Essex Amphibious Ready Group Quietly Deployed on Tuesday with Marine F-35s
By: Sam LaGrone
July 12, 2018 6:13 PM • Updated: July 12, 2018 8:59 PM
This post has been updated to include a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
THE PENTAGON — The three-ship Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit left San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday with little fanfare for an expected Western Pacific and Middle East deployment, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
The big deck USS Essex (LHD-2), amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD-23) and dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD-47) departed for an routine deployment with a squadron of Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters from the “Wake Island Avengers†of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, the official confirmed to USNI News.
https://news.usni.org/2018/07/12/essex-amphibious-ready-group-quietly-deployed-tuesday-marine-f-35s
