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Cpl. Joseph Roche, a joint fires observer with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, oversees service members with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conducting call-for-fire drills in the Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 9, 2019. - Cpl. Joseph Roche, a joint fires observer with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, oversees service members with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conducting call-for-fire drills in the Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 9, 2019. Roche, a native of Franklin, Pennsylvania, graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in May 2011 before enlisting in May 2017. This observation and exchange provided opportunities for the 31st MEU Marines, and JGSDF personnel, to increasing understanding and interoperability. BLT 1/4 is the Ground Combat Element of the 31st MEU. 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 Lance Cpl. Harrison C. Rakhshani/Released)

The dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) sits idle off the coast during the U.S. Defense Support of Civil Authorities relief effort in response to Super Typhoon Yutu, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 3, 2018. Businesses, government buildings, homes and schools were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu, which made a direct hit with devastating effect on Tinian Oct. 25 packing 170 MPH winds – it is the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil and the strongest storm of 2018. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and CLB-31 have been leading a multi-service contingent since Oct. 29 as part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency-directed DSCA mission here. The Ashland arrived today to deliver a larger contingent of Marines and Seabees to further assist the people of Tinian. The Marines arrived at the request of CNMI officials and FEMA to assist relief efforts in the wake of Yutu, the largest typhoon to ever hit a U.S. territory. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released) - The dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) sits idle off the coast during the U.S. Defense Support of Civil Authorities relief effort in response to Super Typhoon Yutu, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 3, 2018. Businesses, government buildings, homes and schools were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu, which made a direct hit with devastating effect on Tinian Oct. 25 packing 170 MPH winds – it is the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil and the strongest storm of 2018. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and CLB-31 have been leading a multi-service contingent since Oct. 29 as part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency-directed DSCA mission here. The Ashland arrived today to deliver a larger contingent of Marines and Seabees to further assist the people of Tinian. The Marines arrived at the request of CNMI officials and FEMA to assist relief efforts in the wake of Yutu, the largest typhoon to ever hit a U.S. territory. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)