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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
Petty Officer 1 Marlon Sammy, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing representative for the Tactical Medical Simulation Center, poses in front of an exhibit, Feb. 16, 2018, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. - Petty Officer 1 Marlon Sammy, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing representative for the Tactical Medical Simulation Center, poses in front of an exhibit, Feb. 16, 2018, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The TMSC offers a three day training designed to hone service members’ critical thinking, tactical combat care skills and meet diverse medical requirements while operating within the Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alexia Lythos)
A U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper helicopter, foreground, and a UH-1Y Venom helicopter lift off the runway at U-Tapao International Airport, Kingdom of Thailand, Feb. 10, 2018. - A U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper helicopter, foreground, and a UH-1Y Venom helicopter lift off the runway at U-Tapao International Airport, Kingdom of Thailand, Feb. 10, 2018. Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 arrived in Thailand to participate in the 37th iteration of Cobra Gold as part of the U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Combat Element. HMLA-369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, is currently forward-deployed under the unit deployment program with MAG-36, 1st MAW. Exercise Cobra Gold 2018 is an annual exercise conducted in the Kingdom of Thailand held from Feb. 13-23 with seven full participating nations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andy Martinez)
180201-M-XX123-002.PNG - Captain Joseph J. Foss peers from the cockpit of a Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, the fighter type in which he scored all 26 of his victories. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
Cpl. Parker J. Berg adjusts an antenna during exercise Warrior Challenge 18 on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 24, 2018. Warrior Challenge 18, Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18’s internal squadron exercise, increases Marine’s technical skills, builds unit cohesion, and rehearses the communications support prior to the execution of Key Resolve 18. - Cpl. Parker J. Berg adjusts an antenna during exercise Warrior Challenge 18 on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 24, 2018. Warrior Challenge 18, Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18’s internal squadron exercise, increases Marine’s technical skills, builds unit cohesion, and rehearses the communications support prior to the execution of Key Resolve 18.
U.S. Marines with Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) extinguish a fire from a training aircraft during a wheel fire exercise at West Field, Marine Corps Air Station, Feb. 2, 2018. - U.S. Marines with Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) extinguish a fire from a training aircraft during a wheel fire exercise at West Field, Marine Corps Air Station, Feb. 2, 2018. ARFF conducted a wheel fire exercise to improve proficiency in assessing and extinguishing a fire by utilizing the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Training Device. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jesus Sepulveda Torres)