Strike group, MEU to deploy

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By William H. McMichael
Times staff writer

Some 6,000 sailors and Marines aboard six ships and an attack submarine will leave their East Coast ports and bases beginning June 6 for a scheduled six-month deployment to the Middle East.

While the Navy doesn’t discuss future operations, the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will likely spend at least part of the deployment around the Horn of Africa, where previously ESGs have deployed to perform a combination of maritime security operations at sea, humanitarian assistance and local military training projects ashore. Most of the Nassau ESG returned home in early May following a similar deployment, with some elements also working in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

The group includes:

•The amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, the amphibious transport ship Nashville and the destroyers Cole and Bulkeley, all homeported in Norfolk, Va.

•The dock landing ship Whidbey Island, based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, Va.

•The cruiser Philippine Sea, out of Mayport, Fla.

•The attack submarine Albuquerque, homeported in Groton, Conn.

The amphibious ships will sail directly to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to pick up the 24th MEU before turning eastward. Once in the Middle East, the ESG will be joined by the Norfolk-based destroyer Gonzalez, which is winding up an 18-month, three-crew Sea Swap with its original crew.

The 24th MEU, commanded by Col. Ron Johnson, is composed of its command element; 1st Battalion, 8th Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365; and MEU Service Support Group 24.

The ESG is commanded by Capt. Sinclair M. Harris. Under the unique ESG command arrangement, Harris commands any Navy-centric missions his ESG is assigned, while Johnson commands Marine-centric missions with Navy support.