Jersey native leads the few and the proud onboard the USS Ashland (LSD 48)

SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 13, 2016) – U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Ryan Albanese, an infantry squad leader with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, poses for a photo onboard the USS Ashland (LSD 48) while underway in the South China Sea in support of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training. CARAT is a series of annual, bilateral maritime exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations to include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. The Ashland is assigned to U.S. 7th Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Lance Cpl. Carl King Jr/. Released)