La Salle (AGF 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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bove, below shore Task Force 60 is Sixth Fleet ' s Battle Force. It is com- posed of one or more aircraft carriers, each with an accom- pany ing complement of approximately six cruisers and de- stroyers. On board the aircraft carrier is an air wing of 65- 85 aircraft. The air wing is the primary striking arm of the Battle Force and includes attack, fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft. Ships accompanying the carrier serv e as defensive and offensive platforms with duties in- volving anti-air. surface and submarine warfare. In addition to its major role of controlling the seas, the battle force can also project its power over land. Task Force 6 1 is the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group (MARG). It is composed of approximately three amphibious ships and their embarked landing craft. From these ships. United States Marines ground forces can move ashore by sea and air in amphibious assault or emergency evacuation missions. Once ashore, the ships of Task Force 61 logistically support the ground forces, until the objective of the landing has been accomplished and the Marine forces return to the ships. Task Force 62 is the combat ready ground force com- posed of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of approxi- mately 1.800 Marines. Transported in Task Force 61 ships, the MEU is equipped with armor, artillery and transport he- licopters that enable it to conduct operations ashore or evacu- ate civilians from troubled areas. Task Force 63 is the Logistics Force. Composed of Oilers, provision ships and repair ships, its mission is the delivery of supplies at sea while effecting re- pairs to other ships. Task Force 66 69 is responsible for planning and coordinating area submarine and anti-submarine war- fare operation in the Mediterranean. Specifically, Task Force 69 is composed of attack submarines that pro- vide the capability to destroy enemy surface ships and submarines as well as protect other Sixth Fleet ships from attack. Task Force 67 is composed of land-based maritime patrol aircraft. These aircraft operate over the waters of the Mediterranean in anti-submarine, reconnaissance, sur veillance and mining roles. Power This is the bicentennial year of the U.S. Navy ' s foreign presence. Two hundred years ago. President Thomas Jefferson sent a quadron of U.S. Navy ships to the Mediterra- nean. When the USS President, USS Essex. USS Philadelphia and USS Enterprise anchored in the Bay of Gibraltar on July I. 1801, those ships brought something truly honorable to the shores of Europe and North Africa -- not just the Ameri- can flag, but U.S. Sailors and Marines. More than 100 years later, during World War II. U.S. Naval forces were still active in the Mediterranean re- gion, supporting the Allied invasion of North Af- rica, amphibious landings in Sicily and southern Italy, the liberation of southern France, and engag- ing the enemy on the high seas from Gibraltar to Istanbul. In the years since, the U.S. Naval pres- ence in the Mediterranean and Black Seas has dem- onstrated a fundamental element of the defense strategies of the United States and North Atlantic- Treaty Organization (NATO). Commander. U.S. Sixth Fleet, responsible for all afloat U.S. Naval assets in the region, is also Commander. NATO

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r - ' • ; -4 ■ m %r, u SS La Salle ixth Fleet Staff s Ou ED E cz: El AA Ed El f C31 Facing travails and tragedy, USS La Salle and the Sixth Fleet Staff sailed through it all during the last half of the year. And through it all, we did it as a team. Together again.

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for Peace Striking and Support Forces. Southern Europe. Today. Sixth Fleet ' s force structure typically consists of an aircraft carrier battle group, an am- phibious ready group with an embarked Marine Ex- peditionary Unit, and various support ships, land- based patrol aircraft and nuclear-powered attack sub- marines. Providing Strategic Stability in an Unstable World - The Sixth Fleet follows a Peacetime En- gagement Plan centering on exercises and operations [that promote interoperability and mutual cooperation lamong Mediterranean and Black Sea littoral nations. The men and women of the Sixth Fleet provided itimely and crucial military, logistical and humanitar- ian assistance in support of NATO operations in Kosovo during the Balkan crisis. Operation Allied Force. Joint Task Force Noble Anvil. Operation Shin- ing Hope and Operation Joint Guardian demonstrated Sixth Fleet resolve in deterring aggression. In the last decade alone, since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. Sixth Fleet has responded decisively whenever a challenge to the region ' s sta- bility has arisen. For example, in September 1995 during Operation Deliberate Force. U.S. Naval forces operating in the Adriatic conducted sustained air op- erations against targets in the Balkan region. Mark- ing the first time Tomahawk land-attack cruise mis- siles were launched from Naval vessels in the Medi- terranean. Deliberate Force helped bring warring parties from Bosnia-Herzegovina to the peace table in Dayton. Ohio. Sixth Fleet was also involved in Operation Joint Endeavor, a maritime peace imple- mentation operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina from December 1995 through February 1996. The Sixth Fleet Navy and Marine Corps team took part in other operations as well, including Operation Assured Re- sponse, an evacuation of Americans caught in Liberia ' s civil war. and a non-combatant evacuation of U.S. citi- zens and other third-country nationals from Albania (Joint Task Force Silver Wake). The most recent example of Sixth Fleet ' s com- mitment to regional stability came during Operation Allied Force, during which Sixth Fleet Navy and Ma- rine Corps forces demonstrated contributed unmatched military might in support of NATO ' s air campaign, helping cease the violence and ethnic cleansing being inflicted on the people of Kosovo. Meanwhile. Sixth Fleet Sailors and Marines were in Albania providing humanitarian aid as part of Operation Shining Hope. When the air campaign concluded. Sixth Fleet Marines were the first U.S. forces in Kosovo to begin peace- keeping operations as part of Task Force Falcon and Operation Joint Guardian. Deterrent to Conventional War — A forward-de- ployed, global Navy and Marine Corps team supports U.S. national interests and serves as a deterrent to ag- gression. U.S. Naval presence in the Mediterranean is a fundamental element of the defense strategy of the United States and NATO. Sixth Fleet commands train routinely to maintain warfighting skills, ensuring their ability to respond immediately to tasking from higher authority. The U.S. Sixth Fleet participation in bilat- eral, multi-lateral and NATO alliance exercises is a key element of our naval operations in the region. The U.S. Sixth Fleet remains forward deployed and committed to peace and stability at the vital crossroads of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Actively adopting a Power for fe ce doctrine. Sixth Fleet promotes peace- ful activities among maritime nations in the Mediter- ranean and Black Sea littoral area, ensuring stability, deterring aggression and. when necessary, responding decisively to any crisis erupting in the region.