Boxer ARG, 13th MEU Arrive in 7th Fleet Area of Operations

Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) transits the Pacific Ocean. More than 4,500 Sailors and Marines from Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) are transiting the Pacific Ocean to the 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Craig Z. Rodarte/Released)

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Craig Z. Rodarte, USS Boxer (LHD 4) Public Affairs

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) team began operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, Feb. 27.

 "The Boxer ARG, 13th MEU team has trained hard and is ready to enter the complex 7th Fleet operating area," said Capt. Keith Moore, commodore of Amphibious Squadron 1. "This is a vibrant, diverse and vital region of the world with immense importance to global security. I am looking forward to making new friends as we work with our regional partners to improve cooperation and readiness."

 While forward deployed to 7th Fleet, the ARG-MEU team will participate in exercise Ssang Yong 2016, work to strengthen ties with allies, deter conflict, and conduct operations in support of the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy.

 "Few regions in the world are as important to America's interest as the Pacific and 7th Fleet's area of responsibility," said Col. Anthony Henderson, commanding officer of the 13th MEU. "The Boxer ARG, 13th MEU team contributes to the security and stability of our partners and allies throughout the region by engagement and cooperation. Yes we are trained and ready across the spectrum of contingencies and potential crisis, but just as important our presence shows our commitment."

 The 7th Fleet AOR spans more than 124 million square kilometers stretching from the international date line to the India-Pakistan border, and from the Kuril Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South encompassing 36 maritime countries and half of the world's population.

 Boxer ARG is comprised of Amphibious Squadron (COMPHIBRON) 1, amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49).

 The 13th MEU is comprised of a ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; an aviation combat element, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 (Reinforced); a logistics combat element, Combat Logistics Battalion 13; and a command element.

 While deployed, the ARG/MEU team serves as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force capable of conducting amphibious missions across the full range of military operations.

 The mission of the Boxer ARG is to help provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the seas and provide humanitarian assistance/disaster response as well as support the Navy's Maritime Strategy when forward deployed.

 The mission of the 13th MEU is to provide a forward-deployed, flexible sea-based Marine Air Ground Task Force capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis response and limited contingency operations, including enabling the introduction of follow on forces and designated special operations in order to support the theater requirements of geographic combatant commanders.

Silent Running - Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected for weeks

By Bill Gertz, the Washington Free Beacon

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

The stealth underwater incursion in the Gulf took place at the same time Russian strategic bombers made incursions into restricted U.S. airspace near Alaska and California in June and July, and highlights a growing military assertiveness by Moscow.

The fact that the Akula was not detected in the Gulf is cause for concern, U.S. officials said.

The officials who are familiar with reports of the submarine patrol in the Gulf of Mexico said the vessel was a nuclear-powered Akula-class attack submarine, one of Russia’s quietest submarines.

One official said the Akula operated without being detected for a month.

“The Akula was built for one reason and one reason only: To kill U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarines and their crews,” said a second U.S. official.

“It’s a very stealthy boat so it can sneak around and avoid detection and hope to get past any protective screen a boomer might have in place,” the official said, referring to the Navy nickname for strategic missile submarines.

The U.S. Navy operates a strategic nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia. The base is homeport to eight missile-firing submarines, six of them equipped with nuclear-tipped missiles, and two armed with conventional warhead missiles.

“Sending a nuclear-propelled submarine into the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region is another manifestation of President Putin demonstrating that Russia is still a player on the world’s political-military stage,” said naval analyst and submarine warfare specialist Norman Polmar.

read the entire article at http://freebeacon.com/silent-running/