11th MEU Marines, Sailors Transit the Surigao Strait aboard USS Portland

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Bryan Avalos, a section chief with Echo Battery, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, stands post aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) while transiting the Surigao Strait, May 2, 2026. The 11th MEU, embarked aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, is a persistent, combat credible force contributing to deterrence and crisis response in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Avery Wayland)