Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is an expeditionary strike group (ESG) of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. Expeditionary strike groups combine the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups for deployment and maintaining staff proficiencies to provide fleet commanders with a highly flexible, ready fly-away unit. It is capable of projecting expeditionary striking power in the

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

, and inland environs in support of U.S. national interests. The mission of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is to provide amphibious expertise and a deployable staff for combat and contingency operations in support of the nation's interests and maritime strategy. The staff advocate for the readiness and employment of U.S. amphibious forces across the full spectrum of military operations. As Amphibious Group 3, the organization participated in

Operations Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, Restore Hope, Continue Hope and United Shield. Upon reorganization and implementation of the newly developed ESG concept in 2003, it participated in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

Expeditionary Strike Group 3 Subordinate Commands

* Commander, Amphibious Squadron 1 (COMPHIBRON 1) * Commander,

Amphibious Squadron 3 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 ...

(COMPHIBRON 3) * Commander, Amphibious Squadron 5 (COMPHIBRON 5) * Commander,

Amphibious Squadron 7 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 ...

(COMPHIBRON 7) * Commander, Naval Beach Group 1 (COMNAVBEACHGRU 1) * Commander, Tactical Air Control Group 1

History

Expeditionary Strike Group 3 can trace its origins to Amphibious Group 3 (PHIBGRU 3). PhibGru 3 was probably active during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was definitely active by 1945; at Eniwetok on 7 September 1945, revised orders directed to

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

in the Philippines, where she arrived on 14 September and reported to Commander Amphibious Group 3 for duty in the occupation of

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

, Japan. On 17 September ''Bayfield'' embarked soldiers and equipment of the U.S. 81st Infantry Division. The landings at Aomori took place according to schedule on 25 September 1945. With the outbreak of the Korean war in June 1950, was ordered to the Far East. As flagship for Rear Admiral Lyman A. Thackrey, Commander, Amphibious Group 3, she acted as standby for Mount McKinley (AGC-7) during the invasion of Inchon, Korea, and coordinated and controlled the logistics operations. In 1978, Amphibious Group Eastern Pacific (PHIBGRUEASTPAC) at San Diego consisted of Amphibious Squadrons 1, 3, 5, and 7, all at San Diego. Early in 1987, the Thirteenth Edition of ''Ships and Aircraft'' still listed PhibGruEastPac at San Diego with the same four squadrons, but

had moved to

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Ca. PhibGru 3 was reestablished on 1 October 1984 by redesignating Amphibious Group, Eastern Pacific. On 1 August 1986, COMPHIBGRU 3 was reorganized into three assault squadrons and two non-deploying readiness squadrons.

Operation Desert Shield

In December 1990, the 13-ship Amphibious Task Force became the largest to sail from the West Coast since 1965 when it set sail in support of

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. The Task Force reached the north

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

and was joined by its East Coast counterpart and together they had a total of 31 amphibious ships, four combat logistics ships and eight supporting merchant ships, thus forming the largest Amphibious assault force since the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. COMPHIBGRU 3 participated in what is considered as the major amphibious operation of the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

when in February 1991, together with the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, it landed more than 6,500

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

at Al Mishab,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, just south of the

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

border. COMPHIBGRU 3 was to participate in numerous humanitarian assistance operations after Operation Desert Storm came to an end.

Somali Civil War

During the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

, COMPHIBGRU 3 participated in various operations,

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...

, Operation Continue Hope and

Operation United Shield Operation United Shield was the codename of a military operation, conducted 9 January to 3 March 1995, bringing a conclusion to the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II). Commanded by the United States, two ships of the Pakistan Na ...

. In Operation Restore Hope the force acted as a Maritime Prepositioning Force – based at the

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

Port Facility and in January 1995, the force played the role of Commander, Naval Forces, during the final withdraw of UN forces from Somalia.

1995–2000

From 1995 to 1998 COMPHIBGRU 3 participated in various naval exercises. Amongst them Exercise Cooperation from the Sea (1995) with the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

, exercises with Jordanian forces (1996) embarking landing craft from the United Arab Emirates for the first time in U.S. Navy history, Exercise Native Fury in Kuwait (1998), Exercise Freedom Banner in Korea (In October 1998, the command absorbed Naval Inshore Undersea Warfare Group 1 and redesignated Naval Coastal Warfare Group 1) and in (2000) Exercise Natural Fire in

Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Operation Iraqi Freedom

In 2003, COMPHIBGRU 3 provided the forces and stood up as Commander Task Force 51 to execute a multitude of the Naval Component Commander's assigned missions in support of

. In addition to the deployments in support of OIF, CPG-3 also deployed the first expeditionary strike group, Expeditionary Strike Group 1, on board in August 2003. ESG 1 participated directly in

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and Operation Iraqi Freedom. ESG 1 didn't return from the Middle East until March 2004. In November 2003, Marine Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina took command of Expeditionary Strike Group 3. This event marked the first time in history that a United States Marine Corps officer took command of a naval formation. In Operation Iraqi Freedom Two (OIF II), included a host of amphibious and maritime ships whose mission was to substitute Marines from the

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...

with troops from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

's 1st Infantry. To support the OIF II Force Rotation Plan and the First Marine Expeditionary Force's deployment to relieve the

3d Armored Cavalry Regiment The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Brave Rifles") is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas. The regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 ...

and the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

in Iraq, Commander Amphibious Group 3, Rear Adm. W. C. Marsh, and his San Diego–based staff deployed into the Fifth Fleet Area of Operations. Marsh assumed duties as Commander Task Force 51 (CTF 51) and began overseeing amphibious operations in the area. On 17 April 2007, Amphibious Group 3 was reorganized as Expeditionary Strike Group Three in San Diego. Unlike Commander, Amphibious Group 3, which provided ships with manning, training and material support, ESG 3 was to be strictly operational, preparing ESG forces for deployment and maintaining proficiencies as a staff to provide fleet commanders with a ready fly-away command element that is extremely flexible in mission assignment.

Notes

External links

* * Photos. *{{cite web, accessdate=6 May 2007, url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/esg.htm , title=Expeditionary Strike Group , publisher=GlobalSecurity.org Combatant groups of the United States Navy Military units and formations established in 2007 2007 establishments in the United States