Sgts. Nicholas Guard and Barry Lemons, reconnaissance men with 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, 4th Marine Division, use an electronic wind meter to determine wind speed before parachuting from an Air Force C-17 transport aircraft over Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 28. Over a two-day training event, the recon Marines combined forces with Army, Air Force and Navy parachutists from Special Operations Command, Pacific, and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 to conduct static-line and free-fall parachute operations. Conducted bi-monthly as part of the recon Marines' sustainment training, the parachute operations served to better parachutist jump proficiency, and allowed jumpmasters to gain experience supervising their parachutists. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

Marines with Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, perform speed reloads while conducting magazine drills aboard the USS Green Bay March 25. The 13th MEU returned to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Sept. 29 after spending seven months as a Theater Reserve Force, providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in both 5th and 7th Fleet Areas of Responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher O'Quin)

Two Marines with Wounded Warrior Battalion West share a joke during a break from practice in Nokesville, Va., Aug. 1. The Marines participated in a three-day clinic to prepare for the Wounded Warrior Cutting Horse Classic. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jimmy D. Shea)

Sgt. Danny Ridgeway, explosive ordnance technician with 8th Engineer Support Battalion, conducts a post blast assessment shortly after the detonation of an explosives cache found in Sangin, Afghanistan, Aug. 25. The cache was discovered by Marines in an abandoned compound in the eastern desert. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Logan Pierce)

Lance Cpl. Kyle J. Palmer holds a mortar tube steady as Lance Cpl. Samuel E. Robertson grabs another mortar round during a joint live fire exercise July 14. Palmer and Robertson are mortarmen with the 81mm Mortars Platoon, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Marines and sailors with 31st MEU were in Australia participating in exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. TS11 is the largest joint military exercise undertaken by the Australian Defense Force. Around 14,000 U.S. troops and 9,000 Australian personnel are participating. The exercise was intended to increase interoperability, flexibility, and readiness, all of which are force multipliers in maintaining peace and stability in the Pacific. The 31st MEU is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and remains the nation’s force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region. (Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Gary J. Welch)