Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jose Nieves, left, a Lancaster, Calif., native and Sgt. Zack Guess, a Marion, Ky., native both with Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, practice dry-fire techniques aboard USS Iwo Jima, Dec. 3, 2012. Marines and Sailors with the 24th MEU continuously conduct training in weapons handling and firing to remain ready at all times for a variety of missions that could be assigned to the MEU. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and is currently in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility. Since deploying in March, they have supported a variety of missions in the U.S. Central, Africa and European Commands, assisted the Navy in safeguarding sea lanes, and conducted various bilateral and unilateral training events in several countries in the Middle East and Africa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tucker S. Wolf/Released)