Undisclosed Location. Saudi Arabia. (May 27, 2024): The U.S. Marines have returned to the blazing sands of Saudi Arabia to participate in Exercise Native Fury 24. In this photo by Corporal Alfonso Livrieri, Marines and Sailors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates conduct a long-range convoy to assess their logistical readiness. In its eighth year, Exercise Native Fury is sponsored by the U.S. Central Command and is designed to evaluate the ability of the Marines to strategically deliver logistics across the Arabian Peninsula.

More than 600 U.S. Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen from 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 1st Theater Sustainment Command practiced responding to various hypothetical scenarios. Most of the action occurred at the Red Sea port of Yanbu where Saudi and U.S. troops offloaded an amphibious expeditionary force. The job involved moving the Command’s hundreds of vehicles, tactical operations centers, cyber communication capabilities, and communications networks. Once offloaded, the expeditionary force moved hundreds of miles inland to take up the pre-positioned equipment it would use in combat.

This year’s training focused on mobilizing naval assets to the region in an emergency. U.S. and Saudi forces also participated in live-fire exercises to refine their ability to protect logistics convoys from attack. By reacting to multiple scenarios, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force successfully opened an air bridge between operating theaters and pre-positioned naval ships. Through exercises like Native Fury, American forces maintain close relationships with their Saudi and UAE counterparts and ensures we are ready in an emergency.