Readiness

Lance Cpl. Matthew Dieter, a combat engineer with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command, uses a metal detector to locate and identify simulated improvised explosive devices during a certification exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 23, 2020. The CERTEX is the culmination exercise that will test the training and readiness of the Marines and Sailors of the SPMAGTF-SC for certification to deploy. Once certified, the SPMAGTF-SC will be ready to conduct crisis response, theater security cooperation training and general engineering projects alongside partner nation militaries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dieter is a native of Beaverton, Oregon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Andy O. Martinez)