Tag Archives: Amphibious Ready Group

Wasp ARG, 22nd MEU Return Home After Fighting Islamic State In Libya; USS Wasp Prepares For Move To Japan

Wasp ARG, 22nd MEU Return Home After Fighting Islamic State In Libya; USS Wasp Prepares For Move To Japan

An AV-8B Harrier, from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on Dec. 5, 2016. The 22nd MEU, embarked on Wasp, is conducting precision air strikes in support of the Libyan Government aligned forces against Daesh targets in Sirte, Libya, as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning. US Navy photo.

An AV-8B Harrier, from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on Dec. 5, 2016. The 22nd MEU, embarked on Wasp, is conducting precision air strikes in support of the Libyan Government aligned forces against Islamic State targets in Sirte, Libya, as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning. US Navy photo.

The Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have returned home from a six-month deployment that included conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya and supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Read More

Makin Island ARG Joins Wasp ARG, Eisenhower CSG In U.S. 5th Fleet

Makin Island ARG Joins Wasp ARG, Eisenhower CSG In U.S. 5th Fleet

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) underway in the western Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2016. The Makin Island ARG is comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), and is deployed with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. US Navy photo.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) underway in the western Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2016. The Makin Island ARG is comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), and is deployed with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. US Navy photo.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit passed from U.S. 7th Fleet to U.S. 5th Fleet today, putting all three of the Navy’s deployed battle groups in the Middle East. Read More

PACFLT’s Swift: Amphib USS Wasp Will Deploy With Surface Action Group in 2017

PACFLT’s Swift: Amphib USS Wasp Will Deploy With Surface Action Group in 2017

USS Wasp (LHD-1) departs Souda Bay, Greece, on Nov. 1, 2016. US Navy Photo

USS Wasp (LHD-1) departs Souda Bay, Greece, on Nov. 1, 2016. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — When amphibious warship USS Wasp (LHD-1) deploys the first time from its new homeport in Japan in late 2017, it’ll ship out with some extras: a squadron of Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters, three guided-missile destroyers, a Marine general and a Navy admiral. Read More

Marines Say Future High-End Pacific Fight Will Require Larger Force; CSBA Agrees In Preview To Future Fleet Architecture

Marines Say Future High-End Pacific Fight Will Require Larger Force; CSBA Agrees In Preview To Future Fleet Architecture

MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft return after a long-range raid from Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa as part of Blue Chromite 2017, Nov. 4, 2016. The Marines honed their ability to project forces from afar by executing a long-range raid over 1,000 miles via MV-22B Osprey to include an aerial refueling by KC-130J Super Hercules. Blue Chromite is a U.S.-only exercise which strengthens the Navy-Marine Corps expeditionary, amphibious rapid-response capabilities based in Okinawa and the greater Indo-Asia-Pacific region. US Marine Corps photo.

MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft return after a long-range raid from Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa as part of Blue Chromite 2017, Nov. 4, 2016. The Marines honed their ability to project forces from afar by executing a long-range raid over 1,000 miles via MV-22B Osprey to include an aerial refueling by KC-130J Super Hercules. Blue Chromite is a U.S.-only exercise which strengthens the Navy-Marine Corps expeditionary, amphibious rapid-response capabilities based in Okinawa and the greater Indo-Asia-Pacific region. US Marine Corps photo.

The Marine Corps in recent years has grappled with how to remain a “fight-tonight” force without enough ships to take Marines where they need to go – but a Navy effort to redesign its future fleet and an incoming administration dedicated to growing the Navy may bode well for solving this long-standing problem.

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Bonhomme Richard ESG, 31st MEU Sets Out for Fall Deployment

Bonhomme Richard ESG, 31st MEU Sets Out for Fall Deployment

A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) transits to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) on Aug. 18, 2016. US Navy Photo

A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) transits to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) on Aug. 18, 2016. US Navy Photo

The three-ship Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit departed on Sunday for a fall deployment, the service announced on Monday. Read More

Underway on USS America

Underway on USS America

The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts flight operations while underway to Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. US Navy photo.

The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts flight operations while underway to Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. US Navy photo.

ABOARD USS AMERICA — The new amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) has raised more than a few questions in its short life, with sailors and Marines alike wondering what it will mean to have an amphibious ship without a well deck and therefore without the ability to deploy landing craft to move heavy tanks and equipment ashore.

America’s recent participation in the Rim of the Pacific 2016 international exercise may have allayed some concerns – the resounding feedback from those involved in the ship’s operations is that, if the Marines are willing to tweak the composition of the deploying Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), America can move them faster, more agilely and more safely. Read More

RIMPAC Major Step for Australia Ahead of First ARG Deployment

RIMPAC Major Step for Australia Ahead of First ARG Deployment

Australian soldiers with 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment debark Her Majesty’s Australian Ship HMAS Canberra and come ashore at Kawaihae Pier, Hawaii, July 12, 2016, to participate in Rim of the Pacific 2016, a multinational military exercise. US Marine Corps photo.

Australian soldiers with 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment debark Her Majesty’s Australian Ship HMAS Canberra and come ashore at Kawaihae Pier, Hawaii, July 12, 2016, to participate in Rim of the Pacific 2016, a multinational military exercise. US Marine Corps photo.

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, HAWAII – The Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercise has given the Australian landing force a well-timed opportunity: soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR) played a central role in three-ship Amphibious Ready Group operations off Hawaii ahead of conducting ARG operations on their own for the first time ever next year. Read More

Navy, Marines Developing New CONOPS For Contested Littoral Operations

Navy, Marines Developing New CONOPS For Contested Littoral Operations

The Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), front, and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD 21), conduct an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) while operating in the Mediterranean Sea in January 2015. US Navy photo.

The Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43), front, and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD-21), conduct an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) while operating in the Mediterranean Sea in January 2015. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy and Marine Corps are developing concepts of operations for littoral operations in contested environments, including near Syria with Russian anti-access weapons deployed, officials told the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee this week. Read More

Commandant Working On Closer Integration Of Carriers, Amphibious Forces

Commandant Working On Closer Integration Of Carriers, Amphibious Forces

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Bounty Hunters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) transits alongside in April 2012. US Navy photo.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Bounty Hunters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) transits alongside in April 2012. US Navy photo.

CAPITOL HILL – The commandant of the Marine Corps and the chief of naval operations have been discussing how to design a more effective naval campaign that leverages both the carrier strike group and the amphibious ready group to fight a near-peer competitor, Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told USNI News on Thursday. Read More