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Forward Deployed ARG Completes Balikatan 06

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060308-09
Release Date: 3/9/2006 3:27:00 AM

From Task Force 76 Public Affairs

ABOARD USS ESSEX, At Sea (NNS) -- Exercise Balikatan 2006, the 22nd in the series, officially ended March 5, capping two weeks of combined training and combined efforts in humanitarian assistance and civil action projects in the Republic of Philippines.

During Balikatan 06, Sailors of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and Marines and Sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) joined Joint Task Force (JTF) Balikatan and played a vital role in delivering much-needed relief supplies to Southern Leyte and providing the sea-based platform for Medical and Engineering Civic Action Projects (MEDCAP, ENCAP) on the island of Jolo in Sulu Province.

“The scope and focus of Exercise Balikatan 06 expanded to real world humanitarian assistance, and our Sailors and Marines quickly adapted for the new challenge,” said Capt. Mark E. Donahue, commodore, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 11, task group commander of the Forward Deployed ARG. “To be able to complete two simultaneous missions with a split ARG proves the flexibility, capability and responsiveness of the Forward Deployed ARG/MEU. I couldn’t be prouder of the great Sailors and Marines who comprise our Navy-Marine Corps team.”

In response to a disastrous mudslide in Southern Leyte Feb. 17, three days before the official commencement of Exercise Balikatan 06, more than 2,000 service members of Joint Task Force Balikatan were diverted to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR). USS Essex (LHD 2) and USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) with embarked Marines of the 31st MEU along with USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) were directed to provide immediate assistance to Southern Leyte, arriving on station Feb. 19. USS Juneau (LPD 10), the secondary flagship of the Forward Deployed ARG, continued on with Exercise Balikatan’s Civil Military Operations (CMO) mission in Jolo as the primary sea-based platform.

Sailors and Marines from Essex, Harpers Ferry, Curtis Wilbur and 31st MEU engaged in HA/DR efforts along with Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) and other international rescue workers from Feb. 19-28 in Southern Leyte. Meanwhile, the embarked U.S. Army and Navy medical team aboard Juneau worked with their AFP counterparts conducting medical missions on the island of Jolo from Feb. 22-March 2 as part of Exercise Balikatan 06.

JTF Balikatan officials recently reported that the Forward Deployed ARG and JTF Balikatan personnel delivered more than 3,100 five-gallon water cans, 900 1.5-gallon water cans, three pallets of bottled water, 2,500 blankets, two pallets of Meals, Ready-to-Eat, 1,500 sleeping mats, 150 pick axes, one pallet plus 500 additional shovels, three pallets of rice, one pallet of medications, 12 55-gallon diesel fuel drums, 40 chainsaws and five generators.

In Jolo, 27 U.S. medical personnel, together with 24 members of the AFP, completed seven medical civil action projects in three different locations on the island: Panamao, Jolo City and Maimbung. The combined medical team provided medical, dental and veterinary care to the Philippine people and served more than 11,000 Filipinos — more than 1,500 per day — and 504 animals.

Navy and Marine engineers attached to the 31st MEU arrived to Jolo prior to Exercise Balikatan 06 and worked jointly with the AFP in the construction of four three-room elementary schools in Jolo—one in Jolo City, two in Panamao and one in Maimbung.

Throughout Exercise Balikatan 06, the Forward Deployed ARG operated seamlessly from ship to shore as sea-based platforms demonstrating the capability to conduct multiple missions simultaneously in a joint and bilateral environment.

However, the teamwork, unity and forged bonds established between the U.S. and AFP forces showed the true meaning of Balikatan, which translated means “shouldering the load together,” during operations in Southern Leyte and Jolo.

“The bonds of friendship that we have established with the Filipino people are everlasting,” said Donahue. “We will always stand together with the Filipino people and shoulder the load together. That’s what friends do.”

The Forward Deployed ARG 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.