Provides the operational, administrative, logistical, and legal services necessary to support the School of Infantry's training units.
Colonel Byrne assumed command of School of Infantry–West in March 2024. ...
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Sergeant Major Rodriguez assumed his current duties as the School of Infantry-West Sergeant Major in January 2024....
The 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric M. Smith, stands at attention for honors during the Commandant of the Marine Corps Combined Awards Ceremony for Fiscal Year 2024 at The National Museum of the Marine Corps on Jan. 29, 2025. The Commandant of the Marine Corps Combined Awards Ceremony, established in 1995, honors the Recruiters, Drill Instructors, Marine Security Guards, and Marine Combat Instructors who embody the highest standards of character, commitment, and dedication to the Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Kelsey Dornfeld)
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U.S. Marines with School of Infantry-West, Training Command, repaint parking and no-parking lines during Semper Tergeo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 24, 2025. Semper Tergeo aims to support operational readiness and increase safety for the operating forces, tenant commands, service members and families by effectively policing and maintaining the various areas of Camp Pendleton. (U.S. Marine Corps photo Sgt. Patrick King)
The graphic shows the 2024 Advanced Infantry Training Battalion-West challenge coin design. The graphical elements include a white viper wrapped around a KA-BAR with the reconnaissance logo as the hilt, over a black background cut out into “Old Smokey.” This graphic was created on December 11, 2024, at Communication Strategy and Operations, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. The graphic is a product in support of Marine Corps Installations West-Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton’s initiative to promote moral in the School of Infantry-West, AITB-W. (U.S. Marine Corps graphic created by LCpl. Alicia N. Shores)
U.S. Marines march out the birthday cake during the Camp Pendleton Annual Marine Corps Birthday Pageant and Cake Cutting Ceremony at the Camp Pendleton Base Theater at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Nov. 6, 2024. The birthday pageant is an annual tradition that includes a uniform pageant as well as the traditional cake cutting ceremony in honor of the Marine Corps’ birthday. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jeslianne A. Torres).
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Damian Rodriguez, center, sergeant major of School of Infantry West, and Col. Patrick Byrne, right, commanding officer of SOI-West, present the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Staff Sgt. Brett Meil, left, a Marine combat instructor with Training Company, Infantry Training Battalion, SOI-West, during an award ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Sept. 24, 2024. During the ceremony, Meil was presented with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the highest non-combat decoration that can be awarded for heroism, for his actions on June 13, 2023, where he saved a student’s life and took shrapnel in the process. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sydni Jessee)
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, right, presents a challenge coin to Staff Sgt. Aaron Yerena, a Marine Combat Instructor, School of Infantry-West, in recognition of his exemplary performance at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 26, 2024. Sgt. Maj. Ruiz toured MCB Camp Pendleton, interacted personally with Marines, and emphasized the Barracks 2030 plan to improve Marines’ welfare through barracks modernization. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jeslianne A. Torres)
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gilbert H. Bolton, right, a Marine Gunner, receives a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from Col. Patrick B. Byrne, the Commanding Officer of School of Infantry-West, during an award ceremony at SOI-West, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 22, 2024. Bolton received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for completing over 4,000 hours of service in his community. Bolton retired on the first of October in 1991 after 32 years of honorable service. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mhecaela J. Watts)
A U.S. Marine with Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry-West, Hawaii Detachment, establishes communications with the command operations during urban operations training, Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, July 11, 2023. The training was conducted as part of the Advanced Infantry Marine Course. AIMC is designed to enhance and test Marines’ skills with a focus on reinforcing proper patrols and operational procedures. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chandler Stacy)
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Daniel Huang, a student in the Advanced Infantry Marine Course, engages simulated enemy combatants during urban operations training, Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, July 11, 2023. The training was conducted as part of the Advanced Infantry Marine Course. AIMC is designed to enhance and test Marines’ skills with a focus on reinforcing proper patrols and operational procedures. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chandler Stacy)
U.S. Marines with Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry-West, Hawaii Detachment, receive a brief on patrol base vertailities by the course staff during an Advanced Infantry Marine Course, Kahuku Training Area, Hawaii, June 26, 2023. AIMC is advanced infantry training designed to enhance and test Marines’ skills with a focus on reinforcing proper patrols and operational procedures. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Terry Stennett III)
U.S. Marine Corps SSgt. Cole Lietha, left, a combat instructor of the Detachment Hawaii Enhanced Squad Leader Course, grapples with Sgt. Sean Ryan, right, a student in the course, at the ground fighting station, one of twelve stations in the initial performance assessment portion of the course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, April 8, 2021. The course is an experimental proof of concept, with the intent of modernizing training and providing squad leaders with new capabilities. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brandon Aultman)
U.S. Marines conduct water survival sustainment training during the Enhanced Squad Leader Course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, April 16, 2021. This portion of the course prepares Marines for the upcoming challenges and tasks of conducting amphibious operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Samantha Sanchez)
U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry - West, start a 1-mile run as part of the Infantry Physical Assessment during the tenth week of the Infantry Marine Course on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 29, 2021. IMC is a 14-week pilot course designed to create better trained and more lethal entry-level infantry Marines prepared for near-peer conflicts. The course uses a redesigned learning model for students intended to develop their capabilities for independent and adaptive thought and action. The program of instruction for IMC has been in development for a year and follows guidance from the 2019 Commandant's Planning Guidance and Force Design 2030. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jeremy Laboy)
U.S. Marine combat instructors with Alpha Company, Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry - West, fire an FGM-148 Javelin weapon system at targets during a javelin qualification course as part of the eighth week of the Infantry Marine Course on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Mar. 20, 2021. IMC is a 14-week pilot course designed to create better trained and more lethal entry-level infantry Marines prepared for near-peer conflicts. The course uses a redesigned learning model for students intended to develop their capabilities for independent and adaptive thought and action. The program of instruction for IMC has been in development for a year and follows guidance from the 2019 Commandant's Planning Guidance and Force Design 2030. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jeremy Laboy)
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