DJIBOUTI (Oct. 1, 2012) - Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct function checks on PRC-150 tactical radios while training in Djibouti, Oct. 1, 2012. The training was part of a three-week exercise comprising basic infantry skills and desert survival techniques. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force in U.S. Central Command and the Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert L. Fisher III) - DJIBOUTI (Oct. 1, 2012) - Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct function checks on PRC-150 tactical radios while training in Djibouti, Oct. 1, 2012. The training was part of a three-week exercise comprising basic infantry skills and desert survival techniques. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force in U.S. Central Command and the Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert L. Fisher III)

DJIBOUTI (Oct. 7, 2012) - Petty Officer 3rd Class Charlie D. Murphy, 22, a hospital corpsman with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and McMinnville, Tenn., native, holds security on a patrol while training in the coastal mountains of Djibouti, Oct. 7, 2012. Non-infantry Marines like Murphy, with CLB-24, trained alongside their infantry brethren from Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th MEU, during a three-week training package to gain a shared understanding of each other's roles in the Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert L. Fisher III) - DJIBOUTI (Oct. 7, 2012) - Petty Officer 3rd Class Charlie D. Murphy, 22, a hospital corpsman with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and McMinnville, Tenn., native, holds security on a patrol while training in the coastal mountains of Djibouti, Oct. 7, 2012. Non-infantry Marines like Murphy, with CLB-24, trained alongside their infantry brethren from Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th MEU, during a three-week training package to gain a shared understanding of each other's roles in the Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert L. Fisher III)

USS GUNSTON HALL, Gulf of Oman (Oct. 5, 2012) - Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire M-9 Beretta pistols during sustainment training on the flight deck of the USS Gunston Hall in the Gulf of Oman, Oct. 5, 2012. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. - USS GUNSTON HALL, Gulf of Oman (Oct. 5, 2012) - Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire M-9 Beretta pistols during sustainment training on the flight deck of the USS Gunston Hall in the Gulf of Oman, Oct. 5, 2012. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Sgt. Michael Cox, a Brighton Ill., native with the Command Element, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is promoted to his current rank of Sergeant in the US Marine Corps by Col. Frank Donovan, commanding officer of the 24th MEU during a ceremony aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), Oct 1, 2012. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command and is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Chad R. Kiehl) - Sgt. Michael Cox, a Brighton Ill., native with the Command Element, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is promoted to his current rank of Sergeant in the US Marine Corps by Col. Frank Donovan, commanding officer of the 24th MEU during a ceremony aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), Oct 1, 2012. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command and is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Chad R. Kiehl)