1st Battalion, 7th Marines at Dawn Blitz.

ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD-Four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters circle the USS Bonhomme Richard June 3 before exercise Dawn Blitz. The exercise demonstrated the nation’s ability to go ashore and seize and hold enemy ground. , Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl, 6/3/2010 4:48 AM

ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD-An amphibious assault vehicle with Company D, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, charges forward during Dawn Blitz June 4. Dawn Blitz incorporated nearly all elements of a Marine Expeditionary Brigade with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, leading the way. , Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl, 6/4/2010 6:40 AM

ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD-Marines with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, crowd the hallways of the USS Bonhomme Richard after staging practice, June 3 during exercise Dawn Blitz. The exercise was meant as a display of the nation’s amphibious assault capabilities and to help prepare the Marines for their deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit next month., Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl, 6/2/2010 4:55 PM

Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl-Sergeant Derrick C. Johnson, a squad leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, heads across a field as a CH-53 Sea Stallion lifts off behind him. Battalion Landing Team 1/7 was the spearhead for exercise Dawn Blitz., ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD, 6/4/2010 5:15 AM