and a half meeting with more than 150 command ombudsmen, Family Readiness Group leaders and command leadership. The focus of the evening's discussion was how to improve and increase communication to family members so that they know about and utilize the many support services available to them.

Greenert was very impressed with the people who support the families at NBVC, calling it one of the "most squared-away group we've run across" during his family readiness tours.

"They are articulate, direct and know their programs," he said. "It is encouraging to know the military and the families have that kind of readiness group supporting them."

The next day began with an all hands call attended by more than 800 NBVC Sailors. A quick briefing on the current status of the Navy and family readiness programs was followed by almost an hour long question and answer session. Topics discussed ranged from child care, uniforms and PT, to over-manning, release authority and Reserve issues.

After the all hands, Greenert toured the Naval Mobile Processing Center at Port Hueneme and then held a roundtable discussion with FFSC counselors, command individual augmentee coordinators and school liaisons.

Greenert emphasized that family readiness is important in order for the service member and their unit to succeed.

"A successful unit has a good foundation at their homeport, comprised of FFSC and ombudsmen," he said. "If you look deeply at any unit that has failures, you will find a failure of the family base—and by failure I mean not prepared, poor morale.

"The CNO and I share the responsibility to enable the unit commanders with the ability to assess their family readiness, to keep their troops informed, so they can be prepared and resilient to the dynamics of the Navy culture," he added.

PORT HUENEME, Calif. -- Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center (NFELC) awarded PC Mechanical, Inc., Santa Maria, Calif., a $26,184,518 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract June 22 for the overhaul, preventive maintenance, and services of civil engineer support equipment (CESE).

"NFELC manages civil engineer support equipment that supports a diverse group of expeditionary units," said Capt. Jim Worcester, NFELC commanding officer. "This contract will be the primary vehicle to execute major equipment overhaul and repair to ensure we maintain the highest readiness posture to complete worldwide mission requirements."

This contract supports the CESE Life Extension Program to reset the force after exhaustive use in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of operation. This includes CESE under the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and Naval Facilities Engineering Command umbrella which supports expeditionary forces, mobile utilities equipment, and the Naval Logistics Integration initiative with the U.S. Marine Corps.

CESE encompasses automotive vehicles, motorized and non-motorized construction equipment, material/weight handling equipment, international standard organization shipping containers, mineral products plant facilities, and mobile utilities equipment. This equipment supports Navy expeditionary force missions in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Horn of Africa, Southwest Asia, forward-deployed sites in Europe, Okinawa, Japan, Guam, Korea, and forces in the Continental U.S. engaged in mission and training support.

Repair services will be performed at the contractor's facility, except when servicing needs to be accomplished immediately where the equipment is located, or when the equipment cannot be moved.

This contract contains a base year and four option years, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of the contract to $139,495,275. The contract is expected to be completed by June 2014.

For more news from Naval Facilities Engineering Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navfachq/.