PACIFIC OCEAN – F-35B Lightning IIs with Marine Fighter Attack Detachment 211, the Wake Island Avengers, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), fly over Wake Island during a regularly scheduled deployment of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 13th MEU, August 1, 2018. The Essex ARG/MEU team is a strong, flexible, responsive and consistent force deployed to the 7th fleet area of operations to support regional stability, reassure partners and allies ad maintain a presence ready to respond to any crisis from humanitarian assistance to contingency operations. The Essex ARG and 13th MEU is the first continental United States Navy/Marine Corps team to deploy with the F-35B Lightning. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Francisco J. Diaz Jr.)
