PHILIPPINE SEA (Jan. 20, 2021) U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Stephen Chavez, an infantry platoon sergeant with Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), from Los Angeles, California, starts the engine of a Combat Rudder Raiding Craft during a debarking rehearsal aboard dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 20, 2021. The 31st MEU is operating aboard ships of the America Expeditionary Strike Group in the 7th fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Danny Gonzalez)