Marines and sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group load cargo crates onto the USS New York docked at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., before embarking upon a scheduled eight-month deployment, March 28, 2012. The 24th MEU, partnered with the Navy's Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, is deploying to the European and Central Command theaters of operation to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force capable of a variety of missions from full-scale combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.