24th MEU Aviation Ops: Preparing for Deployment

10/15/2014
10/15/2014: Aircraft from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and the U.S. Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 conduct operations aboard the USS Iwo Jima off the coast of North Carolina, Aug. 9, 2014. The 24th MEU is seen  taking part in Amphibious Squadron/Marine Expeditionary Unit…

The Commissioning of the USS America, October 11, 2014

10/13/2014
10/13/2014: Second Line of Defense has followed the USS America in detail since it christening event. Now the ship has been commissioned and will prepare for its active duty role.  It will do so in a troubled world, where the Marines and sailors are likely to see difficult duty in…

Naval Forces Exercise Land Attack Role in Valiant Shield 2014

09/25/2014
09/25/2014: The sea base is an increasingly important part of the engagement against land targets. This is true of Ospreys bringing Marines ashore and of the use of precision strike weapons.  Indeed, the Navy’s role leveraging the surface, subsurface and air-breathing assets to distribute strike across the strike fleet will…

The Fleet Launches Tomahawk Missiles as Part of Iraqi-Syrian Mission

09/25/2014
09/25/2014:The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches tomahawk missiles as part of the mission to destroy ISIS. In the final two photos, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launches Tomahawk Cruise Missile as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). George H.W.…

Conclusion of Valiant Shield 2014

09/25/2014
09/24/2014: The fifth iteration of Valiant Shield came to a close Sept. 23 after nine days of joint air, land and sea interoperability training between the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Army. “Overall, Valiant Shield 2014 was a very successful exercise,” said Rear Adm. Russell Allen, Valiant Shield exercise…

Valiant Shield: Testing the Ability of the Fleet to Engage Airborne Threats

09/21/2014
09/21/2014: The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) fires a surface-to-air missile at a simulated contact during a missile exercise (MISSILEX) as part of Valiant Shield 2014. Cruisers and destroyers from Commander, Task Forces (CTF) 70 participating in exercise Valiant Shield conducted a MISSILEX to hone…

USS America at Sea

09/13/2014
09/13/2014: In this slideshow, various aspects of the USS America training its crew and working with allies are highlighted. Two tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey, assigned to the "Argonauts" of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) 22, transport distinguished visitors from Trinidad and Tobago to the future amphibious assault ship USS…

USS America’s Peruvian Port Visit

09/06/2014
09/06/2014: The future amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) sits at anchorage in the port of La Punta during a scheduled port visit to Callao, Peru. America is currently traveling through the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility on her maiden transit, “America Visits the…