U.S. Navy Sailors arrive on a utility boat using lighterage

U.S. Navy Sailors arrive on a utility boat using lighterage to carry cargo from USNS 1st Lt Baldomero Lopez (T-AK 3010) to Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, Florida, Feb. 17, 2020 during Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise (MPFEX) 20. Lighterage allows cargo to be ferried to shore in areas where ports are non-existent or in poor condition and gives the nation's military forces the ability to operate in both developed and undeveloped areas of the world. MPFEX 20 is a military exercise in which Marines and Sailors worked together to offload and process military equipment from a single MPF ship, the Lopez. The exercise is a rehearsal of the Marines and Sailors’ ability to conduct safe, efficient offloads while in a tactical environment working in close coordination with its 2nd and 6th Fleet counterparts to enhance the rapid and scalable deployment of naval expeditionary forces in the European theater. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel K. Young-Porter)