NEPTUNE SCEPTER, 28Oct-07Nov18
October 28 - November 7, 2018
Two U.S. Navy MH-53E "Sea Dragon" helicopters assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fifteen "Blackhawks" operate aboard expeditionary sea-base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) during "Neptune Scepter" from October 28 to November 7, 2018. USS Lewis B. Puller is capable of supporting a wide variety of missions including crisis response, counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations and humanitarian aid/ disaster relief - by embarking HM-15, Lewis B. Puller added the airborne MCM mission to its expanding repertoire. Lewis B. Puller was commissioned as a warship after previously being classified as a USNS ship in August 2017. Redesignating the ship as a commissioned warship allows the Navy greater operational flexibility and provide critical support to TF 51/5's joint forces at sea, from the sea and ashore to meet potential threats in the 5th Fleet area of operations which encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
Read MoreTwo U.S. Navy MH-53E "Sea Dragon" helicopters assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fifteen "Blackhawks" operate aboard expeditionary sea-base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) during "Neptune Scepter" from October 28 to November 7, 2018. USS Lewis B. Puller is capable of supporting a wide variety of missions including crisis response, counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations and humanitarian aid/ disaster relief - by embarking HM-15, Lewis B. Puller added the airborne MCM mission to its expanding repertoire. Lewis B. Puller was commissioned as a warship after previously being classified as a USNS ship in August 2017. Redesignating the ship as a commissioned warship allows the Navy greater operational flexibility and provide critical support to TF 51/5's joint forces at sea, from the sea and ashore to meet potential threats in the 5th Fleet area of operations which encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
