USS Ronald Reagan, USS Boxer team up in South China Sea

US Navy ships from the Ronald Reagan carrier strike group and the Boxer amphibious ready group met in the South China Sea to carry out security and stability operations in the Indo-Pacific.

Ships and aircraft from the Navy and Marine Corps, conducted a multitude of joint, warfighting exercises while forward-deployed to the US 7th Fleet area of operations.

“Our operations in the Indo-Pacific are focused on maintaining regional stability and security,” said Rear Adm. George Wikoff, commander, Task Force 70. “Our presence reflects our commitment to the values we share with the many partners and allies in the region, and we stand prepared to deter those who challenge these mutual values with the overwhelming force of our combined carrier and amphibious strike groups.”

Exercises included maritime strike operations, search and rescue operations, fast attack craft defense, maritime interdiction operations, small arms and crew-served weapons live-fire drills, air defense and anti-submarine warfare operations.

“The flexibility of our forces in the Indo-Pacific is a key to our lethality,” said Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7. “Our ability to join together the incredible capability of a carrier strike group, combine it with the expeditionary combat power of our Navy-Marine Corps team, and then integrate with our extensive network of allies and partners provides us a true competitive advantage.”

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) is the centerpiece of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, which includes Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers from Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.

USS Boxer (LHD 4) is the flagship of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which includes a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, a Harpers Ferry-class amphibious dock landing ship, and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). The Boxer ARG and 11th MEU entered the US 7th Fleet area of operations Sept. 23 during a scheduled deployment.