Expeditionary Strike Group 8 Transits Suez Canal

Photo caption:

With the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) trailing closely behind, infantrymen from Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, provide security with a machine gun-equipped High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4) as the ship transits the Suez Canal. The 22nd MEU’s passage through the Suez Canal took it into the Central Command area of operations as the landing force for Expeditionary Strike Group Eight (ESG-8). U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks

More here:

ESG-8 will fully support MSO while operating in the 5th Fleet AOO...
...ESG-8 includes 6,000 Sailors and Marines aboard six ships. In addition to Nassau, the strike group includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71), the amphibious transport dock USS Austin (LPD 4), the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston Churchill (DDG 81) and the attack submarine USS Norfolk (SSN 714). The 22nd MEU(SOC), embarked aboard the ships, is composed of its command element, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (Reinforced), and the MEU Service Support Group 22...
...MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons, or other material.

Haze gray and underway, with some green highlights.