PHILIPPINE SEA (Feb. 4, 2020) A Marine with the 31st

PHILIPPINE SEA (Feb. 4, 2020) A Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (MEU) Maritime Raid Force uses a cutting torch to conduct a breach during a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) full mission profile aboard the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42). VBSS incorporates air, ground and surface combat assets from across the Blue-Green team to quickly interdict adversary ships at sea. Germantown, part of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joshua Sechser)