It is composed of approximately three Amphibious assault ships, but in 2008 is designated the Expeditionary Strike Group that includes their embarked landing craft.
[1] From these ships, United States Marine Corps ground forces can move ashore by sea and air in amphibious assault or emergency evacuation missions.
Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Commander, South Pacific Area, issued his Operation Plan No.
[5] The Task Force formed one of the two U.S. carrier groups that took part in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
[7] U.S. naval forces in the area remained on high state of readiness through 2 September 1974 as the situation on Cyprus began to stabilize.
[citation needed] Task Force 61 is the subject of several military fiction novels by David Poyer.