USS WASP Defense of the Amphibious Task Force

USS WASP (LHD 1), SOUTH CHINA SEA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
09.26.2018

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp performs maneuvers as Sailors and Marines, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire weapons, including Light Armored Vehicles, at a target during a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill.

As part of the DATF, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, 31st MEU team, assumed a security posture, to simulate traveling through potentially dangerous waters.

USS Wasp F-35B Lightning II – Ready to Strike

U.S. Marines and Sailors with the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex conduct flight deck operations in support of the F-35B’s first combat strike.

The Essex is the flagship for the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 13th MEU, is deployed to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.

USS Wasp Battleship

USS Wasp, flagship of the Wasp ARG, with embarked 31st MEU, is operating in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force for any type of contingency.

Marines, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire weapons including a Light Armored Vehicle’s M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun and a .50 caliber machine gun from a Humvee at a target during a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.

U.S. Navy Sailors conduct a foreign object debris walk down prior to flight operations during a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship the Wasp. As part of the DATF, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, 31st MEU team, assumed a security posture, to simulate traveling through potentially dangerous waters.

United States Sailors and Marines, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct operations in support of a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. As part of the DATF, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, 31st MEU team, assumed a security posture, to simulate traveling through potentially dangerous waters.

USS Wasp Strike Group

U.S. Marines M240B Machine Gun Live Fire

United States Marines Lance Cpl. Michael Battaion, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, fires an M240B machine gun during a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.

Machine Gunner Marines

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Battalion

U.S. Marines, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire a .50 caliber machine gun from a Humvee during a Defense of the Amphibious Task Force drill aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.

USS Wasp Gunners Mate

Thank you U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Alexandra Seeley for the photos and Cpl. Francisco Diaz and Lance Cpl. A. J. Van Fredenberg for the video.