Live fire exercise at Twentynine Palms

Some 500 members of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines from Camp Pendleton took part in live weapons training this week at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center near Twentynine Palms. The Magnificent Bastards, as the unit's Marines call themselves, carried rifles, ammunition, explosives, body armor, food, water — basically anything they might carry for real combat. The unit returned from Afghanistan in April and is preparing for a new deployment.

Story and photos: Guy McCarthy at Redlands-Loma Linda Patch.