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thedrifter
11-18-03, 03:28 PM
November 18, 2003

Marine takes command of expeditionary strike group

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


NAVAL STATION SAN DIEGO — In a historic move, a Marine Corps officer took the helm Nov. 17 of the Navy’s newest strike group, a seven-vessel force of 5,000 Marines and sailors who will deploy next summer.
Col. Joseph V. Medina, an experienced infantry officer who most recently commanded the 3rd Marine Regiment in Hawaii, is the first Marine to fully command a naval combat force. Three amphibious ships, three surface combatants and one submarine, along with 2,300 Marines, round out Expeditionary Strike Group Three, which is the Pacific Fleet’s second operational strike group to stand up since the Navy reshaped the composition of its seagoing forces.

Medina, who is awaiting confirmation for promotion to brigadier general, will lead his staff from the assault ship Belleau Wood in training exercises and war games over the next six months. He took command during a 30-minute ceremony in the hangar deck of the ship, which recently left the shipyard after a maintenance period.

Medina and his 24-member staff, who became ESG-3’s plankowners, are closely watching the ships of ESG-1, which most recently sent Marines into southern Iraq and continue to do maritime intercept missions in the Gulf region. “As we see what they’re doing, we put those lessons into our training program,” Medina said.

Along with the Belleau Wood, ESG-3 includes:

• The transport dock Denver, commanded by Capt. Brad Johanson, and the dock landing ship Comstock, commanded by Cmdr. John Baunschweig.

• Two destroyers, the Hopper, commanded by Cmdr. Mark Selby, and the Preble, commanded by Cmdr. Timothy Batzler.

• The cruiser Mobile Bay, commanded by Capt. Neal Kusumoto.

• The fast-attack submarine Charlotte, commanded by Cmdr. Dennis Carpenter.

• Amphibious Squadron Five, led by the commodore, Capt. Jack Federoff.

• The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, led by Col. Anthony Haslam.

Capt. Earl Gay, the Belleau Wood’s skipper and executive officer during its recent Persian Gulf deployment, said the strike group’s additional communications suites, radar and firepower will boost the force’s combat reach. Gay said he’s keen on the crew’s deployment tempo but noted that his sailors are ready. “We’re here to take the Marines to the fight, and everyone knows that,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Keith Stalder, who commands the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Pendleton, said the strike group will extend the Navy-Marine Corps team’s “power projection” and influence. “People will know that this is a most serious situation, that the team means business,” he said after the ceremony.

ESG-3 is the Navy’s fourth to take shape. ESG-1 is deployed in the Arabian Sea region, ESG-2 is training to deploy, and ESG-FDNY is comprised of forward-deployed forces in Japan. The experiment “is going to be a model for the future,” said Capt. Jeff Niner, ESG-3 chief of staff and a former destroyer squadron commander.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-2408957.php

Sempers,

Roger
:marine: