Stories

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Thomas B. Savage, left, the commanding general of 1st Marine Division, gifts a 1st MARDIV coin and patch to Republic of Korea Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lee Ho Jong, the commanding general of 1st Marine Division, ROK Marine Corps, during a meeting in Pohang, South Korea, March 7, 2025. - U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Thomas B. Savage, left, the commanding general of 1st Marine Division, gifts a 1st MARDIV coin and patch to Republic of Korea Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lee Ho Jong, the commanding general of 1st Marine Division, ROK Marine Corps, during a meeting in Pohang, South Korea, March 7, 2025. Freedom Shield is an exercise that provides iterative opportunities for Republic of Korea Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps units to train together, improving their combined capabilities to deter threats and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. (Courtesy photo from Republic of Korea Marine Corps)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Matthew J. Fouss stands during the presentation of “Old Glory” as a part of his retirement ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 16, 2025. - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Matthew J. Fouss stands during the presentation of “Old Glory” as a part of his retirement ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 16, 2025. Fouss, the outgoing sergeant major of 1st Marine Division, retired after serving 30 years in the Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by. Sgt. Ezekieljay Correa)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jaye Townsend, left, a combat videographer with 1st Marine Division, and Sgt. Jack Townsend, a squad leader with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st MARDIV, pose for a photo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, April 23, 2024. - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jaye Townsend, left, a combat videographer with 1st Marine Division, and Sgt. Jack Townsend, a squad leader with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st MARDIV, pose for a photo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, April 23, 2024. Jaye and Jack are twins who joined the Marine Corps weeks apart and are both stationed on the West Coast. The Townsends are natives of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Willow Marshall)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Midshipman Michelle Mathews is a 19-year-old Midshipmen striving to be a Marine Corps officer, is one of the many people whose passion for being in the armed services has put her in the path to becoming a future leader. Mathews lives in Houston and attends Villanova University as a political science major. Her ultimate goal is to lead Marines and become a combat engineer officer. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED) - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Midshipman Michelle Mathews is a 19-year-old Midshipmen striving to be a Marine Corps officer, is one of the many people whose passion for being in the armed services has put her in the path to becoming a future leader. Mathews lives in Houston and attends Villanova University as a political science major. Her ultimate goal is to lead Marines and become a combat engineer officer. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, present veterans with a current small-arms weaponry display during the unit’s 75th anniversary at Camp Pendleton May 26, 2016. During the event, veterans who served with 1st CEB gathered at the current headquarters building and toured the area, while speaking with current service members. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED) - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, present veterans with a current small-arms weaponry display during the unit’s 75th anniversary at Camp Pendleton May 26, 2016. During the event, veterans who served with 1st CEB gathered at the current headquarters building and toured the area, while speaking with current service members. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED)

Cpl. Nathaniel Asoau, Light Armored Vehicle crewman with Company D., 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and student with the Urban Leaders Course, provides covering fire from behind a barricade while his partner, Lance Cpl. Leonardo Perez, drops to a prone position during a combat marksmanship program range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 31, 2016. This range is the first live-fire range of the three-week course and is designed to hone Marines’ combat marksmanship skills including how to shoot, move and communicate with a buddy. - Cpl. Nathaniel Asoau, Light Armored Vehicle crewman with Company D., 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and student with the Urban Leaders Course, provides covering fire from behind a barricade while his partner, Lance Cpl. Leonardo Perez, drops to a prone position during a combat marksmanship program range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 31, 2016. This range is the first live-fire range of the three-week course and is designed to hone Marines’ combat marksmanship skills including how to shoot, move and communicate with a buddy.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Lance Cpl. Jeremiah W. Johnson, a rifleman with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, conducts a night raid with his fellow Marines at a mock combat town at Camp Pendleton Feb. 4, 2016. Marines from Golf Co. conducted follow-on exercises with Expeditionary Operations Training Group in preparation for the upcoming deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin E. Bowles) - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Lance Cpl. Jeremiah W. Johnson, a rifleman with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, conducts a night raid with his fellow Marines at a mock combat town at Camp Pendleton Feb. 4, 2016. Marines from Golf Co. conducted follow-on exercises with Expeditionary Operations Training Group in preparation for the upcoming deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin E. Bowles)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines with Company A., 3rd Assault Amphibious Battalion conduct maintenance on an Assault Amphibious Vehicle engine at Camp Pendleton, Feb. 2, 2016. Marines from 3rd AAB supported 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Division and 1st Bn, 1st Mar. Div. infantry battalions as they conducted raid drills for Expeditionary Operations Training Group and their Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation. “We are being mechanics, changing engines, changing transmissions and troubleshooting issues so we can get the infantry units back in the fight with the full power of their AAVs,” said Staff Sgt. Nicholas R. Faltynski, recovery chief for Company A., 3rd AAB. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin E. Bowles) - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines with Company A., 3rd Assault Amphibious Battalion conduct maintenance on an Assault Amphibious Vehicle engine at Camp Pendleton, Feb. 2, 2016. Marines from 3rd AAB supported 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Division and 1st Bn, 1st Mar. Div. infantry battalions as they conducted raid drills for Expeditionary Operations Training Group and their Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation. “We are being mechanics, changing engines, changing transmissions and troubleshooting issues so we can get the infantry units back in the fight with the full power of their AAVs,” said Staff Sgt. Nicholas R. Faltynski, recovery chief for Company A., 3rd AAB. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin E. Bowles)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines shield themselves from a detonated explosive charge during an urban leaders course, Jan. 29, 2016. During the course, Marines learned four different types of charges used to make a safe entrance into an objective. This type of training allows Marines to practice for possible scenarios when they are deployed to combat zones anywhere on the globe. An instructor with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, taught this portion of the course to infantrymen of 1st MarDiv. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos) - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines shield themselves from a detonated explosive charge during an urban leaders course, Jan. 29, 2016. During the course, Marines learned four different types of charges used to make a safe entrance into an objective. This type of training allows Marines to practice for possible scenarios when they are deployed to combat zones anywhere on the globe. An instructor with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, taught this portion of the course to infantrymen of 1st MarDiv. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos)

Sgt. Tyler Felts, an LAV crewman, sights in on a target during a live-fire gunnery qualification test with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Jan. 22, 2016. Live-fire tests like these allow the Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force to train for how they will execute their mission when they are deployed in a combat zone. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pvt. Robert Bliss) - Sgt. Tyler Felts, an LAV crewman, sights in on a target during a live-fire gunnery qualification test with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Jan. 22, 2016. Live-fire tests like these allow the Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force to train for how they will execute their mission when they are deployed in a combat zone. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pvt. Robert Bliss)