The commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 51 visited Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) to tour the ship and pass along a few words of encouragement, Sept. 28 and 29.
Makin Island is the flagship for the current Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) operating in the U.S. Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).
CTF 51 provides command and control of the Makin Island ARG and embarked 11th MEU.
While speaking at an all-hands call on the flight deck, Marine Brig. Gen. Carl Mundy spoke about the high level of performance expected while in the Arabian Gulf and his expectations of the crew while deployed in this AOR.
Mundy made no attempt to mask the ARG’s visibility in the AOR and stressed the importance of security as it relates to stability and the importance of both in the region.
The ARG and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR. The ARG/MEU team provides a versatile, sea-based expeditionary force that can be tailored to a variety of missions in the region.
[mappress] Press Release, October 01, 2014; Image: US Navy