NEWS

The DFT provided VMGR-153 pilots and aircrew with unit level training that enhanced squadron combat readiness while supporting community relations in remote Alaskan regions during the holiday season. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Moses S. Lopez Franco) - A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J attached to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 153, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing flies during a deployment for training (DFT) while en-route to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Dec. 4, 2024.

These Marines were students of the first locally-offered blended Expeditionary Warfare School seminar at the air station. On this day, the students visited a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force museum, historic sites, and toured an F-35B Lightning II aircraft squadron to learn of the base's history and capabilities of the tenant commands. The Blended EWS Seminar Program provides company grade and warrant officers with formal education in amphibious operations and planning. This was the first iteration of the Blended EWS Seminar Program at MCAS Iwakuni, providing an important professional military education opportunity to the Marine officers stationed at this forward-deployed base. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha Rodriguez) - U.S. Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni learn of the squadrons that compose Fleet Air Wing 31, a tenant command of MCAS Iwakuni, from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Lt. Cmdr. Ogawa Yoshikazu, an EP-3 aircraft pilot with Air Reconnaissance Squadron 81, Fleet Air Wing 31, during a JMSDF museum tour at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 5, 2024.

4th Marine Regiment and its subordinate battalions’ colors have not been unified since 1977. While 4th Marines is headquartered in Okinawa, its subordinate battalions are stationed in the continental U.S. and participate in rotational deployments under the Unit Deployment Program and with Marine Expeditionary Units. Rivera, a native of Florida, is the sergeant major of 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division. Cleveland, a native of Georgia, Young, a native of Pennsylvania, and Aja, a native of Texas, are the sergeant majors of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, 4th Marine Regiment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Noah Masog) - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Christopher Rivera, left, Sgt. Maj. Marshall Cleveland, center left, Sgt. Maj. James Young, center right, and Sgt. Maj. Nathan Aja, stand with their regimental and battalion colors on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 21, 2024.

At the ceremony, 3d MLR officially received the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System from Marine Corps Systems Command, becoming the first U.S. Marine Corps unit to field the system. The NMESIS provides 3d MLR with enhanced sea denial capabilities and maritime lethality. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jacqueline C. Parsons) - U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, participate in a ceremony on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Nov. 26, 2024.

Marines with the 31st MEU were paired with instructors from Deploying Group Systems Integration Testing to ensure that the Marines are efficient in functioning Command, Control, Communications and Computer equipment and are prepared for real-world contingencies. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. Rios is a native of Nevada. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Raul Sotovilla) - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Sergio Rios, a system repairer with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, sets up a radio system during a communication exercise at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 19, 2024.

On October 12, 2024, the Marines assisted in saving the life of a local woman who had been swept away by strong currents near Cape Zanpa, Okinawa, Japan. The decisive actions carried out by the Marines that day not only saved a life, but demonstrated the Marines’ commitment to the local community, even when off-duty. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca) - U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Rein.), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, pose for a photo next to an UH-1Y Venom helicopter during an award ceremony on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 6, 2024.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, left, commanding general of Marine Forces Pacific, and Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner, middle-right, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, pose for a photo with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members during exercise Keen Sword 25 at JGSDF Camp Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 23, 2024. KS25 is a biennial, joint and bilateral field-training exercise involving U.S. military and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, designed to increase readiness and interoperability while strengthening the ironclad U.S.-Japan alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. JVonnta Taylor) - U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, left, commanding general of Marine Forces Pacific, and Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner, middle-right, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, pose for a photo with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members during exercise Keen Sword 25 at JGSDF Camp Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 23, 2024

KS25 is a biennial, joint and bilateral field-training exercise involving U.S. military and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, designed to increase readiness and interoperability while strengthening the ironclad U.S.-Japan alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Rodney Frye) - U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, transport an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System in a KC-130J Super Hercules in preparation for Keen Sword 25 at Japan Air Self –Defense Force Kenebetsu Air Base, Hokkaido, Japan, Oct. 18, 2024.

They are forward deployed in the Indo-Pacific with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division as part of the Unit Deployment Program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Nevaeh Segura) - From left, U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Stephen Estrada, Lance Cpl. Samuel Calhoun, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jett Garcia, and Cpl. Austin Potter responded and rendered first aid to a Japanese resident following a car crash on the Okinawa Expressway, Okinawa, Japan on Oct. 6, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Defense is supporting the Republic of the Philippines at the request of the Government of the Philippines during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Krathon (Julian) in Northern Luzon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Gabriel Antwiler) - U.S. Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force load cargo onto a KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 5, 2024.