Staff Sgt. Dallas Allen, the weapons platoon sergeant

Staff Sgt. Dallas Allen, the weapons platoon sergeant with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, salutes during a chief pinning ceremony aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) while underway in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 16, 2018. Allen took part in the initiation to experience naval customs and learn more of its history. The chief pinning ceremony is a naval tradition in which chief selectees perform a series of tasks and tests as part of achieving the title of Chief Petty Officer. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Hannah Hall)