Philippine Marines Staff Sgt. Gary C. Celeste and Staff

Philippine Marines Staff Sgt. Gary C. Celeste and Staff Sgt. Ray Manuel E. Aldabe fire a .50-Cal Browning heavy machine gun during live-fire training April 9 at Crow Valley, Philippines. The live-fire training is part of exercise Balikatan 2013, an annual bilateral exercise in its 29th iteration, which provides a venue for Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military forces to develop and continue to enhance interoperability across a wide range of military actions. During Balikatan, nearly 8,000 Philippine and U.S. service members are simultaneously participating in training centered around humanitarian civic assistance projects; a bilateral typhoon-based disaster relief scenario command post exercise; and knowledge sharing and interoperability field training exercises. Celeste is a driver’s maintenance Marine and Aldabe is an operator boat maintenance Marine, both with Combat and Service Support Brigade, Philippine Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Courtney G. White/Released)