ESSEX Expeditionary Strike Group

080609-N-0483B-072 USS ESSEX, SATTAHIP, Thailand (June 9, 2008) – The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) performs a stern-gate marriage with Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1631, assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 1 while back loading elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Essex is sitting off the coast of Thailand after completing Cobra Gold 2008 (CG08). CG08 is a Thai/U.S.-sponsored military exercise designed to enhance interoperability between joint U.S. forces and the combined forces of U.S., Thai, Singaporean, Japanese and Indonesian militaries. Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group and serves as the flagship for CTF 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan. U.S. Navy photograph by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kari R. Bergman. (Released)