Essex ARG Arrives in Okinawa Blue-Green Workups
WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, Okinawa, Japan – Ships and units of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ESXARG) arrived in Okinawa Jan. 29-Feb. 1 to begin the on load of Marines and their equipment as the precursor to scheduled workups and subsequent spring patrol.
http://www.ctf76.navy.mil/Releases/2007/ctf76releases2007_13-070129ESXARG-BGs.htm
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Adam R. Cole,
Task Force 76 Public Affairs
Jan. 29, 2006
Nearly 4,000 Marines and Sailors will now comprise the ARG, which features flagship USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Tortuga (LSD 46) and USS Juneau (LPD 10); all ships with embarked elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
Over the next few weeks, Sailors and Marines will conduct Blue-Green workups culminating in an ARG Evaluation Exercise (EVAL-EX) in the vicinity of Okinawa.
“Peace and stability in this region requires a continual watch, the essence of this seasonal patrol,” said Capt. Anthony J. Pachuta, commodore, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 11 and task group commander of the ESXARG. “We understand that disaster can happen any moment, thus we must be ready at all times to respond. These workups and then the patrol itself will focus on that ability to respond.”
Blue-Green workups will consist of a number of amphibious operations, including mechanized raids and boat raids, as 31st MEU Marines become familiar with the sea-based strike platform that the ARG provides.
The EVAL-EX will have three readiness areas: non-combatant evacuation, humanitarian relief/disaster assistance and casualty response.
The seasonal patrol comes at the heels of the ARG’s fall patrol, in which ships completed Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) FY 07 and several community projects in the Republic of Philippines.
Pachuta emphasized, then too with the fall patrol, that the key to the training and then effectiveness during the spring patrol will be on the unity of the blue-green, Navy-Marine Corps team.
“The Marines possess a phenomenal capability to deliver strike capabilities as well as assist in crucial humanitarian operations; such abilities are only truly realized within the partnership of the U.S. Navy,” said Pachuta. “Our Sailors train hard for this opportunity and are ready to meet the challenges required of amphibious operations.”
The Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ESXARG) is part of Task Force 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force, which is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.