A U.S. Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle plunges into the Gulf of Thailand as it exits the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) in preparation for a joint amphibious assault exercise with the Royal Thai navy during the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, or CARAT, on June 9, 2013. CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor Leste.