North Carolina-based U.S. Marines and Armed Forces of the Philippines Marines assemble a .50-Cal Browning heavy machine gun during live-fire training April 9 at Crow Valley, Philippines. The live-fire training is part of exercise Balikatan 2013, an annual bilateral exercise in its 29th iteration, which provides a venue for Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military forces to develop and continue to enhance interoperability across a wide range of military actions. During Balikatan, nearly 8,000 Philippine and U.S. service members are simultaneously participating in training centered around humanitarian civic assistance projects; a bilateral typhoon-based disaster relief scenario command post exercise; and knowledge sharing and interoperability field training exercises. The Philippine Marines are with Combat Service Support Brigade, AFP. Weapons Company is part of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Courtney G. White/Released)