As part of their training, Marines at Quantico are placed in situations that closely resemble real war, particularly the military theater in Afghanistan.
VOA: standard.2010.04.06
The tests are part of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative, an expansive program intended to improve the well-being of sailors and Marines after more than a decade atwar.
The hard lessons learned in places like Tarawa and Guadalcanal served the U.S. well when Marines turned the tide of war in Korea years later by mounting a daring amphibious landing at Inchon, behind enemy lines.