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Marines from Alpha Company Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 8th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, shoot rounds down range during a Company size assault in Djibouti Africa August 27, 2006. ::n::The 24th MEU has been conducting live fire training in Africa before they enter Pakistan in the near future. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Corporal Joshua Lujan) ::n::::n::::n:: ::n:: - Marines from Alpha Company Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 8th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, shoot rounds down range during a Company size assault in Djibouti Africa August 27, 2006. ::n::The 24th MEU has been conducting live fire training in Africa before they enter Pakistan in the near future. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Corporal Joshua Lujan) ::n::::n::::n:: ::n::

24th MEU training heats up in African broiler

When conducting combat training, Marines like to stack the odds against themselves and travel to places where the local flora and fauna struggle to survive, where the expanse of nothingness is the only attribute that rivals the intensity of the heat. Training in adversity is what helps Marines thrive in combat. The heat that on Aug. 27 greeted

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Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to board a CH-46 helicopter on their way to the East African nation of Djibouti Thursday to begin their first training exercise since returning to the Central Command area of operations.::n::The Marines, members of Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 24th MEU, will spend the next several days firing an array of weapons aboard desert training ranges. - Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to board a CH-46 helicopter on their way to the East African nation of Djibouti Thursday to begin their first training exercise since returning to the Central Command area of operations.::n::The Marines, members of Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 24th MEU, will spend the next several days firing an array of weapons aboard desert training ranges.

24th MEU arrives in Africa for training

Nearly 1,000 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fresh from duty in Lebanon, arrived in the East African nation of Djibouti Thursday to begin their first training exercise since returning to the Central Command area of operations. The Marines moved ashore by helicopter and air-cushioned landing craft dispatched from two amphibious

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Marines from weapons company Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 8th Marines, lock and load and conduct a live fire exercise on board the USS Iwo Jima on July 1, 2006. The BLT is the ground combat element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is based out of Camp Lejuene North Carolina. The purpose of the live fire exercise is to hone in the Marines shooting skills with a full combat load. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Corporal Joshua Lujan) - Marines from weapons company Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 8th Marines, lock and load and conduct a live fire exercise on board the USS Iwo Jima on July 1, 2006. The BLT is the ground combat element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is based out of Camp Lejuene North Carolina. The purpose of the live fire exercise is to hone in the Marines shooting skills with a full combat load. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Corporal Joshua Lujan)

24th MEU trains for ‘high-noon showdown’

In the old American West, heeled gunslingers sought the morbid truth in black cordite smoke, often finding it lodged in the small, deadly spaces separating the quick from the dead. Today, living amongst a new generation of gunslingers, the task of settling quarrels still falls to tough men with guns – and is still fought in small, deadly spaces.

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Lance Corporal Corey Chiappazzi a native of Erie, Penn., scans the horizon over the sites of his M240G Medium Machine Gun on the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima as it sails through the Suez Canal on its way to the Central Command Theater of Operation Aug. 20. Chiappazzi is a member of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 8th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. - Lance Corporal Corey Chiappazzi a native of Erie, Penn., scans the horizon over the sites of his M240G Medium Machine Gun on the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima as it sails through the Suez Canal on its way to the Central Command Theater of Operation Aug. 20. Chiappazzi is a member of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 8th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

24th MEU sails on from mission in Lebanon

After assisting in the departure of nearly 15,000 U.S. citizens from Lebanon, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit returned today to the Central Command area of operations. Forces assigned to the U.S. European Command have moved in to replace the MEU and are now providing support to the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. “We’re needed elsewhere,” said Col. Ron

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While on board the USS Iwo Jima Marines take part in Corporal's Course on the flight deck. This course gives Marines training in sword manual, troop formations, and various different aspects that come with being an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson) - While on board the USS Iwo Jima Marines take part in Corporal's Course on the flight deck. This course gives Marines training in sword manual, troop formations, and various different aspects that come with being an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson)

24th MEU NCOs pick up steam on leadership fast track

For its young leaders, the Marine Corps can seem like an iron-clad locomotive that never wavers from standards that proud men, wearing high leather collars, introduced in Philadelphia after raising their beer glasses in Tun Tavern. Upon promotion to corporal, newly minted non-commissioned officers are expected to keep pace and weather the shock

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Sgt. Maj. Andy Crout leads his Marines from the Command Element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in a motovational run on the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima. Unit training like this helps Marines keep high spirits while aboard the ship. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson) - Sgt. Maj. Andy Crout leads his Marines from the Command Element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in a motovational run on the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima. Unit training like this helps Marines keep high spirits while aboard the ship. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson)

Double Time, March!;24 MEU runs to stay fit, build cohesion ;

While 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines are aboard ship and preparing themselves for combat, they are thrust into a perpetual cycle of weapons maintenance and equipment inventory to ensure that when the time comes for them to grab their gear and hit the deck, they are primed and ready. The Marines must also prepare their most important weapon

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Cpl. Justin Muir, a combat engineer with Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 24 and a native of Canastota, N.Y., plays with an American child before the child departs Beirut, Lebanon, July 22. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and elements of Task Force 59 are assisting with the departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew J. Carlson) (Released)::n::::n:: - Cpl. Justin Muir, a combat engineer with Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 24 and a native of Canastota, N.Y., plays with an American child before the child departs Beirut, Lebanon, July 22. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and elements of Task Force 59 are assisting with the departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew J. Carlson) (Released)::n::::n::

24th MEU ECC Marine keeps spirits high

To American civilians, eating a meal ready-to-eat, or MRE, can be an intimidating prospect. It’s handed to them cased in a non-descript brown sleeve, not unlike certain types of discreet mail. Once opened, its contents are filled with individual packages, chemical heaters and official-sounding foods like “fortified applesauce.” With a family in

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Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conduct a vehicle wash down during a brief port stop in Cyprus. The short stop comes right after the Marines assisted the departure of thousands of Americans from Beirut. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson) - Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conduct a vehicle wash down during a brief port stop in Cyprus. The short stop comes right after the Marines assisted the departure of thousands of Americans from Beirut. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Andrew J. Carlson)

24th MEU Marines workin’ at the ‘car wash’

To Americans, cars are like a religion. Masses of furrowed brows brave unrelenting summer heat and molten blacktop surfaces in the almighty pursuit of a spotless, functioning vehicle. They’ll fall to their knees to clean a hard-to-reach area or change a tire as they pray to the car gods to spare them a trip to the local mechanic for a costly

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Staff Sgt. Shawn Shoulders, Sierra Battery?s guns platoon sergeant, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), receives a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal July 27 during an awards ceremony aboard the USS Whidbey Island. - Staff Sgt. Shawn Shoulders, Sierra Battery?s guns platoon sergeant, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), receives a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal July 27 during an awards ceremony aboard the USS Whidbey Island.

Shoulders bears heavy load in assisted departure

Staff Sgt. Shawn Shoulders, Sierra Battery’s guns platoon sergeant, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal July 27 during an awards ceremony aboard the USS Whidbey Island. Shoulders, a Fairmont, W.Va., native, earned the award for his role in aiding American citizens in

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A U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit carries an American child departing Beirut, Lebanon, July 22, 2006. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and elements of Task Force 59 are assisting with the departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew J. Carlson) (Released) - A U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit carries an American child departing Beirut, Lebanon, July 22, 2006. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and elements of Task Force 59 are assisting with the departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew J. Carlson) (Released)

24th MEU Marines return in peace

When Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit left Camp Lejeune, N.C., and set sail with the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group in early June, they left with thoughts of continuing the war on terror and bringing the fight to the foes of freedom. Six weeks later they found themselves in a war zone, in the middle of a fight that wasn’t theirs,

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