Joshua Valcarcel News

(Aug. 14, 2009) The Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4), center, the Royal Australian Navy heavy landing craft HMAS Betano (L 133) and the heavy landing craft HMAS Wewak (L 130) transit from Malaita to Guadalcanal while underway in the Solomon Islands during Pacific Partnership 2009. Pacific Partnership is a humanitarian assistance mission in the U.S. Pacific Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Valcarcel/Released)

USS Boxer (LHD 4) and ships assigned to Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) steam alongside while transiting to U.S. 5th Fleet's area of responsibility. 5th Fleet, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, is responsible for a sea encompassing about 2.5 million square miles of water including the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and parts of the Indian Ocean. U.S. The Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) left the Persian Gulf on April 19, entering U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of operation (AOR) to begin its journey back to its homeport in San Diego, after conducting more than five months of maritime security operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf. “We spent a very long time in the Gulf, and the crew responded magnificently,” said Capt. Bruce W.