Culinary specialist Petty Officer 1st Class (SW/AW) Rosco Cohen, left, and information technician Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Courtney, both assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), read a book to the students of Chamka Kaosu school during a community relations project. Essex and the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are in Sihanoukville for a scheduled port visit that gives Sailors and Marines the opportunity to participate in friendship-building community relations events, medical and dental projects and professional exchanges. Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group and serves as the flagship for Combined Task Force 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. TF 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan.