Units

Kearsarge ESG MED 05 Deployment
LHD-3 Kearsarge
"Proud, Trustworthy, Bold"

After four months, hundreds of maintenance and modernization items and countless training hours later, USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) returned to Naval Station Norfolk following the completion of sea trials April 26-28, 2004.

The sea trials were the capstone event of Kearsarge's planned maintenance availability that began Jan. 12 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

During its three days at sea, Kearsarge conducted a Level I flex test for both boilers, full power demonstration, ballast/deballast tests and anchor tests, as well as tests and calibrations on its radar and electronics systems.

Although shipyard workers and contractors performed the majority of the maintenance, Team Kearsarge was not idle. The crew completed a number of ship's force work items, while hundreds others used the time in the shipyard to attend schools and training, to attain or maintain their professional and tactical proficiency.

Much of the training aboard ship focused on damage control and firefighting training. In addition to weekly repair locker training, the crew participated in main space fire and total ship survivability exercise drills three times a week. These drills honed the crew's skills to combat a major fire in either of the ship's two boiler rooms.

The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) trained together for the first time at sea as the Kearsarge ESG prepares for its upcoming scheduled deployment. The Kearsarge ESG completed PHIBRON-Marine Integrated Training, or PMINT while underway Nov. 15-23. PMINT is the initial training for the ESG that includes the Marines of the 26 MEU. The eight-day exercise included many of the evolutions the ESG and MEU would execute during real-world operations, beginning with the onload of more than 900 Marines, vehicles and equipment of the 26 MEU at Onslow Bay, N.C. by landing craft air cushion (LCAC) and helicopter. Other training events included daily flight operations with Marine helicopter and AV-8B II Harrier jets, LCAC and amphibious assault vehicle operations and beach assaults via LCAC and helicopter.

The mission of the KEARSARGE Expeditionary Strike Group is to execute the orders of the President of the United States by providing him with a flexible, mobile, lethal, integrated team, ready to go anywhere in the world at a moments notice.

This Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) is the cutting edge of the United States Military's transformation. That transformation focuses on creating a leaner, more mobile and flexible force that is capable of responding to a wide spectrum of conflicts and contingencies. The variety of missions, operations and tasks the KEARSARGE ESG can perform are virtually limitless. From humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, to power projection ashore via amphibious or airborne Marine assaults or cruise missile strikes, to Maritime interdiction operations, the KEARSARGE ESG can do it all. Using the latest technology, the ships, submarine, air wing and Marines, connect into a single network that allows the entire KEARSARGE ESG to seamlessly integrate into a formidable combat team.

The KEARSARGE ESG is capable of independently exerting direct, decisive, and sustained influence ashore or in a littoral area of operation. This includes persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as ship to objective strikes and assaults. That combat power can be exerted in the form of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Marine Aviation air strikes, Marine Amphibious or Airborne Raids, Naval Surface Fire or Special Operations missions. The KEARSARGE ESG is also capable of integrating into or leading a joint operation involving some or all of the other services of the United States Armed Forces.

During deployment, the KEARSARGE ESG will provide defense in depth to the Department of Homeland Security in the global war on Terrorism, by interdicting and searching maritime vessels suspected of harboring or aiding terrorists.

The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and the ships of the Kearsarge Strike Group, along with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), got under way Jan. 10 2005 for their Expeditionary Strike Group Exercise (ESGEX). The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) returned to port in Norfolk, Va., Jan. 28 after successfully completing its Expeditionary Strike Group Exercise (ESGEX) off the eastern coast of the United States.

The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) successfully completed its final exercise before deployment and returned to port in Norfolk, Va., Feb. 25 with full certifications required to deploy. This underway period focused on certifying the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) as Special Operations Capable (SOC), while the Navy ships in the ESG focused on supporting the Marines and polishing their tactical precision.

The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) got underway March 25 for their scheduled deployment. The Kearsarge ESG is deployed in support of the continuing global war on terrorism. For Kearsarge, this is the ship's third deployment in two years, having surge deployed in January 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and again in June 2004 to transport elements of 24th MEU to U.S. Central Command.

The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) completed embarkation of the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) off the coast of North Carolina March 27, and is now headed east on their deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. The ships of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group left Norfolk and proceeded south to pick up the Marines of the 26 MEU, primarily based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) arrived on station in the Persian Gulf May 2. Kearsarge, the command ship for the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group, will serve as a sea base for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and command ship for Commander, Task Force (CTF) 51, conducting maritime security operations (MSO) along with the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD 15) and dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48).

The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group ESG) offloaded the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)(Special Operations Capable) (SOC) at the Kuwait Naval Base May 15-17. Kearsarge, USS Ashland (LSD 48) and USS Ponce (LPD 15), the amphibious ships assigned to the Kearsarge ESG, which is deployed in the region to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO), offloaded the Marines and their equipment in support of training exercises in Kuwait

The Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) completed its Maritime Security Operations (MSO) as part of the U.S. 5th Fleet as it passed through the Suez Canal, and exited into the Mediterranean Sea Aug. 30. The Kearsarge ESG consists of six ships and a submarine and the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) (Special Operations Capable). It has been assigned to U.S. 5th Fleet for more than four months.

Regional engagement with the Armed Forces of local nations was a major goal for the ESG, and was accomplished on numerous occasions. Naval and Marine exercises were conducted with 10 different nations. Those operations varied from naval division tactics, and visit, board, search and seizure training to Marine training with regional host nations. Several countries conducted naval training with ESG shipping while the Marines were ashore training with their armed forces. On several other occasions, ESG and Marine units trained with multiple countries simultaneously.

The final exercise was conducted Aug. 13-25 with Jordan. More than 1,000 Marines of the 26th MEU were put ashore from Kearsarge, the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) and the amphibious transport ship USS Ponce (LPD 15). Kearsarge and Ashland entered port in Aqaba that day and remained on station to support the exercise while in port. The ships got underway as a pre-planned security measure when a Jordanian warehouse in the port was struck by a terrorist rocket that killed one Jordanian soldier and injured another. Once underway, the ships remained on station to continue their support of the exercise.