Hawai'i admiral to lead new force
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Rear Adm. Robert T. Conway Jr., commander of Navy Region Hawai'i, has been named to head a new Pacific Fleet battle force out of San Diego that will see warships sail in a type of convoy not seen before.
The Expeditionary Strike Group beefs up a traditional amphibious ready group of Marines and three ships with greater surface, undersea and air firepower, including a submarine, cruiser, destroyer, frigate and P-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft.
CONWAY
The cruiser Port Royal and attack submarine Topeka, both based at Pearl Harbor, will be part of the new Navy configuration better suited for the type of coastal warfare and other close-in operations that the U.S. military expects to see more of.
"The need for expeditionary strike groups arose last fall during the global war on terrorism," Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Walter F. Doran told the Navy's news service.
The Bataan group transported 2,200 Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to the northern Arabian Sea during the war in Afghanistan.
Doran said Conway "is the right leader to put in charge of this new expeditionary force."
The Pacific strike group is centered on the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, which normally sails with a Marine expeditionary unit, a dock landing ship and an amphibious transport ship.
The Port Royal and Topeka are not expected to shift home ports as a result of the change.
It was not clear when Conway would make the command switch. Navy officials called the strike group concept a "work in progress." An Atlantic Fleet strike group also will deploy this year.
Pacific Fleet spokesman Ensign Mike Morley said the strike group configuration allows for better defensive and offensive capabilities.
