U.S. Marines and Sailors and Soldiers with the Papua

U.S. Marines and Sailors and Soldiers with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force begin down the steep slopes of the Kokoda Trail, Papua New Guinea, June 22, 2016, in remembrance of the battles fought there during WWII, as part of Exercise Koa Moana, during Task Force Koa Moana’s deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. Koa Moana is the first multi-national, bilateral exercise between the PNGDF and U.S. Marines directly, and is designed to increase interoperability and relations by sharing infantry, medical, law enforcement and engineering skills. The Marines and Sailors with Task Force Koa Moana are originally assigned to I and III Marine Expeditionary Force. The PNGDF Soldiers are with 1st Battalion, 1st Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, PNGDF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. William Hester/ Released)