INDIAN OCEAN -- INDIAN OCEAN (Sept. 23, 2019) The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) team entered the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations from the U.S. 5th Fleet September 23 during a scheduled deployment.
Joining 7th Fleet’s Naval Forces, the Boxer ARG and 11th MEU will work side-by-side with regional partners and allies to promote maritime security and stability in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
"The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group brings significant capability to 7th Fleet," said Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7. "The superb work they've done for us previously and more recently in CENTCOM has kept them agile and prepared to keep doing great things as they work with our valued allies and partners in this important region of the world."
U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy’s largest numbered fleet, 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability, and prevent conflict.
While in 7th Fleet the ARG will capitalize on the skills it honed in 5th Fleet to continue to be a lethal, ready and capable fighting force.
"Seventh Fleet AO is a dynamic region that will present our forces opportunities to conduct realistic training through complex, combined and joint exercises," said Capt. Jason Burns, commander, Amphibious Squadron FIVE. "This will enable the ARG MEU to remain a flexible, adaptable, and persistent force. Contributing to the stability of the region, cooperation with our partner forces and bolstering of stability throughout the AO."
The ARG includes the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49). The 11th MEU is deployed with Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and serves as a theater reserve and crisis response force.
While in the U.S. 5th Fleet, the ARG transited multiple straits to include the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-al-Mandeb strait and through the Strait of Tiran into the Gulf of Aqaba where Boxer ARG and 11th MEU conducted Eager Lion, U.S. Central Command's largest and most complex exercise that integrates forces in a multilateral environment and strengthens military-to-military relationships.