A photograph circulating on social media on October 19th, 2025, depicting U.S. Marines conducting a deck shoot aboard the USS San Antonio in the Caribbean Sea, has drawn attention due to the target used. An X user, @LatAmMilMVMTs, posted on October 19th, 2025, at approximately 11:31 PM UTC, questioning the imagery, stating, "They publish photos of the Marines training on the USS San Antonio ship in the Caribbean with a target with a particular face." The user also shared an image from October 16th, 2024, of a 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deck shoot in the Mediterranean Sea, claiming the same target was used and asserting, "those are normal targets and literally mean nothing." The social media post, which translated a Spanish-language quote, included a DVIDS credit for the image. This development follows earlier reports from September 15th, 2025, detailing live-fire exercises by Lima Company, 3rd Battalion Landing Team 36, part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Command, aboard the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) in the Caribbean Sea. Those exercises were documented by Sgt. Nathan Mitchell and shared by official USMC and U.S. Southern Command accounts. This visual controversy unfolds as Tropical Wave 98L entered the eastern Caribbean Sea on October 19th, 2025, with potential flooding risks for the Greater Antilles. The system's development into a tropical cyclone remains uncertain due to persistent westerly wind shear, according to meteorological forecasts. Concurrently, naval activity in the region includes the presence of the USNS Henry J. Kaiser, a fleet oiler that departed Norfolk on October 14th and altered course on October 16th, heading southeast. This deployment, alongside two other fleet oilers, suggests a strategic repositioning for naval operations. The USNS Henry J. Kaiser was anticipated to be off the U.S. Virgin Islands within approximately 24 hours as of October 19th.
