Shelbyville, Tennessee · Saturday, November 21, 2009
[SeMissourian.com] Fair ~ 45°F  
High: 55°F ~ Low: 46°F
Air Traffic Controller Airman Apprentice Adam Minkel works at his desk in the Amphibious Air Traffic Control Center (AATCC) aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex' air-traffic controllers monitor all air traffic within a 220-mile radius from within AATCC. Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group and serves as the flagship for CTF 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Greg Johnson)