Expeditionary Strike Group
Encyclopedia
The Expeditionary Strike Group, or ESG, is a concept introduced in the U.S. military in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 11 Carrier Strike Group
s, in addition to surface action groups. ESGs allow US naval fleets to provide highly movable and self-sustaining forces for missions in various parts of the globe.
An Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF) integrates the CSG and ESG with the sea-basing functions provided by the Maritime Prepositioning Force (future) to provide an even more potent capability.
The Marine Corps and the Navy are conducting a series of experiments to explore the ESG and ESF concepts. As noted, the ESG concept combines the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups and Marine Expeditionary Unit
s (Special Operations Capable
) to provide greater combat capabilities to theater combatant commanders.http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/p&r/Concepts/2003/PDF/Chapter%202%20C&P%2003%20PDFs/Ch2%20p1%20WfC%20Expeditionary%20Strike%20Group%20Expeditionary%20Strike%20Force.pdf
(ARG). The ARG consists of a group of various ships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF) and a Landing Force (LF) which normally consists of United States Marines
and, on occasion, could consist of United States Army
troops.
An ARG is composed of an Amphibious Assault Ship
(LHA/LHD), an Amphibious transport dock
(LPD) Ship, a Dock Landing Ship
(LSD), and a Marine Expeditionary Unit
(MEU) which includes a Marine Infantry battalion landing team, AV-8B Harrier II
aircraft
, CH-53 Sea Stallion
, CH-46 Sea Knight
, AH-1 Sea Cobra and UH-1 Huey helicopters.
The Navy had two to three ARGs deployed at a given time. Normally one of the ARGs can be found in Mediterranean Sea
and Persian Gulf
/Indian Ocean
area, and the other two in the western Pacific Ocean
area.
In the early 1990s, the Navy introduced a new concept based on the ARG, the Naval Expeditionary Task Force or, as it is also known, the Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG). The ESG is similar to the ARG except that with the ESG concept, the Navy would be able to deploy almost double the number of independent operational groups, from 19 to 38. In addition, the ESG includes surface warships and submarine escorts, similar to a carrier battle group (now known as a Carrier Strike Group
).
An ESG is composed of an Amphibious Assault Ship (LHA/LHD), a Dock Landing Ship (LSD), an Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD), a Marine expeditionary unit, AV-8B Harrier II aircraft, CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters and CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters. Cruisers, destroyers and attack submarines are deployed with either an Expeditionary Strike Group or a Carrier Strike Group.
As originally envisoned in the 1990s, the ESG concept allowed the Navy to field 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 12 Carrier Strike Groups, in addition to surface action groups centered around Iowa class battleships. Thus, the Navy and Marine Corps forces could launch Marines via landing craft and helicopters as warships and submarines struck inland targets with aircraft, missiles and shells. However, defense budget reductions in the mid-1990s, coupled with retirements of older aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships without one-for-one replacements, has reduced the original 12 x 12 ESG/CSG construct to fewer groups due to fewer ship hulls to support said those groups.
. They consist of either the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)
, Brigade (MEB)
, or the smaller Units (MEU)
that deploys either from the United States Navy
's Expeditionary Strike Groups or Amphibious Ready Group
s.
The MAGTF are composed of four basic elements:
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
s, in addition to surface action groups. ESGs allow US naval fleets to provide highly movable and self-sustaining forces for missions in various parts of the globe.
An Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF) integrates the CSG and ESG with the sea-basing functions provided by the Maritime Prepositioning Force (future) to provide an even more potent capability.
The Marine Corps and the Navy are conducting a series of experiments to explore the ESG and ESF concepts. As noted, the ESG concept combines the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups and Marine Expeditionary Unit
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
s (Special Operations Capable
Special Operations Capable
Special Operations Capable refers to special tasks that the tangible Marine Air-Ground Task Force units are capable in providing to the Fleet Marine Force , or foreign uniformed services of maritime regions worldwide...
) to provide greater combat capabilities to theater combatant commanders.http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/p&r/Concepts/2003/PDF/Chapter%202%20C&P%2003%20PDFs/Ch2%20p1%20WfC%20Expeditionary%20Strike%20Group%20Expeditionary%20Strike%20Force.pdf
Pre-1990
The United States Navy has always been involved in developing different military concepts to improve the rapid deployment of naval power and troops from one point to another. One of these concepts is the Amphibious Ready GroupAmphibious Ready Group
An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...
(ARG). The ARG consists of a group of various ships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF) and a Landing Force (LF) which normally consists of United States Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and, on occasion, could consist of United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
troops.
An ARG is composed of an Amphibious Assault Ship
Amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault...
(LHA/LHD), an Amphibious transport dock
Amphibious transport dock
An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform/dock , is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operate this kind of ship...
(LPD) Ship, a Dock Landing Ship
Dock landing ship
A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...
(LSD), and a Marine Expeditionary Unit
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
(MEU) which includes a Marine Infantry battalion landing team, AV-8B Harrier II
AV-8B Harrier II
The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing ground-attack aircraft. An Anglo-American development of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the Harrier II is the final member of the Harrier family that started with the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 in...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, CH-53 Sea Stallion
CH-53 Sea Stallion
The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, and Mexico...
, CH-46 Sea Knight
CH-46 Sea Knight
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
, AH-1 Sea Cobra and UH-1 Huey helicopters.
The Navy had two to three ARGs deployed at a given time. Normally one of the ARGs can be found in Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
/Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
area, and the other two in the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
area.
Early 1990s - Present
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
).
An ESG is composed of an Amphibious Assault Ship (LHA/LHD), a Dock Landing Ship (LSD), an Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD), a Marine expeditionary unit, AV-8B Harrier II aircraft, CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters and CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters. Cruisers, destroyers and attack submarines are deployed with either an Expeditionary Strike Group or a Carrier Strike Group.
As originally envisoned in the 1990s, the ESG concept allowed the Navy to field 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 12 Carrier Strike Groups, in addition to surface action groups centered around Iowa class battleships. Thus, the Navy and Marine Corps forces could launch Marines via landing craft and helicopters as warships and submarines struck inland targets with aircraft, missiles and shells. However, defense budget reductions in the mid-1990s, coupled with retirements of older aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships without one-for-one replacements, has reduced the original 12 x 12 ESG/CSG construct to fewer groups due to fewer ship hulls to support said those groups.
Expeditionary Strike Groups
The following is a list of U.S. military ESGs:- Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group (before "Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group") —
- Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Essex Expeditionary Strike Group — - Task Force 76Task Force 76Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 is a United States Navy task force. It is at one and the same time operationally a Task Force of the United States Seventh Fleet and administratively, the USN's only permanently forward-deployed Expeditionary Strike Group...
- Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Bataan Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group —
- Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group —
ESG units
- USS EssexUSS Essex (LHD-2)USS Essex is a built at what is now Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and commissioned on 17 October 1992 while moored at North Island NAS beside the Kitty Hawk . It is the fifth ship named for Essex County, Massachusetts...
ESG (ESG-FDNF early 2003). The USS Essex (LHD-2) is the second ship in the all new Wasp class of multipurpose amphibious assault ships and was commissioned on October 17, 1992 in San Diego, California. The mission of the Essex is to conduct prompt, sustained combat operations at sea, as the centerpiece of the Navy's amphibious strategy, from the Sea. Essex ESG is also known as ESG 7 and is led by the Commander, Task Force 76Task Force 76Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 is a United States Navy task force. It is at one and the same time operationally a Task Force of the United States Seventh Fleet and administratively, the USN's only permanently forward-deployed Expeditionary Strike Group...
.
- USS Peleliu (LHA-5) ESG (August 1, 2003). In September 1997 the USS Peleliu ARG took part in Fleet Battle Experiment - Bravo's "Silent Fury" phase along with the Constellation Battle Group. The Peleliu ARG was deployed to the Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
in 1997 and participated in Exercise Eager Mace 98.
- USS WaspUSS Wasp (LHD-1)USS Wasp is a U.S. Navy multipurpose amphibious assault ship, the tenth to bear the name, the flagship of the Second Fleet and the lead ship of her class. She was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Navy-Marine Corps team's newest amphibious warship...
ESG (February 2004). From June to December 1991 she was on deployment to the Mediterranean. From February to August 1993 she took part in Operation Restore Hope and Operation Continue Hope off SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. Wasp conducted a Mediterranean deployment from August 1995 to February 1996.
- USS Belleau WoodUSS Belleau Wood (LHA-3)USS Belleau Wood , nicknamed "Devil Dog", was the second ship named after the battle of Belleau Wood in World War I. Her keel was laid down on 5 March 1973 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding. She was launched on 11 April 1977, and commissioned on 23 September 1978, with Captain T.C...
ESG (March 2004). USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) was the third ship of the Tarawa-class Amphibious Assault and Command ships. Her design incorporated the best features and capabilities of several amphibious assault ships currently in service. The ship had a well deck for deploying conventional and air cushioned landing craft and a flight deck for launching a variety of helicopters and Harrier jet aircraft. Belleau Wood was decommissioned on October 28, 2005 and was sunkShipwreckA shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
as part of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 06 exercises on July 13, 2006.
Marine Air-Ground Task Forces
The Marine-Air-Ground Task Forces, or MAGTF, are a combined component of air and amphibious ground forces of the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. They consist of either the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)
Marine Expeditionary Force
A Marine Expeditionary Force or MEF is the largest type of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force...
, Brigade (MEB)
Marine Expeditionary Brigade
A Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a formation of the United States Marine Corps, a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of approximately 14,500 Marines and Sailors constructed around a reinforced infantry regiment, a composite Marine aircraft group, a logistics group and a command element...
, or the smaller Units (MEU)
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
that deploys either from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Expeditionary Strike Groups or Amphibious Ready Group
Amphibious Ready Group
An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...
s.
The MAGTF are composed of four basic elements:
- Command Element (CE) - Serves as the headquarters for the entire unit and allows a single command to exercise control over all ground, aviation, and combat service support forces.
- Ground Combat ElementGround combat elementIn the United States Marine Corps, the Ground combat element is the land force of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force . It provides power projection and force for the MAGTF.-Role within the MAGTF:...
(GCE) - Provides the MAGTF with its main combat punch. Built around a Marine infantry battalion, the GCE is reinforced with tanks, artillery, amphibious vehicles, engineers, and reconnaissance assets. - Aviation Combat ElementAviation combat elementIn the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element is the air arm of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force . It provides rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft, support equipment, pilots, maintenance personnel, as well as command and control assets to the...
(ACE) - Consists of a composite medium helicopter squadron containing transport helicopters of various models and capabilities, attack helicopters and jets, air defense teams, and all necessary ground support assets. - Logistics Combat ElementLogistics Combat ElementIn the United States Marine Corps, the Logistics Combat Element , formerly combat service support element, is the portion of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force responsible with providing logistical support...
(LCE) - Providing the MAGTF with mission-essential support such as medical/dental assistance, motor transport, supply, equipment maintenance, and landing is the mission of the LCE.