PACIFIC OCEAN (March 27, 2011) USS Essex (LHD 2), with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard, nears the coast of Japan at sunrise. The 31st MEU and Amphibious Squadron 11 delivered food, water, comfort items and commercial repair vehicl…es to residents on the isolated island of Oshima, off the coast of Kessennuma, using U.S. Navy landing craft. Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU are conducting humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions in northeast Japan in coordination with Japanese Self Defense Forces. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Caleb Eames)