A Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC) assigned to Assault Craft Unit Five (ACU-5) embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) heads to the island of Leyte. Essex is conducting operations in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts on the island of Leyte, following the Feb. 17 landslide that devastated the town of Guinsahugon located in the southern part of the island. Essex along with the dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) are part of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, homeported in Sasebo, Japan. www.navy.mil