April 24, 2006: The U.S. Navy recently sent the Trenton Expeditionary Strike Group (amphibious carrier USS Trenton and her escorts) off to the Indian Ocean, without the normal complement of marines. Since these ships are believed to be supporting counter-terror operations, sending a ship like the LPD Trenton to sea without its normal complement of marines indicates that the ship may be used as a floating base for UAVs and SOF (special operations forces).
A similar task was assigned a navy carrier in 2002, to support SOF operations in Afghanistan. The Trenton, and her two escorts (a destroyer and a cruiser, and possibly a nuclear sub as well), could support SOF operations ashore in Somalia, or Iran. | It's a little early for SOF Ops in Iran, more likely Somalia, Yemen or the Sudan |
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