Marines from Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepare to board an air-cushioned landing craft at Kuwait Naval Base before making their way back to the USS Iwo Jima in the Arabian Gulf Oct. 26. After completing three weeks of desert training in Kuwait – the last scheduled exercise of the MEU’s deployment – the unit’s 2,200 Marines and sailors returned to their amphibious ships for the long journey home to Camp Lejeune, N.C. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Demetrio J. Espinosa, Submitted 10/26/2006