US, ROK Navy exercise Ssang Yong 2016 in video

Ssang Yong 2016…a multilateral, amphibious exercise in South Korea that strengthens Marine Corps and Naval integration…view the highlights! See how MSC ships played a crucial role in this exercise. #SsangYong16 #PacificRebalance #MSCdelivers

Posted by U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command on Sunday, March 20, 2016

The recently concluded exercise Ssang Yong 16, which took place off the Korean peninsula, was kicked off by soldiers from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Republic of Korea on March 2.

The biennial exercise included ships from the Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, comprised of the Bonhomme Richard and Boxer Amphibious Ready Groups as well as Commander, Destroyer Squadron 7 and Aegis guided-missile cruiser Shiloh, and Commander Flotilla 5 of the ROK navy.

The largest multinational amphibious exercise ever conducted, as it was described by the U.S. Navy, included nearly 20,000 sailors and Marines, 19 ships, a ROK submarine and aircraft from both nations.

The exercise commenced with a 19-ship photo exercise to include ships from the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group along with COMFLOT 5.

Navies then kicked into high gear to carry out rehearsals for a simulated amphibious assault mission, where nearly 17,000 service members from the U.S., ROK, New Zealand and Australia participated in an amphibious landing on the beaches of Pohang.

Lastly, the force conducted Assault Follow On Echelon exercises involving M1A1 Abrams tanks from Marine Delta Company 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division along with members of the 6th Royal Australian Regiment and a Fueling at Sea between amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), during which the large LHD transferred nearly 10,000 gallons of fuel to the cruiser, closing out the exercise.

The exercise culminated in a combined MEB-size landing March 12 with elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), 13th MEU and ROK Marine Corps Marine Task Force (MTF) from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Boxer and ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111) amphibious ready groups.

Another highlight of the exercise was the seabasing demonstration with USNS Montford when a landing craft air cushion (LCAC) attached to Naval Beach Unit 7 embarked expeditionary transfer dock ship USNS Montford Point (T-ESD1)

USS Bonhomme Richard conducted a seabasing demonstration with …

USS Bonhomme Richard conducted a seabasing demonstration with USNS Montford Point in support of Exercise Ssang Yong 2016. #Ssangyong #PlatformsMatter #GatorNavyCheck out the footage below:

Posted by Amphibious Squadron 11 on Thursday, March 17, 2016

Four Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships supported the amphibious exercise.


Image, video: US Navy