Readiness

Maj. Gen. David G. Bellon (left), commander of Marine Corps Forces South, congratulates Marine Corps veteran Lance Cpl. Benjamin Gonzalez (right), after awarding him with the Navy Cross in El Paso, Texas, Nov. 14, 2017. Gonzalez, while serving an automatic rifleman with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, heroically threw himself on a fellow Marine shielding him from a grenade blast. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Samantha Schwoch/Released)