Well, I'm back. And whereas the Marines that went to the Philippines did hand out a lot of food and USAID packages, we did not get the opportunity. By the time we were tasked, the ships came down from mainland Japan, we embarked, and got to the Leyte Gulf, there was no desire to send us ashore. We did act as a "Lily Pad" for our Ospreys (using a ship's landing pad to refuel an aircraft to extend range). Also, about half of the Ospreys used in the operation were from our MEU. As for the ground forces that came down on the ships, however, we weren't used - to the chagrin of us all. Oh well, sometimes it's not in the cards. Here are some other pictures I took:
The CWIS anti-air weapon
Launching the RIB
Being a Lily Pad
Rainbow
Loading a 7-ton truck and a "Water Bull" onto an LCU from the stern gate of the ship.