Sgt. Justin D. Head, animal packing course chief instructor, excercises his mustang, Hondo, shortly after grazing. The animal packing course is the only one of its kind in the department of defense and teaches Marines and other military personnel how to effectively and efficiently work with beast of burden to transport munitions, supplies and wounded personnel to and from areas inaccessible to mechanized and air transportation. The course, offered at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, teaches an introduction to animal packing, an anatomy of pack animals, animal packing techniques, casualty evacuation techniques, animal first aid and bivouac considerations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Aaron Hostutler)

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Tory Martin, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 20-year-old native of Twentynine Palms, Calif., replaces the safety pin of a Stingball grenade after using it during a non-lethal weapons training scenario in a simulated urban village on Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, Aug. 15, 2012. The training was part of a two-week test readiness review fielded by the Quantico, Va.-based Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate and the Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Experimentation Center. The DoD Non-Lethal Weapons Program, headed by Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos, trains operating forces on escalation of force options to minimize casualties and collateral damage, said Kelley Hughes, a directorate spokesperson. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Micheal P. Barrett, retired Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, retired Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada and retired Sgt. Maj. Alford L. McMichael, lead the funeral procession for retired Sgt. Maj. Henry H. Black, the 7th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, at Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, Va., Aug. 29, 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Cody A. Fodale)

CH-53D Sea Stallions with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 launch flares during a flight over Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 9, 2012. After 60 years of service, the squadron, known as the “Ugly Angels,” will be deactivated upon returning to their home station at Marine Corps Base Hawaii later this year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Isaac Lamberth)

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, swim to an obstacle during a water obstacle course in Djibouti, Aug. 30, 2012. The course is a part of a Training Force, or T-Force, package focused on primitive infantry skills. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. Central Command in the Navy’s 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Michael Petersheim)

A Marine carries a chock and chain across the flight deck before flight quarters aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Aug. 26, 2012. Bonhomme Richard is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed amphibious assault ship. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Russell)

U.S. Marine Sgt. Jacob Shepherd, a wireman with the 3rd Marine Regiment Embedded Training Team and a 26-year-old native of Bucyrus, Ohio, holds his 1-year-old son closely after returning to Marine Corps Base Hawaii from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2012. Approximately 110 Marines with the advanced parties of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, Combat Logistics Battalion 3 and a 3rd Marines ETT also returned from their seven-month deployments. The “Ugly Angels” of HMH-362 supported 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) during combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The CLB-3 Marines supported Combat Logistics Battalion 4 from Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province. Marines from the 3rd Marines ETT supported Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, in Helmand province’s Garmsir District. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)