28 March 2011

USA: Boxer Amphibious Ready Group Enters 5th Fleet

By: Lt. Chad A. Dulac, Commander, Amphibious Squadron 1 Public Affairs

ARABIAN SEA, March 25 – Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (BOXARG), entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, March 25.

BOXARG arrived in 5th Fleet as part of a routine deployment ready to support a variety of maritime security operation missions, to include: maritime interdiction operations, counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, to promote security and stability in the region.

The ready group is led by Commander, Amphibious Squadron ONE, Capt. J. Curtis Shaub and consists of three ships – amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20), amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45).

“We’re bringing to the 5th Fleet area of responsibility three multi-mission capable amphibious ships with some of our nation’s finest and highly trained Sailors and Marines who are all eager, trained, equipped and ready to employ their skills, spanning a multitude of capabilities, to support any contingency demanded,” said Shaub. The ARG’s almost 4,000 personnel include nearly 1,800 Sailors and 2,200 embarked Marines from 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13MEU), led by Col. David Coffman.

Other elements of BOXARG include: Fleet Surgical Team Three; Tactical Air Control Squadron 11; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, Detachment Five; Assault Craft Unit One, Detachment C; Assault Craft Unit Five, Detachment C and Beach Master Unit One, Detachment E.

The 5th Fleet area of responsibility includes more than 2.5 million square miles of water from the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and parts of the Indian Ocean, as well as 20 diverse, multi-cultural countries. U.S. 5th Fleet continues to work toward fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships with an expanding set of allies and international partners to enhance regional security and stability.

BOXARG is home-ported in San Diego.

US 5th Fleet