Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) joins 5th Fleet

- The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) completed a scheduled transit of the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea, April 5. 

Dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) led amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), flagship of the group, and amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) through the 673-foot wide channel.

[April 25 2011]
The BAT ARG/22 MEU is comprised of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which includes a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; and its Command Element; Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 6, which includes the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), the amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), and detachments from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 22, Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8, Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 2, ACU-4 and Naval Beach Group.

USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, which deployed ahead of its original schedule in order to relieve units from the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group in the Mediterranean Sea. The US decision to provide $25 million in nonlethal military assistance to the rebels did not signal a deeper U.S. commitment to anti-Gadhafi forces whose makeup, objectives and motives are still not fully understood in Washington.

The aid, he said, is not high-end military equipment but rather a hodge-podge of things like uniforms and canteens.

“I’m not worried about our canteen technology falling into the wrong hands,” he joked.

Florida, Scranton, Stout, Barry, Kearsarge Ponce

The U.S. Navy began the operation March 19 with 12 ships in the Mediterranean. As of April 1, nine remained: the submarines USS Florida and USS Scranton; destroyers USS Stout and USS Barry; amphibious warships USS Kearsarge and USS Ponce; the command ship USS Mount Whitney; and two supply ships, USNS Robert E. Peary and USNS Kanawha.

The subs and the destroyers are armed with Tomahawks. Marine Harrier attack planes launch from aboard the Kearsarge, and the Mount Whitney had served as a floating command post for the American admiral who was the on-scene commander until NATO took control March 31.

The Mount Whitney remains assigned to the mission but the new operational commander, Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, is working ashore at his NATO headquarters in Naples, Italy. The U.S. Navy is likely to peel more ships away from the mission in coming days, including some of those with Tomahawks. The U.S. military will continue providing a range of support, including aerial refueling, aerial surveillance and reconnaissance and electronic jammers.
President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. President Obama signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks. Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. In order for specific operations to be carried out under the provisions of such a broad authorization -- for example the delivery of cash or weapons to anti-Gaddafi forces -- the White House also would have to give additional "permission" allowing such activities to proceed. Former officials say these follow-up authorizations are known in the intelligence world as "'Mother may I' findings." a covert action is "any U.S. government effort to change the economic, military, or political situation overseas in a hidden way."