NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — More than 4,000 sailors and Marines got underway Tuesday morning after a three-day delay caused by Hurricane Joaquin.

The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Group embarked, deployed on is on tap for a seven-month float to provide maritime and theater security, as well as crisis response in the 5th and 6th fleets. The blue-green team will be aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge and amphibious transport dock Arlington out of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and the dock landing ship Oak Hill out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/Fort Story. The MEU 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The blue/green team is "trained well and ready to execute," Capt. A.P. Bennett, ARG commodore, said.

While Bennett would give no specifics on training or potential missions, there is no doubt Syria is on everyone's radar. Russian marines have established their presence in the embattled nation and have been joined by Chinese and Iranian marines. Russian surface warships from the Black Sea have also relocated to the eastern Mediterranean to protect fighter jets conducting airstrikes.

"The Marine expeditionary unit has a series of response packages they are ready to employ, and we are looking forward to providing a forward naval presence," he said.

The Islamic State group also looms large. Elements of the Essex ARG and 15th MEU, now on station in 5th Fleet, have been in the Persian Gulf for much of their deployment, and Marine aircraft have conducted sorties against IS targets in Iraq.

The Marines and sailors recognize the realities and are well-prepared for any scenario, according to Kearsarge's top enlisted sailor.

"One of the things we stress aboard Kearsarge and among the ARG is a respect for our history," CMC (SW/SSW) David Twiford said. "We have been doing this for 240 years, it's our turn it[at] bat. The sailors and Marines understand that and they are ready to go."

It is the first deployment for Arlington, which was commissioned in April 2013. The eighth ship in the San Antonio class, Arlington is named in honor of the 184 victims who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the first responders from Arlington County.

Kearsarge is a deployment veteran, having made her maiden voyage in 1995 before much of the current crew were born. But don't let her age fool you -- the gold-anchor ship has been refurbished with the latest upgrades to weapons and technologies.
"She is 22 years old, and we take great pride in keeping her ship-shape," said Capt. Dave Bossert, Kearsarge's skipper. "We've put a lot of time and effort into maintaining her, and she is in as good a shape as she has ever been."
Roughly 200 Kearsarge sailors will don two prototypes of the Improved Flame Resistant Variant coveralls as part of a wear test being conducted by Fleet Forces Command. The utility and flight suit versions also come with a blue version of the Army's flame-resistant fleece jacket.

The deployment comes after a busy summer. The ships conducted a three-week ARG/MEU Exercise in June, and three-week Composite Training Unit Exercise in mid-July.

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