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180918-M-IM090-001.JPG - Maj. Gen. Thomas D. Weidley throws the opening pitch of the 4th annual Marine Corps Air Station Futenma Suicide Prevention Awareness Softball Tournament, Okinawa, Japan, Sept. 7, 2018. The Suicide Prevention Awareness Softball Tournament is intended to increase suicide prevention awareness and serve as an opportunity for the Marines and Sailors of Marine Aircraft Control Group 18, Marine Aircraft Group 36, Marine wing Headquarters Squadron 1 and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to build camaraderie and to demonstrate the idea of “work hard, play hard.” Weidley is the commanding general of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Striking out suicide one pitch at a time

The annual softball game is held to enhance suicide prevention awareness, build camaraderie and strengthen bonds within the unit.

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180715-M-IM909-001.JPG - World War II veteran Sam Folsom flew the Grumman F4F Wildcat during his time of service in Guadalcanal in late 1942. His squadron, Marine Fighter Squadron 121, was the highest scoring Marine fighter squadron of WWII and received the presidential unit citation. During Folsom’s time with VMF-121, he shot down three total enemy aircrafts and received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. (Courtesy Photo)

One of the last living WWII Marine fighter pilots

Sam Folsom, born July 24, 1920 in Quincy, Massachusetts, was one of the first echelon of 17 Marine fighter pilots with Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 121 tasked with defending Guadalcanal. He is also one of the last living Marine Corps WWII combat pilot.

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180609-M-IM909-1102.JPG - Marines and Sailors volunteer at Ai-no-Mura Senior Citizen Home, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan, June 9, 2018. Marines and Sailors volunteer to upkeep the senior citizen home to improve the quality of life. Volunteering is a great method to interact and build lasting relationships within the local community.

Marines, Sailors volunteer at Okinawa senior citizen home

Approximately 20 Marines and Sailors with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spent the morning volunteering at the Ai-no-Mura Senior Citizens Home in Okinawa, Japan, June 9, 2018.

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180522-M-ZX532-835.JPG - Marine Aircraft Group 12 forces deployed several F-35B Lightning ll's for a regularly scheduled aviation training relocation at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 9, 2018. ATR's are designed to increase operational readiness and bilateral interoperability for both U.S. and Japanese forces. The MAG-12 ATR is a concrete example of the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance - the foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific for more than 50 years. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alexia Lythos)

VMFA-121 Marines fly high in Misawa ATR

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, deployed several F-35B Lightning II’s for a regularly scheduled aviation training relocation to Misawa Air Base, May 9, 2018. Aircraft training relocations are designed to increase operational readiness and bilateral interoperability for both U.S. and Japanese forces. This training is conducted in accordance with the agreements between the U.S. government and the government of Japan and has been taking place since 1997.

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180411-M-XX001-112.JPG - A UH-1E Gunship pulls out of a rocket and strafing attack on a Viet Cong position near Cao Lanh in the Mekong Delta, Jan. 22, 1969. Large craters caused by air and artillery strikes brought in on the area can be seen near the white explosion. (Courtesy photo from McInerney/AP)

MAG-36 - Remembering Hue City

Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, the first complete Marine air group to be transported by sea to a combat zone, launched from the USS Princeton to the shores of Vietnam, Sept. 1, 1965. Immediately, they began providing troop lifts, air strikes, medical evacuation, resupplies, and reconnaissance insertions and extractions in the southern area of operations.

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180407-M-YL007-001.JPG - A Marine with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing carries the American Flag during the Bataan Death March Memorial hike, April 7, 2018 on Kadena Air Force base, Okinawa, Japan. More than 200 service members and their families participated in the 8.5 mile hike around Kadena’s perimeter in remembrance of the prisoners of war who perished as a result of the Death March that took place in the Philippine archipelago in 1942 during WWII. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Natalie Dillon)

1st MAW honors U.S.-Philippine alliance

KADENA AIR FORCE BASE, OKINAWA, Japan – Since the end of the Spanish-American War in 1902, the U.S. and Philippines have worked diligently to maintain an unshakable alliance. During WWII, that alliance was put to the test when 1st Marine Aircraft Wing took to the skies in the Philippine theater to drive out the invading Imperial Japanese Army.

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180330-M-YL007-012.JPG - Chief Petty Officer Ophael J. Myrtil was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to a tight-knit family. As an infant, Myrtil lost 24 family members when the bus carrying them suffered a fatal accident. Rattled by the sudden loss, Myrtil’s father moved him and his sister to the United States when he was six. Myrtil is now a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and is the lead chief petty officer with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 1, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Natalie Dillon)

Haitian-national suffers tragic loss, fosters family ties with his Sailors

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan – Chief Petty Officer Ophael J. Myrtil, a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As an infant, Myrtil’s life took a devastating turn when he lost 24 family members, including his mother and brother, in a motor vehicle accident.

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180313-M-AD571-002.JPG - U.S. Marines Col. Christopher Patton (left) and Maj. Mark Koval (right) walk out to the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, March 18, 2018. The Marines conducted their last flight with the AH-1Ws under Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 in Hawaii. Patton, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is the commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 24. Koval, a native of Whiting, Indiana, is the operations officer of HMLA-367, MAG-24. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kathy Nunez)

HMLA-367 bids farewell to AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters

Since their arrival in 2012, the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters have been flown out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii as a part of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367. With the introduction of the newest variant of the aircraft, the AH-1Z Viper, the whiskey models took flight for one last time with HMLA-367, March 13, 2018.

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U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Michael Johnson, sergeant major for Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, delivers a speech upon appointment to his new command at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, March 8, 2018. - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Michael Johnson, sergeant major for Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, delivers a speech upon appointment to his new command at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, March 8, 2018. Johnson is coming from Recruiting Station Atlanta, Georgia, and relinquishing U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Miguel A. Ortega, from his duties as the sergeant major at MAG-12. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Seth Rosenberg)

Sgt. Maj. Ortega bids MAG-12 farewell, Sgt. Maj. Johnson takes charge

.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Miguel A. Ortega relinquished his post as sergeant major of Marine Aircraft Group 12 during a relief and appointment ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, March 8, 2018.

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180223-M-YL007-472.PNG - Command Master Chief Curtis Blunt, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Navy. Blunt holds a position in 1st MAW that allows him to heavily influence the Sailors and Marines under him. "What I enjoy more than anything is I know that I can positively impact people's lives," said Blunt. Blunt is a native of Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Command Master Chief Q and A

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan- Command Master Chief Curtis D. Blunt, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, is a seasoned member of the United States military. Having dedicated more than 30 years of his life, he has risen to the top of enlisted naval ranks and sits as the 1st MAW Command Master Chief. As an advisor to the commanding general, Blunt holds a title detrimental to enlisted Marines and Sailors. However, many junior Marines and Sailors may not know what Blunt can do for them. Blunt, a Chickasha, Oklahoma native, took time to answer some important questions about his job in an effort to show not only his Sailors, but his Marines too, what he does and why it ties into the bigger picture of making a more capable fighting force.

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