The 4,500 sailors and Marines of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group are about to start what is expected to be a roughly 9-month deployment to the Mediterranean and western Atlantic region.
The USS Iwo Jima and two San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships, the USS San Antonio and the USS Fort Lauderdale, left Norfolk Thursday for a regularly scheduled deployment. The sailors and Marines often hold training exercises with partner nations and make multiple ports of call. Previous Marine Expeditionary Units have also been placed off the coast of Israel, after war broke out in Gaza.
“Our war fighters stand ready to preserve the American way of life and assure our allies and partners that we stand with them committed to free and open seas consistent with international norms,” said Capt. Christopher M. Farricker, commander of Amphibious Squadron 8.
Last year, the Wasp-class Amphibious Assault Ship USS Iwo Jima broke down briefly in the waters off Hampton Roads. This came as other ships in the class also suffered maintenance problems. Capt. Richard Haley said the ship was repaired and is ready to get underway.
“We have certified on time or early in all of our readiness certifications,” he said. “The ship is in magnificent shape. The crew has worked incredibly hard to fix things as they broke, and we're ready to go and assure you to this day, we are ready to go and do our mission.”
Marines assigned to the ship were still able to prepare for their deployment, said Col. Tom Trimble, commander of the 22nd MEU.
“We are programmed to have 55 days at sea during our work up periods. We're able to execute with all three ships - 58 days at sea for the Marines,” Trimble said. “These ships are ready to go. I have the utmost confidence as the Marine Corps commander that we had the training, all the opportunities we needed, and we're ready to go.”
