Approximately 4,500 Sailors and Marines with Amphibious Squadron Five (PHIBRON 5) and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) returned to the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations Feb. 10 following operations in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet during their Western-Pacific deployment.
The squadron departed their homeport of San Diego July 25, 2014, and has conducted a relocation of National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration researchers from a tropical storm near Hawaii; conducted the 2014 Malaysia-U.S. amphibious exercise; executed air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq; conducted non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR) flights over Iraq and Syria; worked with British and Kuwaiti forces in Exercise Cougar Voyage 14; conducted Exercise Red Reef 15 with Saudi Arabian forces and performed Marine sustainment exercises in Kuwait and Djibouti.
The amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), the flagship of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45), the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and the embarked MEU elements have also visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Jordan, collectively, for port visits.
Image: US Navy