RILEY XANTEN II

Landing Craft, Utility 1663, assigned to the USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), loads United States Navy and Marine Corps vehicles, equipment, and personnel at Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 6, 2022. The embarkation directly supports amphibious training for the 19 countries to include Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Uruguay who are participating in this year’s exercise. UNITAS is the world’s longest-running annual multinational maritime exercise that focuses on enhancing interoperability among multiple nations and joint forces during littoral and amphibious operations in order to build on existing regional partnerships and create new enduring relationships that promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Jeremy Wheeler)