Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) guide a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 (Reinforced), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU), as it departs Mesa Verde to support ongoing operations.
The 22nd MEU is deployed with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout U.S. Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) is the third San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. The ship is designed to deliver a fully equipped battalion of up to 800 Marines.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, June 18, 2014; Image: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Lukas Atwell