Peleliu ESG WESTPAC 03 Deployment
LHA-5 Peleliu
ex-Da Nang / ex-Khe Sanh
Pax Per Potens: "Peace Through Power"
Following its 01 deployment, the Peleliu underwent a comprehensive overhaul at National Steel and Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard in San Diego. Peleliu's first milestone since pulling out of dry dock was successfully passing the light-off assessment (LOA) administered by Afloat Training Group (ATG) Pacific. LOA is an important process for a ship. Before a ship can light off, its engineering plant must be inspected by ATG to ensure that it is in proper condition for light off. During LOA, ATG also assesses the crew's firefighting capabilities by running general quarters (GQ) drills.
In 2002 it was announced that the Navy intended to deploy the USS Peleliu as the center of an Expeditionary Strike Group that would consist of cruisers, destroyers, frigates and submarines in addition to the normal number of amphibious vessels. The Peleliu ESG will be commanded by a rear admiral in an experiment to determine which of the two options works out best.
In April 2003 the "Gunbearers" of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) 11 put their newly acquired MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters through their paces while conducting daylight landing qualifications aboard Peleliu. This evolution marked the first time the Navy's newest helicopter landed on a Pacific Fleet naval ship.
USS Peleliu celebrated its 23rd birthday May 3, 2003.
In May 2003 the Peleliu took part in a Expeditionary Strike Group Exercise in which members of the crew and the strike group participated in a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO). A NEO is the Navy and Marine Corps way of extracting civilians from a hostile environment. Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are inserted into a hostile country, usually by helicopter, and begin the task of escorting civilians back to Peleliu where they will be sheltered, fed and cared for until they can be brought back to the United States. A NEO is one of the amphibious Navy's primary missions. Peleliu is capable of supporting more than 1,000 civilians for an indefinite amount of time. During the 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Phillipines, Navy ships embarked large numbers of civilians of all ages for the two-day passage to a safe island.
The NEO exercise during the ESGEX was the first of several NEO training evolutions in which Peleliu Sailors and 13th MEU Marines participated over a period of several months.
In June 2003 the Peleliu ESG supported elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit as they took part in an urban training scenario using abandoned buildings that were once part of a radar range complex at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. The ESG also provided force protection to the Marines as they conducted operations ashore.
Marines went ashore June 11, 2003 to collect intelligence on the numbers of enemy forces and locations of equipment, to assist in planning the eventual strike on the site. The attack began at about 10 p.m., June 13, when a raiding force of about 60 Marines came ashore in small boats to assault the mock encampment. Pilots in AH-1 Sea Cobra attack helicopters orbited overhead, training to provide fire support for the Marines on the ground. During the assault, Marines used a measured amount of plastic explosive to blow the doors off their hinges; in a real-life scenario, the resulting explosions would also give the assaulting force a tactical advantage by stunning anyone inside. By midnight, the encampment was secure and the exercise was complete.
In late July and early August 2003 the Peleliu ESG completed its Joint Task Force Exercise off the coast of Southern California. The road to deployment involved months of planning, the participation of more than 6,000 Sailors and Marines, and the blending of Navy and Marine Corps assets, such as Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs) and Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs). Working together in various scenarios, the Navy and Marine Corps team overcame many threats and injected troops into a range of locations that wouldn't have been possible with only one military force in the picture. During one part of the exercise at Camp Pendleton's Red Beach, Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC) vehicles launched from USS Germantown (LSD 42) had to push back their landing time due to low visibility on the beach. Having completed their final training exercise, ESG-1 is now ready for deployment.
The Peleliu deployed on August 22, 2003, (it had been scheduled to deploy in November 2003 but Operation Iraqi Freedom caused USS Saipan to deploy ahead of its schedule preventing it from deploying as the first ESG). Peleliu is to deploy with six other vessels. The Peleliu ESG will include LPD 8 Dubuque, LSD 42 Germantown, CG 73 Port Royal, DDG 73 Decatur, FFG 33 Jarrett and SSN 772 Greenville (it was originally scheduled to deploy with the USS Topeka (SSN 754)).
Following deployment on August 22, 2003 the Peleliu, Dubuque and Germantown are to head to Pearl Harbor to meet the remaining elements of the strike group. They are scheduled to arrive at Pearl on August 29.
ESG 1's deployment consisted of operations in Iraq, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.
The group conducted humanitarian assistance and security and stabilization missions in Iraq, as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom Maritime Interception Operations on land in southern Iraq and at sea in the Persian Gulf. They also patrolled international waters in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa to deter the transport of terrorist personnel and equipment.
The patrols yielded success when, in December, ESG 1 units were involved in two separate interception operations in the Persian Gulf. The first came Dec. 15 when USS Decatur (DDG 73) detained a dhow and its 12 crew members and seized upward of $10 million in hashish. Two weeks later, Peleliu and elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), along with USS Port Royal (CG 73) and USS Germantown (LSD 42), worked with Australian patrol aircraft in the detention of another dhow and its 15 crew members, seizing 2,800 pounds of hashish with an estimated street value of $11 million.
The drug seizure was not the only time the strike group would engage in coalition operations. ESG 1's most complex coalition mission came in January, when the group served as command and control for Exercise Sea Saber, a coalition maritime interdiction training exercise.
The 5,000 Sailors and Marines assigned to ESG 1 will soon return to their homeports for time with family and friends. They do so with the knowledge that they were the first to deploy as an Expeditionary Strike Group.
The seven ships attached to Expeditionary Strike Group One returned following a six and a half month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. USS Greeneville (SSN 772) returned to its Pearl Harbor homeport Feb. 27. USS Port Royal (CG 73), also from Pearl Harbor, was scheduled to arrive home March 10. The remaining ships of ESG 1, USS Peleliu (LHA 5), USS Ogden (LPD 5), USS Decatur (DDG 73), USS Jarrett (FFG 33) and USS Germantown (LPD 42) headed home to San Diego and arrived March 9, 2004.
Chronology
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09 Mar 2004 - Returns to San Diego
03 Mar 2004 - Pacific Ocean
27 Feb 2004 - Port Visit, Pearl Harbor
20 Feb 2004 - Pacific Ocean
17 Feb 2004 - Port Visit, Guam
13 Feb 2004 - Philippine Sea
10 Feb 2004 - Pacific Ocean
04 Feb 2004 - Port Visit @ Darwin
21 Jan 2004 - Indian Ocean
20 Jan 2004 - Gulf of Aden??
16 Jan 2004 - Indian Ocean
06 Jan 2004 - Red Sea
05 Jan 2004 - Gulf of Aden
31 Dec 2003 - North Arabian Sea
22 Dec 2003 - Persian Gulf
05 Dec 2003 - Gulf of Oman
14 Nov 2003 - North Arabian Sea
06 Oct 2003 - Persian Gulf
03 Oct 2003 - Gulf of Oman
30 Sep 2003 - Arabian Sea
23 Sep 2003 - Indian Ocean
17 Sep 2003 - South China Sea
03 Sep 2003 - Pacific Ocean
02 Sep 2003 - Departs Pearl Harbor
29 Aug 2003 - Port Call at Pearl Harbor
22 Aug 2003 - Deploys for ESG-1
08 Aug 2003 - Returns to San Diego
30 Jul 2003 - Begins JTFEX
29 Jul 2003 - Departs San Diego
?23 Jun 2003 - Return to Port
20 Jun 2003 - Ops in E. Pacific
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