MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – U.S. Marines

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – U.S. Marines with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and Soldiers with the Western Army Infantry Regiment, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, wait for their turn to load their combat rubber raiding craft into a CH-53 Super Stallion during helocast training aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton during exercise Iron Fist 2018, Jan. 18. Helocasting is a technique where a CRRC and reconnaissance Marines are loaded into a helicopter before being dropped into the ocean to make their final advancement to an objective area. This technique allows reconnaissance teams to travel longer distances from naval shipping than what a CRRC could do on its own. The Japanese Soldiers and U.S. Marines have trained together in Southern California via this annual, bilateral exercise for 13 consecutive years.