Rear Adm. William Lescher, center, commanding officer, Expeditionary Strike Group 5, speaks with Master Gunnery Sgt. Donald Iskerka, left, operations chief, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Col. Frank Donovan, commanding officer, 24th MEU, in the Landing Force Operations Center of amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima during his visit there Sept 25, 2012. Lescher conducted a multi-day visit on USS Iwo Jima to meet with the Marines of the 24th MEU and Sailors of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, and to become familiar with 24th MEU-IWO ARG operations. The 24th MEU is deployed with the IWO ARG as a theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command and is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.