NEWS

III MEF Marines and sailors to receive their personal III MEF Warrior Card - III MEF Marines and sailors to receive their personal III MEF Warrior Card

Marines with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, close with an enemy machine gun position during a simulated raid at the Central Training Area, Okinawa, Japan, on Dec. 11, 2019. The 31st MEU is currently preparing for deployment through MEUEX, a two-week evolution that prepares the Marine Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious operations launched from naval vessels. 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 premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew R. Bray) - Marines with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, close with an enemy machine gun position during a simulated raid at the Central Training Area, Okinawa, Japan, on Dec. 11, 2019. The 31st MEU is currently preparing for deployment through MEUEX, a two-week evolution that prepares the Marine Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious operations launched from naval vessels. 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 premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew R. Bray)

United States and Japan Ground-Self Defense Force soldiers unload boxes of water from a supply truck at Cabu Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, in support of Exercise Balikatan, April 20, 2018. - United States and Japan Ground-Self Defense Force soldiers unload boxes of water from a supply truck at Cabu Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, in support of Exercise Balikatan, April 20, 2018. Balikatan 34-2018, in its 34th iteration, is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training exercise focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism and other combined military operations held from May 7 to 18. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew J. Bragg)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan – On Aug. 6 at around 3:00 a.m. local time, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps suspended search and rescue operations for three Marines involved in the Aug. 5 MV-22 Osprey mishap off the east coast of Australia. Operations have now shifted to recovery efforts. The next-of-kin for the three missing Marines have been notified. - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan – On Aug. 6 at around 3:00 a.m. local time, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps suspended search and rescue operations for three Marines involved in the Aug. 5 MV-22 Osprey mishap off the east coast of Australia. Operations have now shifted to recovery efforts. The next-of-kin for the three missing Marines have been notified.

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, conducted a training flight from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, June 26, 2017. The Marines with VMFA- 121 worked alongside Airmen with the 18th Wing. This event marked the first time an F-35B Lightning II landed in Okinawa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe) - A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, conducted a training flight from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, June 26, 2017. The Marines with VMFA- 121 worked alongside Airmen with the 18th Wing. This event marked the first time an F-35B Lightning II landed in Okinawa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe)

Sgt. Maj. Mario A. Marquez speaks with a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars during the 2017 Okinawa Memorial Day services June 23 at Peace Memorial Park, Itoman, Japan. The ceremony brought together service members and Okinawan residents to honor all who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa. The memorial walls are inscribed with over 240,000 names of people who died, regardless of nationality, civilian or military status in the battle. During the ceremony all who attended stood for a moment of silence honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Marquez, a Lakewood, California native, is the III Marine Expeditionary Force sergeant major. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe) - Sgt. Maj. Mario A. Marquez speaks with a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars during the 2017 Okinawa Memorial Day services June 23 at Peace Memorial Park, Itoman, Japan. The ceremony brought together service members and Okinawan residents to honor all who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa. The memorial walls are inscribed with over 240,000 names of people who died, regardless of nationality, civilian or military status in the battle. During the ceremony all who attended stood for a moment of silence honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Marquez, a Lakewood, California native, is the III Marine Expeditionary Force sergeant major. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe)

Japanese students from Nikkei Business School in Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan teach Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force how to play traditional Okinawan music, at the House of Pain Fitness Center, on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, during the Okinawan-American Cultural Exchange Day, May 19, 2017. The Marines with III MEF Headquarters Group hosted the cultural exchange day to strengthen bonds between local nationals and service members, providing the two communities with the opportunity to converse and learn about each other’s culture. (U.S. Marine Corp photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe) - Japanese students from Nikkei Business School in Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan teach Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force how to play traditional Okinawan music, at the House of Pain Fitness Center, on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, during the Okinawan-American Cultural Exchange Day, May 19, 2017. The Marines with III MEF Headquarters Group hosted the cultural exchange day to strengthen bonds between local nationals and service members, providing the two communities with the opportunity to converse and learn about each other’s culture. (U.S. Marine Corp photo by Lance Cpl. Charles Plouffe)

Sgt. Maj. Michael J. Pritchard, addresses attendees during a relief and appointment ceremony on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, April 21, 2017. Relief and appointment ceremonies are part of the Marine Corps’ tradition in passing leadership from one to another. During the ceremony, Pritchard, from Keene, New Hampshire, was appointed sergeant major of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Sgt. Maj. Mario A. Marquez, from Lakewood, California, was the previous sergeant major of 1st MAW. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase) - Sgt. Maj. Michael J. Pritchard, addresses attendees during a relief and appointment ceremony on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, April 21, 2017. Relief and appointment ceremonies are part of the Marine Corps’ tradition in passing leadership from one to another. During the ceremony, Pritchard, from Keene, New Hampshire, was appointed sergeant major of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Sgt. Maj. Mario A. Marquez, from Lakewood, California, was the previous sergeant major of 1st MAW. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase)

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)