Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary

Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, distinguished guests from various consulate staffs and members of the Saudi Arabian military listen to the U.S. Consul General Tom Duffy provide opening remarks in the hangar of USS Iwo Jima during a reception May 8, 2012. The reception was held at the invite of the U.S. Department of State and hosted by the crew of the USS Iwo Jima while the ship was in the Jeddah Islamic Port facility recently. The USS Iwo Jima is the flagship for the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which also includes the USS New York and USS Gunston Hall. The IWO ARG is teamed up with the 2,300 Marines and Sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and is currently deployed in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations serving as a theater reserve and crisis response force.