NEWS

Master Sgt. Anthony Camina, a native of San Antonio, Texas, has been in the Marine Corps for 24 years. He currently teaches the Kin-Hansen Friendship English Class to locals in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan. Camina and his wife, Michelle, have been giving back to the local community since 2013. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andy Martinez) - Master Sgt. Anthony Camina, a native of San Antonio, Texas, has been in the Marine Corps for 24 years. He currently teaches the Kin-Hansen Friendship English Class to locals in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan. Camina and his wife, Michelle, have been giving back to the local community since 2013. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andy Martinez)

Cpl. Samantha Villarreal lets an Okinawan child pretend to be a photographer during a community outreach event March 3, 2017, at Yugafu Church, Okianwa, Japan. Marines and Sailors with 3D Marine Expeditionary Brigade and III Marine Expeditionary Force provided food for less fortunate children during the event. Villarreal, from Brownsville, Texas, is a combat correspondent with III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jessica Etheridge) - Cpl. Samantha Villarreal lets an Okinawan child pretend to be a photographer during a community outreach event March 3, 2017, at Yugafu Church, Okianwa, Japan. Marines and Sailors with 3D Marine Expeditionary Brigade and III Marine Expeditionary Force provided food for less fortunate children during the event. Villarreal, from Brownsville, Texas, is a combat correspondent with III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jessica Etheridge)

Staff Sgt. Michael Newell, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, began his love and passion for the saxophone at the age of 12. He started practicing in middle school and continued throughout high school. Prior to the Marine Corps, he spent some time at Tallahassee Community College, but decided to pursue his passion for music by joining the Marine Corps and auditioning for a position in the band. This year, Newell is one of the 10 Marine Corps band nominees for the title of Marine Corps Staff Noncommissioned Officer Musician of the Year. “My love for the Marine Corps and playing music has just increased the longer I’ve stayed in.” (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kathy Nunez) - Staff Sgt. Michael Newell, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, began his love and passion for the saxophone at the age of 12. He started practicing in middle school and continued throughout high school. Prior to the Marine Corps, he spent some time at Tallahassee Community College, but decided to pursue his passion for music by joining the Marine Corps and auditioning for a position in the band. This year, Newell is one of the 10 Marine Corps band nominees for the title of Marine Corps Staff Noncommissioned Officer Musician of the Year. “My love for the Marine Corps and playing music has just increased the longer I’ve stayed in.” (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kathy Nunez)

Sgt. Nathan R. Gembreska, a native of Toledo, Ohio, brought home a flyer for piano lessons at age seven and decided to begin his musical career as a pianist. Throughout middle and high school, he picked up the alto saxophone, piccolo, and bassoon and competed throughout the state. Gembreska joined the Marine Corps in 2013 as a bassoonist. He is currently with the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band in Okinawa, Japan. “Seventeen years later, here I am,” said Gembreska. “Because of that [decision], I’m playing the bassoon in the Marine Corps.” (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kathy Nunez) - Sgt. Nathan R. Gembreska, a native of Toledo, Ohio, brought home a flyer for piano lessons at age seven and decided to begin his musical career as a pianist. Throughout middle and high school, he picked up the alto saxophone, piccolo, and bassoon and competed throughout the state. Gembreska joined the Marine Corps in 2013 as a bassoonist. He is currently with the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band in Okinawa, Japan. “Seventeen years later, here I am,” said Gembreska. “Because of that [decision], I’m playing the bassoon in the Marine Corps.” (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kathy Nunez)

Gunnery Sgt. Todd Groves and Bokusei Kinjo at Kinjo’s farm, near Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 23, 2017. Groves is a maintenance chief with Small Craft Repair Platoon, Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Kinjo is a local Japanese farmer. Groves, from Fulton, Missouri, was a pig farmer growing up and has now found a place he can call home on Kinjo’s farm. He has helped to take care of the land and the animals on Kinjo’s farm for the last two years. - Gunnery Sgt. Todd Groves and Bokusei Kinjo at Kinjo’s farm, near Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 23, 2017. Groves is a maintenance chief with Small Craft Repair Platoon, Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Kinjo is a local Japanese farmer. Groves, from Fulton, Missouri, was a pig farmer growing up and has now found a place he can call home on Kinjo’s farm. He has helped to take care of the land and the animals on Kinjo’s farm for the last two years.

An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conducts an aerial refuel while transiting the Pacific Northwest from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 9, 2017, its final destination being MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, to join 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. VMFA-121, originally an F/A-18 squadron, was redesignated as the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron in 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Lillian Stephens) - An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conducts an aerial refuel while transiting the Pacific Northwest from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 9, 2017, its final destination being MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, to join 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. VMFA-121, originally an F/A-18 squadron, was redesignated as the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron in 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Lillian Stephens)

Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson visits Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 14, 2017, to thank various Airmen, including Capt. John Krzyminski, who assisted in the search and rescue of an MV-22 Osprey, in Okinawa, Japan, December 2016. Nicholson is the commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force and Krzyminski is a combat rescue officer with the 31st Rescue Squadron. The aircraft had five crew members onboard, but thanks to the quick thinking of the pilot and the efforts of the airmen who responded to the incident, all were recovered. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Laura Gauna) - Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson visits Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 14, 2017, to thank various Airmen, including Capt. John Krzyminski, who assisted in the search and rescue of an MV-22 Osprey, in Okinawa, Japan, December 2016. Nicholson is the commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force and Krzyminski is a combat rescue officer with the 31st Rescue Squadron. The aircraft had five crew members onboard, but thanks to the quick thinking of the pilot and the efforts of the airmen who responded to the incident, all were recovered. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Laura Gauna)

Marines from 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment de-board a plane and prepare for transportation to Camp Schwab after arriving at Kadena Air Base for the unit deployment program in Okinawa, Japan Feb. 12, 2017. The unit is based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and is now attached to 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force while deployed in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region. - Marines from 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment de-board a plane and prepare for transportation to Camp Schwab after arriving at Kadena Air Base for the unit deployment program in Okinawa, Japan Feb. 12, 2017. The unit is based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and is now attached to 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force while deployed in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region.

Col. Randall S. Hoffman, the III Marine Expeditionary Force G-35 future operations officer, progressed from private to colonel over 32 years of service in the Marine Corps. Hoffman, from Danville, Indiana, enlisted on December 8, 1984 and attended the University of Indiana before commissioning as an officer in 1994. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Neumann) - Col. Randall S. Hoffman, the III Marine Expeditionary Force G-35 future operations officer, progressed from private to colonel over 32 years of service in the Marine Corps. Hoffman, from Danville, Indiana, enlisted on December 8, 1984 and attended the University of Indiana before commissioning as an officer in 1994. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Neumann)

Sgt. Pedro A. Borunda was named the 2016 Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for III Marine Expeditionary Force in December of 2016. Today, his fellow Marines consider him a leading example and inspiration both as a person and a Marine. Borunda, a native of Aurora, Colorado, is the training NCO with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. III MEF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase) - Sgt. Pedro A. Borunda was named the 2016 Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for III Marine Expeditionary Force in December of 2016. Today, his fellow Marines consider him a leading example and inspiration both as a person and a Marine. Borunda, a native of Aurora, Colorado, is the training NCO with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. III MEF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase)