USS Peleliu (LHA-5) is a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy, named for the Battle of Peleliu of World War II. Entering service in 1980, she has been deployed to the Persian Gulf on several occasions, performed an evacuation of U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, operated with the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, participated in Pacific Partnership deployments, and provided assistance following the massive floods in Pakistan in 2010. She was decommissioned in San Diego, California on 31 March 2015. She currently rests, out of commission and in reserve, at NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii alongside USS Tarawa in the inactive reserve in case of further need.
USS Tarawa (LHA-1), the lead ship of her class, is an amphibious assault ship that served in the United States Navy from 1976 to 2009. She is the second ship to be named for the Battle of Tarawa, fought during World War II. Tarawa was decommissioned on 31 March 2009, at San Diego Naval Base.
USS Duluth (LPD-6), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, is the second ship of the United States Navy named for the city in Minnesota.
USS New Orleans (LPD-18), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fourth commissioned ship of the United States Navy to be named after the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
USS Juneau (LPD-10), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital of Alaska. The ship entered service on 12 July 1969, and participated in the Vietnam War, was command ship for the response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, transported troops to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm, and was part of the attempted US response to Cyclone Nargis. Juneau was decommissioned in 2008, and is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, and is currently berthed in Oahu, Hawaii waiting for disposal.
USS Anchorage (LSD-36) was the lead ship of the Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. In the ship's 34 years of service, she completed 19 deployments in the western Pacific and became the most decorated dock landing ship on the west coast.
An amphibious ready group (ARG) of the United States Navy consists of a naval element—a group of warships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF)—and a landing force (LF) of U.S. Marines, in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped to perform amphibious operations.
USS Germantown (LSD-42) is the second Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship in the United States Navy. She is the second navy ship named after the Revolutionary War Battle of Germantown.
USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship (LSD) of the United States Navy. She was named for Whidbey Island, in Puget Sound, Washington, the location of NAS Whidbey Island; the name ultimately derives from the sailor, explorer and engineer Joseph Whidbey.
USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defense of which inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner".
USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for Gunston Hall, the Mason Neck, Virginia, estate of George Mason, one of Virginia's Revolutionary figures, and "Father of the Bill of Rights". Gunston Hall was laid down on 26 May 1986, at the Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans. The ship was launched on 27 June 1987, commissioned on 22 April 1989 and assigned to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.
USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) is a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She is the second US Navy ship to be named for Carter Hall, an estate near Winchester, Virginia, built in the 1790s.
USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) is a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She is named in honor of Oak Hill, the residence of James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. The Monroe Doctrine was penned at Oak Hill, and subsequently delivered at an 1823 congressional address which asserted that the Western Hemisphere was never to be colonized again. This doctrine is the inspiration for the ship's motto: Nations' Protector. Oak Hill is the second ship to honor the residence.
USS Pearl Harbor is a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Pearl Harbor, where World War II began for the United States.
USS Arlington (LPD-24), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Arlington County, Virginia, the location of the Pentagon and the crash site of American Airlines Flight 77 during the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Like her sister ships, USS New York and Somerset, she is named in commemoration of the attacks. Steel taken from the Pentagon after the attacks is displayed aboard in the ship's museum.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 Marines and sailors. The 31st MEU consists of a company-sized command element, a battalion landing team (BLT),, a medium tiltrotor squadron (reinforced),, and a combat logistics battalion. The 31st MEU is based at Camp Hansen, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan. The 31st MEU is the only permanently forward-deployed MEU, and provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military, humanitarian, and diplomatic operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.
In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a supercarrier, ESGs are strongly suited for amphibious warfare and are led by an amphibious assault ship. The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups.
USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39) was an Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name. She was built in Massachusetts in 1972 and homeported in Southern California for 31 years until being decommissioned on 25 July 2003. Mount Vernon acted as the control ship for the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 2005, she was intentionally destroyed off the coast of Hawaii as part of a training exercise. USS Mount Vernon also appeared in the Season 7 episode 19 of The Love Boat when they visited Hong Kong.
USS Rushmore (LSD-14) was a Casa Grande-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named in honor of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group. It is based at the White Beach Naval Facility at the end of the Katsuren Peninsula in Uruma City, Okinawa, Japan.
United States
