POTD: Tropic Lightning Holds the Dunes at Balikatan 2026

The La Paz Sand Dunes on the northern coast of Luzon made for an unusual battlefield on May 4, 2026, but the mission was unmistakable. In the first image, Pfc. Griffin Clemen of 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, works the M240B during the Counter Landing Live Fire Exercise North (CLLFX-N) as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026.
In the second, his battalion mate Pfc. Brian Shultz takes cover behind an M250 in the dunes alongside Philippine forces during the same drill.
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