Not every range has a roof or a traditional backstop. Aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), a sailor assigned to the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group runs live-fire drills with an M4 carbine on the ship's flight deck while underway in the Caribbean Sea, February, 2026. The open-air range is as operational as it gets.
Fort Lauderdale has been forward deployed since August 2025 as part of the Iwo Jima ARG alongside flagship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and USS San Antonio (LPD 17), with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) embarked.
The group's mission under U.S. Southern Command has centered on counter-narcotics operations and maritime security across the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear, described as the most significant U.S. military presence in the region in decades.
Over the course of the deployment, the force conducted embassy reinforcement operations in Haiti and Venezuela, maritime interception operations against illicit trafficking networks, and delivered humanitarian aid to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa.
Maintaining small arms proficiency underway is a routine part of keeping a force of over 4,500 sailors and Marines ready for whatever the mission demands next.
Photo: Seaman Jaimie Bethea, U.S. Navy.