Newspaper reports military mum on destination of 6-ship convoy

[unhappycamper]

Newspaper reports military mum on destination of 6-ship convoy
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, May 6, 2008

On Sunday, 5,500 sailors and Marines left San Diego on a six-ship convoy, though no one would say where they were headed, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In a brief news conference, Navy Capt. Jonathan Padfield said he had not been told the ships’ destination, the Union-Tribune reported. Padfield said the deployment was a regular rotation, and the group was going as the Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group.

Led by the amphibious assault ship Peleliu, the convoy comprises the amphibious ships Pearl Harbor and Dubuque, the cruiser Cape St. George and the destroyers Halsey and Benfold, the paper wrote.

On board were Marines from the Camp Pendleton-based 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which took part in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 2004 tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and additional tours in Iraq, according to the report.

The Marines were joined by aviators from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21 and Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light 45, both based at North Island Naval Air Station. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station also went along.


Article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54574