2 US Warships, 4k Troops Arrive in Mediterranean
Local Editor
Four-thousand US sailors and marines from the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group [ARG] have arrived in the Mediterranean Sea after transiting the Suez Canal, according to a release from the US navy.
The group, which is comprised of an amphibious assault ship, the USS Wasp [LHD 1], and an amphibious dock landing ship, the USS Whidbey Island [LSD 41], rejoined the operations of the US 6th Fleet Thursday, according to Wasp ARG commander Captain F. Byron Ogden.
The Wasp re-entered the US 6th fleet after spending more than three months supporting Operation Odyssey Lightning [OOL] with precision airstrikes from 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit [MEU] aircraft in Sirte, Libya.
On its journey back to the 6th Fleet, it went through the 101-mile-long Suez Canal - often referred to as "the Ditch" by sailors - in 15 hours.
The canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, allowing vessels to avoid the approximately 7,000 kilometer trip around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of Africa.
The Wasp's arrival came just one day after Russia's Vice-Admiral Kulakov destroyer completed its operations in the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic.
Several other Russian warships remain in the Mediterranean, including the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, Peter the Great battle cruiser, Admiral Grigorovich frigate, and Severomorsk destroyer.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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