GULF OF ADEN - U.S. Marine Cpl. Nathan Vasek, a landing

GULF OF ADEN - U.S. Marine Cpl. Nathan Vasek, a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Battalion 13, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and Cpl. John Hooper, a machine gun squad leader with Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1, 13th MEU, grapple during Corporal's Course aboard the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47), Oct. 9, 2018. The Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th MEU are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Danny Gonzalez/Released)