USS Greeneville (SSN 772) departed for deployment Sept. 1, 2003, as part of Expeditionary Strike Group One

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Sep. 03, 2003) USS Greeneville (SSN 772) departed for deployment Sept. 1, 2003, as part of Expeditionary Strike Group One (ESG-1), which set sail Aug. 22 from Naval Station San Diego for what would be the maiden voyage of the Navy's first ESG. The group, consisting of USS Peleliu (LHA 5), USS Germantown (LSD 42), USS Ogden (LPD 5), USS Jarrett (FFG 33) and USS Decatur (DDG 73), as well as the Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable, departed their homeport following a compressed and rigorous training cycle. Greeneville recently completed sea testing for the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). ASDS is a 65-foot mini-submarine, which has increased range, speed, and capacity over the current SEAL Delivery Vehicle, which is an open, wet submersible, that transports SEALs in scuba gear, exposing them longer to the elements. The ASDS mini-submarine is operated by a crew of two and can carry eight SEAL team members. The vessel is connected to the submarine via a watertight hatch, and has sophisticated sonar and a hyper-baric recompression chamber. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Tracy R. Hull. File# 030903-N-0435H-003