Photos: Marines amphibious training

During a training exercise at Camp Pendleton, Pfc. Marc Calo holds his position on the sand after coming ashore on an assault vehicle. It was the largest and most complex amphibious exercise since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but it also could be one of the last. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

March 9, 2014 8:58 AM PT

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Infantrymen watch amphibious assault vehicles churn through the surf before a beach landing. The weeklong training exercise is called Dawn Blitz. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Marines disembark from an assault vehicle during training. The Marine Corps has not stormed a hostile beach since the Korean War. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

An empty landing craft returns to the Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship during Dawn Blitz. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Amphibious assault vehicles roll onto Red Beach as helicopters fly above the scene. As today’s battlefields have changed, some military leaders, including Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, question whether the Marines will storm beaches ever again. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Assault vehicles barrel through the sand. During the complex exercise, a lack of practice among Marines showed, a military commander acknowledged. “What we’re doing here is busting some rust,” Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. said. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A rifleman runs along Red Beach during Dawn Blitz. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A crew member leans out from a Sea Knight helicopter as it prepares to land on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, about 30 miles from Camp Pendleton. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Infantrymen swarm the beach after coming ashore during training. The development of defensive technology means that the Marines must rethink amphibious landings. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Pilots walk to their helicopters before lifting off from the Bonhomme Richard for the large-scale training exercise. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

One of 16 landing craft skims the coastline as Marines train onshore. The exercise also involved thousands of Marines and sailors, seven ships and 60 amphibious assault vehicles. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)