Readiness

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Paul Burden, a hospital corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command, unpacks his gear for inspection during a strategic mobility exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, May 29, 2020. SPMAGTF-SC Marines and Sailors conducted a MOBEX to validate the unit’s ability to rapidly and effectively deploy to Latin America and the Caribbean for crisis response efforts. The MOBEX will help the task force identify any resource shortfalls required to deploy from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to U.S. Southern Command’s area of operations, and give the service members an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to rapidly deploy at a moment’s notice. Burden is a native of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Andy O. Martinez)