A CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter from Marine Medium Helicopter

A CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepares for a landing on the USS Peleliu after completing a non-combatant evacuation operation exercise off the coast of southern California, Aug. 20. The 15th MEU was conducting the training as part of Certification Exercise, their final pre-deployment training. CERTEX is different than previous exercises because Marines and Sailors do not know the training scenario in advance. They have to react quickly using the Marine Corps’ Rapid Response Planning Process, which is the process leaders use to prepare for missions the unit will execute.