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Maj. Bart Lambert, right, executive officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Col. Kouki Watanabe, commanding officer of the JGSDF 12th Infantry Regiment salute during the closing ceremony of exercise Forest Light Western Army at Kirishima Maneuver Field, Kagoshima, Japan, Jan. 30, 2020. The exercise consisted of field training events including basic infantry skills, vertical assaults integrated with MV-22B Osprey flight operations, and combined-arms, and enhances the collective defense capabilities of the U.S.-Japanese alliance. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.