A Marine with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s

A Marine with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 3/1, fast-ropes from a CH-46E Sea Knight parked on USS Makin Island’s flight deck to the hangar Dec. 9. The aircraft is from the unit’s aviation combat element, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced). The MEU embarked USS Makin Island, USS New Orleans and USS Pearl Harbor in San Diego Nov. 14, beginning a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific and Middle East regions.