Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion,

Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, board the USS Freedom from a zodiac during on and off loading drills three miles off the coast of Del Mar beach Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 10, 2014. The Marines conducted a full day of rehearsals prior to the drills because it was their first time training on a littoral combat ship. The LCS gives Marines the opportunity to launch and recover reconnaissance teams from a greater distance out at sea. Gunnery Sgt. Mickey Eaton, assistant operations chief for the company, said the ability to use an LCS is the future for reconnaissance Marines.