Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG)

A US Navy task organization built around an Amphibious Ready Group (typically an LHA/LHD, an LPD, and an LSD) carrying an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit of about 2,200 Marines, sometimes reinforced with surface combatants for added strike and air-defense capability. The ESG is the command echelon over the ARG/MEU team; the ARG is the three-ship amphibious squadron and the MEU is the landing force it carries. ESGs provide forward sea-based crisis response, amphibious assault, and humanitarian relief from international waters without needing host-nation basing.