Marines and sailors with Kilo Company, Battalion Landing

Marines and sailors with Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, debark a landing craft utility to begin Exercise Amitie, Dec. 8. Exercise Amitie, which is French for friendship exercise, is a multinational training exercise designed to increase interoperability, enhance mutual capabilities and support a sustained presence in the region. During Amitie, elements from the 15th MEU participated in a three-day mounted patrol, land and water obstacle courses, aviation-related evolutions and joint planning. The training was led by the French 5th Marine Regiment and included elements from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, French Foreign Legion, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and Djiboutian military. The 15th MEU is deployed as part of the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group as a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force, providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. John Robbart III)