Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group to Return to San Diego
Story Number: NNS030708-02
7/8/2003
By Chief Journalist W. R. Polson, USS Tarawa Public Affairs
ABOARD USS TARAWA, At Sea (NNS) -- After six months, thousands of nautical miles, one war, and several times in the national spotlight, more than 4,000 Sailors and Marines aboard the three San Diego-based ships of the USS Tarawa (LHA 1) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) will return home.
The combined 2,000 Sailors aboard Tarawa, the dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47) and the amphibious assault dock ship USS Duluth (LPD 6) will return to Naval Station San Diego July 13.
More than 2,000 Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), who had deployed with the Tarawa ARG, will return to Camp Pendleton, Calif. July 12.
"Our crews have worked incredibly hard during this deployment. They've had great demands placed on them, and in response, they've done great things," said Tarawa's Commanding Officer Captain Jay Bowling. "Now it's their turn to enjoy a hero's welcome home."
All three ships of the Tarawa ARG participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, bringing four M-1A1 main battle tanks, 16 light armored vehicles and 15 amphibious assault vehicles with the embarked Marines. The ships also brought various component commands that added 33 aircraft and seven landing craft to the multinational coalition effort.
Arriving in the North Arabian Gulf in mid February the three ships joined a larger amphibious force that brought 33,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to the region. This amphibious force, Task Force 51, eventually included 32 U.S. and coalition ships. Tarawa served as the flagship for Task Force 51, under the command of Rear Adm. W. Clyde Marsh.
Stationed in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Tarawa ARG provided critical support to the ground troops of the U.S. and coalition forces that pressed into southern Iraq and then north towards Baghdad.
In one of many such examples, pilots embarked on USS Tarawa flew AV-8B Harrier jets on nightly combat sorties into Iraq. The "Greyhawks" of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 (Reinforced) destroyed a total of 45 enemy targets: 12 artillery pieces, ten buildings, nine vehicles, seven tanks, five armored vehicles, one road intersection, and one aircraft.
"Your nation is proud of you, your Navy and Marine Corps are proud of you, and I am proud of you and I certainly expect you to be proud of your accomplishments and what you've done," Marsh told a joint formation of Sailors and Marines during a farewell speech on Tarawa. "You all have contributed to a big chapter in history by freeing a people and liberating a nation. You will forever and ever be included in their history, so be proud of that."
For many of the Tarawa ARG servicemembers who served on the ships during the war, the deployment became a grinding test of nerves. During a stretch that began Feb. 1, USS Tarawa spent 107 consecutive days at sea, the majority of that time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Non-stop aircraft and landing craft missions kept the Sailors who handled these evolutions constantly busy.
"It got really tough at times," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Luke Wildigg, a member of Tarawa's flight deck crew. "We worked around the clock to help the Marine pilots get their aircraft up and running so they could do their job. During the night, we launched and recovered the Harriers, and during the day, we moved aircraft for them so they could do their maintenance."
On a historical footnote, Tarawa, Duluth and Rushmore were part of the largest amphibious force assembled since the Inchon landing during the Korean War.
Task Force 51 featured seven U.S. amphibious "large decks" from the East and West coast, including: USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), USS Bataan (LHD-5), USS Saipan (LHA-2), USS Boxer (LHD-4) and USS Nassau (LHA-4). They also contributed to the largest military action in the Arabian Gulf region since Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-91.
"This deployment was one that will be remembered for a long time," said Capt. Bowling, as his ship steamed through the Pacific en route to San Diego. "I don't think anyone would have predicted we would face so many challenges or witness so many hallmarks."
For related news, visit the Commander Amphibious Group Three Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cpg3.
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