The U.S. Navy sends the USS Makin Island and fighter wing of Marine F-35s to the Persian Gulf. One of the reasons is that they signify a U.S. presence against what is seen as belligerent Iran.
Lately, the Persian Gulf has been active with deployments of U.S. warships regularly.
According to the U.S. 5th Fleet, they have deployed several elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit that passed through the Straits of Hormuz, now in the Persian Gulf. These include the USS Makin Island (LHD-8) with other naval group units, reported USNI.
The Makin Island passed into the Persian Gulf after February 5 when USS Somerset (LPD-25) went ahead, according to the Navy, which confirmed it last Tuesday. But one more ship, the USS San Diego (LPD-22), which makes up the Amphibious Ready Group, has been in the Gulf since January.
But some reports say that San Diego has shifted operations to the Oman Gulf. It is replaced by the Makin when it arrives to continue operations in its place.
Amphibious ship get deadlier with F-35s
Onboard, the Makin is a wing of Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters that joins another unit, the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 164 (Reinforced). When Operation Octave Quartz was done in Somalia and Africa, the operation had aerial cover and support of F-35s where troops were repositioned in Octave Quartz.
When the U.S. Navy ships pass into the Hormuz, Makin traveled on a guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal, including the support ship, fleet oiler USNS Carl Brashear in its group.
When the USS Nimitz left for the Persian Gulf, the Makin is the initial U.S. capital ship to replace the aircraft carrier. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group start for 60 days operating in the Persian Gulf when it left to join the Indian Navy. Nimitz CSG was with the Makin in Octave Quartz; this is one of the most essential ARG missions in 2020.
ARG exercises
The three-light carriers Makin Island, Somerset, and San Diego of the Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) left the U.S. West Coast last October, starting all California Coast deployment practices. Units were training for their eventual send off to the Middle East.
It is usual for navy ships to take a rotation in places like the middle east to replace spent groups with fresh ones that keep the units refreshed all the time.
Why even ARGs are vital to U.S. plans in the Mideast
It is vital that the U.S. keeps an active naval presence and not let up in there. Iran's activities made the U.S. military keep the pressure on Tehran to push back without firing a bullet or launching a missile.
To keep an eye on Tehran and launched deterrents like carrier strike groups (CSGs) that patrolled the Arabian Seas to support allies in the Mideast. It was in July when it joined the mighty 5th Fleet of America after its June deployment.
Last Monday, the Nimitz CSG joined the Theodore Roosevelt CSG in the South China Sea but sailed back to the U.S. East Coast.
The USS Makin and the rest of the ARGs are strategies for the U.S. Navy to keep ships and planes ready to strike with F-35s, even without a larger CSG in the area.
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