Gunner's mates fire a 40 mm saluting battery from the vulture's row of the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS "Essex" (LHD-2) in the Gulf of Aden. "Essex", part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU), was deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.