The USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker is sponsored by CNA. These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Aug. 20, 2018, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the map reflects the location of the capital ship.
Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:
282
Ships Underway
| Deployed Ships Underway | Non-deployed Ships Underway | Total Ships Underway |
| 39 | 32 | 71 |
Ships Deployed by Fleet
| Fleet Forces | 3rd Fleet | 4th Fleet | 5th Fleet | 6th Fleet | 7th Fleet | Total |
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 19 | 57 | 91 |
In the Western Pacific
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is back on patrol after spending a few weeks in its homeport in Yokosuka, Japan.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) went underway with Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54) and elements of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Aug. 14, according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet statement. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG-69) is also deployed with the strike group.
Milius has been Japan since May. The guided-missile destroyer’s arrival in Japan is the last of a reshuffling of ships designed to move upgraded DDGs to the forward-deployed homeport in Yokosuka, as previously reported by USNI News. Milius is equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system, which provides the ship with improved air defenses, ballistic missile defenses and surface and undersea warfare capabilities.
Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) and dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48) departed Sasebo, Japan, on Aug. 8 for a deployment that marks the second time F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters have deployed at sea aboard Wasp. Wasp and Ashland loaded 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Marines Aug. 15 at Okinawa.
The three-ship Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 13th (MEU) is located north of Borneo. A Marine who was reported missing from USS Essex (LHD-2) while operating in the Sulu Sea has been identified as Cpl. Jonathan Currier and declared deceased, according to a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Currier, a New Hampshire native, was first reported missing on Aug. 9. He was declared deceased by the Marine Corps on Aug. 17 after an extensive search of the Sulu Sea, Mindanao Strait and the Surigao Strait, according to the Pacific Fleet statement.
The Essex ARG left San Diego on July 10 for an expected Western Pacific and Middle East deployment.
The ARG includes Essex, amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD-23) and dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD-47). The ARG deployed with F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211. The deployment is the first for Marine F-35s from the U.S.
Rushmore and elements of the 13th MEU participated with the Indonesian Navy in the 24th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) in Jakarta from Aug. 10 to 17.
San Diego, Calif.
USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), with elements of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 embarked, returned to San Diego this past week. Bonhomme Richard – commissioned Aug. 15, 1998 – is now 20 years old.
In the Eastern Pacific
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) – currently homeported in Bremerton, Wash. – is underway in the Southern California (SOCAL) Operating Areas.
In the Western Atlantic
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is underway off the Georgia and Florida coasts conducting its Tailored Ship’s Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problems (TSTA/FEP). TSTA prepares the ship and crew for full integration into a carrier strike group through a wide range of mission-critical operations.
In addition to these major formations, not shown are thousands of others serving in submarines, individual surface ships, aircraft squadrons, SEALs, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Forces, Coast Guard cutters and more serving throughout the globe.
