Sailors and Marines from the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group assist Santa Claus with delivering gifts to children from Friends and Little Folks during the second annual Christmas lighting ceremony at the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh. The amphibious assault ship Essex and the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in Sihanoukville, Kingdom of Cambodia, Nov. 26, 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. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan.