Petty Officer 3rd Class Kristin M. McBeath, stationed aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, holds a young girl while her mother is examined by a medical officer, during a medical and dental civic action project with Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and non-governmental organizations in the Kampong Cham region of Cambodia. 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. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan.