 The Lost Marine Expeditionary Force deploys to Afghanistan. The annual birthday message is released and the F-35 program reaches two new milestones. All that coming up next on The Core Report. Welcome to The Core Report. I'm Sergeant Tyler Mayne. And I'm Lance Corporal Ally Bieslinger. The First Marine Expeditionary Force forward is preparing for its upcoming deployment in Afghanistan in 2014. The Marines will relieve two MEP forward, taking control of regional command southwest. They're the last scheduled MEP to be deployed to Afghanistan. In other news, the Marine Corps' birthdays Sunday, the Commodore and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps recently sent out the 238th Marine Corps' birthday message to Marines and Sailors. The future of our Corps rests upon your shoulders. It's up to us, today's generation of Marines, to uphold our reputation and to keep our honor clean. Stay alert and stay ready. Happy birthday, Marines and separate Ellis. Marine Determination Grit and Valor make the Corps America's force in readiness. To see the full video, click the link in the video description. Speaking of mission readiness, the 33rd Fighter Wing and the F-35 Lightning II program reached a new milestone October 24th. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 completed its first short takeoff and vertical landing mission. The aircraft flew patterns around Eagle and Air Force Base in Florida, stopped midair about 100 feet above the runway, then performed a stationary right turn before slowly lowering to the ground. Less than a week after the mission, an F-35B variant demonstrated a successful air-to-ground weapons test of a 500-pound laser-guided bomb for the first time over a test range at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Remember, you can catch up on everything else going on in the Corps by logging on to our official social media sites at YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest and Instagram. The links are in our video description. Thanks for watching guys, we'll see you next week right here on the Corps Report.