31st Marine Expeditionary Unit

Naval aviators with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 conduct aerial refueling off the coast of Japan, Feb. 28, 2019. U.S. Marines with VMGR-152 provide a wide range of capabilities throughout the INDOPACOM area to include aerial refueling, personnel and cargo transportation, and aerial delivery. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Harmon)

Naval aviators with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) position an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft during aerial refueling with a KC-130J Super Hercules from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 off the coast of Japan, Feb. 28, 2019. U.S. Marines with VMGR-152 provide a wide range of capabilities throughout the INDOPACOM area to include aerial refueling, personnel and cargo transportation, and aerial delivery. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Harmon)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jack Bourgeois, a KC-130J Super Hercules crewmaster with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152, observes an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) off the coast of Japan, Feb. 28, 2019. U.S. Marines with VMGR-152 provide a wide range of capabilities throughout the INDOPACOM area to include aerial refueling, personnel and cargo transportation, and aerial delivery. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Harmon)

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Kyle Johnson, a KC-130J Super Hercules pilot with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 observes a KC-130J as the two aircraft fly in formation off the coast of Japan, Feb. 28, 2019. U.S. Marines with VMGR-152 provide a wide range of capabilities throughout the INDOPACOM area to include aerial refueling, personnel and cargo transportation, and aerial delivery. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Harmon)

Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit stand in formation after a conditioning hike at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 15, 2019. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU’s Command Element, the aptly named command and control element for the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, completed a more than five-kilometer hike to build conditioning and prepare its Marines and Sailors for the rigors of amphibious operations. The 31st MEU, partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit march in formation during a conditioning hike at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 15, 2019. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU’s Command Element, the aptly named command and control element for the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, completed a more than five-kilometer hike to build conditioning and prepare its Marines and Sailors for the rigors of amphibious operations. The 31st MEU, partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit utilize ultra violet light to reveal fingerprints during battlefield forensic process training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 16, 2019. This training is used to further enhance improvised explosive device components, digital media and chemical exploitations, and gather evidence in a timely manner. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Luis Velez/Released)

Reconnaissance Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Force Reconnaissance Platoon roll backward into the water during training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 13, 2019. The FRP Marines train regularly for quick, tactical raids of targets both on land and sea to fulfill the specialized raid missions the 31st MEU is capable of conducting during deployments. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cameron E. Parks /Released)

Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit march in formation during a conditioning hike at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 15, 2019. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU’s Command Element, the aptly named command and control element for the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, completed a more than five-kilometer hike to build conditioning and prepare its Marines and Sailors for the rigors of amphibious operations. The 31st MEU, partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Wood-Casella, a U.S. Navy religious program specialist with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, stands in formation before beginning a conditioning hike at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 15, 2019. Wood-Casella, a 22-year old native of Norwell, Massachusetts, protects the 31st MEU chaplain during amphibious operations; chaplains are classified as noncombatants and do not carry weapons – they rely on their ‘RPs’ for defense during Marine Corps operations. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU’s Command Element, the aptly named command and control element for the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, completed a more than five-kilometer hike to build conditioning and prepare its Marines and Sailors for the rigors of amphibious operations. The 31st MEU, partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Lance Cpl. Michael Barclay, a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, pulls the charging handle of an M240B medium machine gun during training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 3, 2019. Barclay, a 20 year old native of Newport News, Virginia, graduated from Woodside High School in June 2017 before enlisting in August 2018. During the training, Marines with CLB-31 fired several thousand rounds to refine their abilities with medium and heavy machine guns. CLB-31 is the Logistics Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the U.S. Navy's Amphibious Squadron 11, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Sgt. Maj. Al Torres, the sergeant major of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, reads a promotion warrant during a visit from Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman, the commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 2, 2019. Lt. Gen. Osterman visited the Marines of BLT 1/4 before they depart Okinawa to conclude their deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tanner D. Lambert/Released)

Cpl. Andre Balseca, a rifleman with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, the “China Marines,” simulates firing an M9A1 9 mm service pistol at a target aboard the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), East China Sea, Feb. 14, 2019. Balseca, a native of Chicago, Illinois, graduated from East Leyden High School in May 2015 before enlisting in June later that year. Alpha Company Marines are the small boat raid specialists for BLT 1/4, the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Harrison C. Rakhshani/Released)

Pfc. Yaxel Santiagorodriguez, a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, prepares to fire an M2 .50-caliber machine gun during machine gun training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 3, 2019. During the training, Marines with CLB-31 fired several thousand rounds to increase and maintain proficiency with medium and heavy machine guns. Santiagorodriguez, a native of Haines City, Florida, graduated from Haines City High School in June 2018 before enlisting in June of the same year. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kevan Dunlop/Released)

Lance Cpl. Andrew Foss, a rifleman with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, the “China Marines,” simulates firing an M9A1 9 mm service pistol under the supervision of Cpl. Austin Pryor, a rifleman, aboard the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), East China Sea, Feb. 14, 2019. Foss, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduated from Riverside University in June 2017 before enlisting later that month. Pryor, a native of Greenville, Indiana, graduated from Floyd Central High School in May 2015 before enlisting in June 2015. Alpha Company Marines are the small boat raid specialists for BLT 1/4, the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Harrison C. Rakhshani/Released)

A Military Policeman with Combat Logistics Battalion 31 kicks a door open during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Combat town, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 13, 2019. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dylan Hess/Released)

Military Policemen with Combat Logistics Battalion 31 prepare to clear a building during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Combat Town, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 13, 2019. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dylan Hess/Released)

Sgt. Jason Stroud, a data system administrator with Combat Logistics Battalion 31 is a simulated causality during a Combat Life Savers Course aboard the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), East China Sea, Feb. 13, 2019. Stroud, a native of Okeechobee, Florida, graduated from Okeechobee High School in June of 2015. Stroud enlisted in the Marine Corps his junior year of high school in June of 2014. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mackenzie Carter/Released)

Marines with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, and Combat Logistics Battalion 31 conduct practical application during a Combat Life Savers Course aboard the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), East China Sea, Feb. 13, 2019. Alpha Company Marines are the small boat raid specialists for BLT 1/4, the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mackenzie Carter/Released)

Lance Cpl. David Black and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Ballesteros, both mortarmen with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, the “China Marines,” practice the counter to the front choke aboard the dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), East China Sea, Feb. 8, 2019. Alpha Company Marines are the small boat raid specialists for BLT 1/4, the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Harrison C. Rakhshani/Released)