11th MEU live fire.

All photos by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada

Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Johnson sights in on an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Johnson serves with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Johnson and Lance Cpl. Andrew Baumgartner prepare an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Johnson and Baumgartner serve with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Patrick Donovan and Lance Cpl. Matt Behrens prepare an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Donovan and Behrens serve with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Kevin Curnutt fires an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Curnutt, 21, who hails from Pomeroy, Wash., serves with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class John Allen, 23, shoots from the rear gate of CH-53E Super Stallion during live fire exercise here Feb. 22. Allen, a Nampa, Idaho, native, serves with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force. The CH-53E is with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (reinforced), which serves as the unit's aviation combat element. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Snipers Sgt. Martin Lucero fires at a target from the rear gate of a CH-53E Super Stallion here Feb. 22. Lucero, a Denver native, serve with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force. The Super Stallion is with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (reinforced), which serves as the unit's aviation combat element. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.