MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – The U.S. Marine Corps deploys Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 533, also known as the “Hawks,” an F-35B Lightning II squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP) on Sept. 5, 2026. VMFA-533 joins Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, and will conduct aviation operations and maintain combat readiness throughout the Indo-Pacific region. VMFA-533 will integrate as the new UDP squadron, replacing the current UDP squadron, VMFA-232.
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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Marshall Martinez rushed to the aid of occupants inside a burning hotel in Chatan, Okinawa, Japan, during the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2026.Martinez, a native of California and a combat engineer with III Marine Expeditionary Force Support Battalion, III MEF Information Group, was walking home after an evening out with his girlfriend when they noticed a building on fire.With the building already on fire, Martinez entered the structure and began waking occupants, urging them to evacuate.“My initial thought was, it’s early in the morning, there are probably people sleeping,” said Martinez. “If I had my family in there, I would want someone to wake me up to get them out of the fire.”After helping alert the
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