Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger, commander of Task Force (CTF) 76, speaks to guests in the hangar bay during a reception held aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is anchored outside Hong Kong and serves as the flagship for CTF 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. CTF 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan.