US Sailors and Marines have been conducting amphibious exercises reinforcing combat readiness and interoperability among the two services.
Cmdr. Daniel P. Duhan, commanding officer of Ashland, said:
Ashland is underway for amphibious integration training prior to participating in bilateral exercises later this summer. It is important to conduct this training for both the Sailors and Marines because of the amount of new personnel we have and also because of the complexity of the missions that we support.
Amphibious operations are a dynamic team sport, requiring a lot of practice and close coordination. Both Marines and Sailors have completed training in launch and recovery of several types of amphibious vehicles: amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs), landing craft air cushions (LCACs) and combat rubber raiding craft (CRRCs).
Ashland is homeported in Sasebo, Japan, and is a part of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group.
Image: US Navy