In the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships,

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It 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 ...

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

, and other naval assets. In contrast to

carrier strike group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least tw ...

s (CSGs), which emphasize

air power Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airpo ...

and are led by a

supercarrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...

, ESGs are strongly suited for

amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

and are led by an

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. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, as ...

(currently of the ''

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

'' or ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'' classes). The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups and ten carrier strike groups, in addition to surface action groups. The ESG concept combines the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of

amphibious ready group An amphibious ready group (ARG) of the United States Navy consists of a naval element—a group of warships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF)—and a landing force (LF) of U.S. Marines (and occasionally U.S. Army soldiers), in total about ...

s (ARGs) and

Marine expeditionary unit A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.special operations capable Special operations capable may refer to: * Special operations-capable forces, a term used by the British Armed Forces * Maritime Special Operations Capable (MARSOC), a term used by the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps ( nl, Korps Mariniers) * Marine ...

) to provide greater combat capabilities to theater combatant commanders. 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.

History

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 was the

(ARG). The ARG consisted of a group of various ships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF) and a Landing Force (LF), which normally consisted of

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

and, on occasion, could consist of

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

troops. An ARG is composed of an

( LHA/ LHD), an landing platform/dock (LPD), a Landing Ship, Dock (LSD) , and a

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...

aircraft,

CH-53 Sea Stallion The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States N ...

CH-46 Sea Knight The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Development of th ...

AH-1 Sea Cobra The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J S ...

, and

UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

helicopters. The Navy had two to three ARGs deployed at a given time. Normally one of the ARGs was in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

area, and the other two were in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Early 1990s – present

In the early 1990s, the U.S. 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 U.S. Navy would be able to deploy almost double the number of independent operational groups, from 19 to 38. In addition, the ESG included surface warships and submarine escorts, similar to a

(previously a carrier battle group). An ESG is composed of an

( Landing helicopter assault (LHA)/

Landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification symbo ...

(LHD)), a

dock landing ship A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also have ...

(LSD), an Landing Platform/Dock (LPD) , a Marine expeditionary unit, AV-8B Harrier II aircraft, CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters or more recently, MV-22B tiltrotors, and other aircraft that comprise a USMC composite squadron. Cruisers,

destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

, and attack

may deploy with either an expeditionary strike group or a carrier strike group. As originally envisioned 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 on ''Iowa'' class

battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

. 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 those said groups.

Expeditionary Strike Groups

Current ESGs

The following is a list of U.S. military ESGs: *''Wasp'' Expeditionary Strike Group – **''Wasp'' ESG, from June to December 1991 she was on deployment to the Mediterranean. From February to August 1993 she took part in

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...

and

Operation Continue Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...

off

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. ''Wasp'' conducted a Mediterranean deployment from August 1995 to February 1996. The Wasp was again deployed in 2004 with the 22 MEU in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

*''Essex'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Kearsarge'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Boxer'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Bataan'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Iwo Jima'' Expeditionary Strike Group *''Makin Island'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''America'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Tripoli'' Expeditionary Strike Group -

Former ESG units

This is a list of former ESGs and similarly themed predecessor organizations: ;Named groups: (These were named for the s that lead them. All ships in this class have since been decommissioned *''Tarawa'' Expeditionary Strike Group (before "''Tarawa'' Amphibious Ready Group") — *''Saipan'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Belleau Wood'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Nassau'' Expeditionary Strike Group – *''Peleliu'' Expeditionary Strike Group – - in September 1997, USS ''Peleliu'' ARG took part in Fleet Battle Experiment – Bravo's "Silent Fury" phase along with the ''Constellation'' Carrier Battle Group. The ''Peleliu'' ARG was deployed to the

in 1997 and participated in Exercise Eager Mace 98. *''Bonhomme'' Richard Expeditionary Strike Group – - a ship that was destroyed by a fire in while in port. ;Numbered groups: (Amphibious Groups since redesignated as Expeditionary Strike Groups) * Expeditionary Strike Group 1 – Deployed to the

and

in 2003 in support of the

Global War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...

. It included the ''Los Angeles-class''

nuclear attack submarine An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...

and the only operational Advanced SEAL Delivery System, a minisub deployed from the ''Greeneville'' that was used by

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

s for special operations missions. * Expeditionary Strike Group 2 – In 1978, Amphibious Group 2 comprised Amphibious Squadron 2,

Amphibious Squadron 4 Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

Amphibious Squadron 6 Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

, and Amphibious Squadron 8, all at Norfolk, VA. In 1984 it still comprised the same four squadrons, parenting a mix of LHAs, LKAs, LPHs, LPDs, LSDs, and LSTs. The command also included and . Commander, Amphibious Group 2 was disestablished 31 December 2006, and commissioned as Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2, per CNO guidance regarding alignment of Expeditionary Strike Groups and Amphibious Groups. This culminated nearly a year of preparation to become an operational command ready to deploy to the Middle East. Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2 is an Echelon 4 command, previously reporting to Commander, U.S. Second Fleet. In 1978, , a

Naval Reserve Force The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

ship, was assigned to Amphibious Group 2.Norman Polmar, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Eleventh Edition, 1978, , 9. *

Expeditionary Strike Group 3 Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is an expeditionary strike group (ESG) of the U.S. Navy. Expeditionary strike groups combine the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups for ...

Amphibious Group 4 Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

– , part of the Northern Attack Force, served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Rear Admiral Lawrence F. Reifsnider, Commander Amphibious Group 4, for the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

in 1944. In a transfer of flags at

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

, on 23 March 1954, Commander Amphibious Group 4 (COMPHIBGRU 4) shifted his flag to . Commanded by Rear Admiral

Eugene B. Fluckey Eugene Bennett Fluckey (October 5, 1913 – June 28, 2007), nicknamed "Lucky Fluckey", was a United States Navy rear admiral who received the Medal of Honor and four Navy Crosses during his service as a submarine commander in World War II. Ear ...

from November 1960 to October 1961. Active in the 1960s, seemingly up to 1968–69, in the Atlantic Fleet. *

Expeditionary Strike Group Seven Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 (Amphibious Force U.S. SEVENTH Fleet) is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group. ...

* USS ''Essex'' 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 17 October 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 76 Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 (Amphibious Force U.S. SEVENTH Fleet) is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group ...

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 Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. They consist of either the Marine Expeditionary Force(MEF), Marine Expeditionary Brigade(MEB), or the smaller

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's Expeditionary Strike Groups or

Amphibious ready group An amphibious ready group (ARG) of the United States Navy consists of a naval element—a group of warships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF)—and a landing force (LF) of U.S. Marines (and occasionally U.S. Army soldiers), in total about ...

s. The MAGTF are composed of four basic elements: *

Command Element In the United States Marine Corps, the command element (CE) is the command and control force of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). It provides C3I for the MAGTF. __TOC__ Role within the MAGTF The Command Element (CE), a headquarters unit ...

(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 Element (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 Element (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 Element (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. The Aviation Command Element now consists of VMM composite squadron. The CH-46 was retired from active service and replaced with the MV-22B aircraft.

References

External links

*{{cite web, access-date=17 May 2007 , url=http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA328250 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930202843/http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA328250 , url-status=dead , archive-date=30 September 2007 , title=Naval Expeditionary Task Force Combat Logistics Coordinator in the Year 2010 , author=Turley, Craig W. , date=19 May 1997 , publisher=Joint Military Operations Department,

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, location=

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

Combatant groups of the United States Navy Amphibious units and formations of the United States Navy