15th MEU Deployment Nears an End

The ships of the San Diego-based Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group, with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, pulled into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Friday as an eight-month deployment nears an end, the Navy reported.

The sailors and Marines of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay and amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore will spend a couple of days in Honolulu before heading home.

"Hawaii was our stepping-off point for this great adventure and it is fittingly our transition point for the return home," said Cmdr. Brian Finman, deputy commander, Amphibious Squadron Three.

"The crew is looking forward to a few days of liberty on this beautiful island and to the joy of re-discovering the common and simple things that we have missed while deployed," he said.

The Peleliu ARG served as a reserve force in the Middle East and conducted exercises with allied militaries.

"The sailors and Marines of the Peleliu ARG and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit have traveled thousands of miles and conducted a wide range of operations and port visits in 10 different countries," said Finman. "Among our many achievements, we conducted humanitarian assistance in East Timor, theater security cooperation exercises with several Gulf States, and maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea."

Family and friends will board the vessels at Pearl Harbor for a so- called "tiger cruise" on the way home, which should take a week or so.

—City News Service