Students from the Infantry Officer Course (IOC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., completed a "Proof-of-Concept" 1,100 mile, long-range operation from Twentynine Palms, Calif., to Fort Hood, Texas, via MV-22 Ospreys, on Dec. 15, 2013. The Marines fast-roped into a mock city to secure the embassy and rescue key U.S. personnel. The Marine Corps is the only military branch with the proven capability to perform missions of this magnitude, whether for humanitarian, rescue, combat operations or other special-forces type missions.