NEWS

United States and Japan Ground-Self Defense Force soldiers unload boxes of water from a supply truck at Cabu Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, in support of Exercise Balikatan, April 20, 2018. - United States and Japan Ground-Self Defense Force soldiers unload boxes of water from a supply truck at Cabu Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, in support of Exercise Balikatan, April 20, 2018. Balikatan 34-2018, in its 34th iteration, is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training exercise focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism and other combined military operations held from May 7 to 18. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew J. Bragg)

180507-N-WI365-0066.JPG - From left, Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Gen. Emmanuel B. Salamat, commander, Armed Forces of the Philippines Northern Luzon Command; Sung Y. Kim, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines; Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, Philippine Secretary of National Defense; Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr., chief of staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, commanding general, III Marine Expeditionary Force raise their arms while standing shoulder-to-shoulder during the Exercise Balikatan opening ceremony held at Tejeros Hall, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines, 07 May 2018. The ceremony represented the official commencement of Exercise Balikatan and the continued partnership between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines. Exercise Balikatan, in its 34th iteration, is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, and other combined military operations held from May 7 to May 18. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Markus Castaneda)

180419-M-DP650-466.JPG - Honored guests lower a time capsule into the ground to conclude the groundbreaking ceremony at Calangitan Elementary School in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines, in support of Exercise Balikatan, April 19, 2018. Balikatan 34-2018, in its 34th iteration, is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training exercise focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism and other combined military operations held from May 7 to 18. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew J. Bragg)

Brig. Gen. Daniel B. Conley, left, commanding general of 3rd Marine Logistics Group, awards Lt. Nicholas Crossland, a dental officer with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, with the Lt. J.G. Weedon E. Osbourne Memorial Award May 5, 2018 on Camp Foster. - Brig. Gen. Daniel B. Conley, left, commanding general of 3rd Marine Logistics Group, awards Lt. Nicholas Crossland, a dental officer with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, with the Lt. J.G. Weedon E. Osbourne Memorial Award May 5, 2018 on Camp Foster. Crossland was awarded this for his work while attached to the 31st MEU. The Osborne award is given to dental officers who exhibit superior leadership while serving with the field medical service. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jamin M. Powell)

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11, embarked aboard the ships of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, completed Spring Patrol 2018 - a regularly-scheduled patrol of the Indo-Pacific region - and have returned to White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, April 21, 2018. - The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11, embarked aboard the ships of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, completed Spring Patrol 2018 - a regularly-scheduled patrol of the Indo-Pacific region - and have returned to White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, April 21, 2018. The 31st MEU partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bernadette Wildes/Released)

180419-M-GO150-021.JPG - Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Rodriguez, a maintenance officer with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, holds a 3-D printed plastic bumper for an F-35B Lightning II landing gear door aboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1) while underway in the Pacific Ocean, April 19, 2018. Marines with CLB-31 are now capable of ‘additive manufacturing,’ also known as 3-D printing, which is the technique of replicating digital 3-D models as tangible objects. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stormy Mendez/Released)

A Marine with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing carries the American Flag during the Bataan Death March Memorial hike, April 7, 2018 on Kadena Air Force base, Okinawa, Japan. - A Marine with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing carries the American Flag during the Bataan Death March Memorial hike, April 7, 2018 on Kadena Air Force base, Okinawa, Japan. More than 200 service members and their families participated in the 8.5 mile hike around Kadena’s perimeter in remembrance of the prisoners of war who perished as a result of the Death March that took place in the Philippine archipelago in 1942 during WWII. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Natalie Dillon)

Paying it Forward | Okinawa-based Marine uses past hardship to help motivate others - Cpl. Lexus Martinez, Marine Corps Installations Pacific Food Service Specialist of the Quarter, mixes cake batter while volunteering at the United Service Organization, Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, March 20, 2018. Martinez says that making food and volunteering is her way of giving back to the community. "The opportunity to be an inspiration to others is a blessing. Every chance I get, I want to make a difference.” Martinez is a food service specialist with Headquarters Company, 3rd Marine Logistics Group. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Pinkney)

Staff Sgt. Cary Chase, from Bonire, Georgia, is the disbursing chief of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Combat Logistics Battalion 31. Chase’s duties include managing financial accounts for the Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU. The 31st MEU partners with the Navy's Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, providing a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase/Released) - Staff Sgt. Cary Chase, from Bonire, Georgia, is the disbursing chief of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Combat Logistics Battalion 31. Chase’s duties include managing financial accounts for the Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU. The 31st MEU partners with the Navy's Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, providing a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase/Released)