U.S. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and U.S. Navy Sailors with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18) conduct onload operations at White Beach Naval Base, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 27, 2026. Onload operations ensure the accountability of gear and personnel before conducting a patrol at sea. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rebeka Falcon)
