Marines dressed as Santa in holiday-themed underwater photoshoot
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Honorable Mr. Santa Claus, Commanding Officer of Holiday Cheer, NORTHPOLECOM, conducts basic swim qualification at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Dec. 19, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by GySgt. Evan Ahlin)
The 1st Marine Logistics Group at Camp Pendleton, Calif., got into the holiday spirit and dressed as Santa Claus as part of an underwater photoshoot to show off their photography skills and feature a water training exercise.
The Honorable Mr. Santa Claus, Commanding Officer of Holiday Cheer, NORTHPOLECOM, conducts basic swim qualification at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Dec. 19, 2017. Basic water survival is a training requirement for Claus and all operational reindeer to pass every two years to maintain their water survival skills. The purposes of this training was to ensure the NORTHPOLECOM Logistics team was prepared for their upcoming night operations on Christmas Eve. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by GySgt. Evan Ahlin)
Lt. Adam Miller, of the 1st Marine Logistics Group Communication Strategy and Operations office, told Fox News a few Marines dressed as Santa for the photo op as part of “an internal training opportunity for us to maintain currency in our underwater photography skills.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miller said his group felt the photos would be better if they dressed the part and got into the holiday spirit. The photos were posted on the 1st Marine Logistics Group’s Facebook page as part of a holiday post.
“The purpose of the shoot was to create original imagery of a light-hearted nature for the holiday season and to practice our underwater photography skills as that is a capability we maintain in order to cover Marine Corps training or operations that take place in the water,” Miller told Fox News in an email.
The Marines also created a video of the water survival training where Santa made an appearance. Capt. Sean Daley, the commander for the Bridge Company, played Santa in the video. Miller said the training exercise must be done by Marines every two years.