News Stories

Awareness for Fire Prevention Week flares across MCAS Iwakuni - Girl Scouts gather around Sparky the dog during Fire Prevention Week at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 12, 2017. Fire Prevention Week raises awareness in communities on how they can prevent, combat and aid where a fire can or is currently taking place in a real-world scenario. Fire Prevention Day was established Oct. 8, 1920, by President Woodrow Wilson to commemorate The Great Chicago Fire in 1871, which claimed 300 lives and left 100,000 homeless. It later became known as Fire Prevention Week in 1922 and has been proclaimed by the president every year since 1925, making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mason Roy)

. - U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Christopher Melling, the pilot training officer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 251, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., enters and F/A-18C Hornet while wearing Joint Protective Aircrew Ensemble (JPACE) and Respirator equipment at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 29, 2017. VMFA-251 has intensified training on familiarizing aircrew members with the JPACE, a pilot’s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Defense equipment, while still maintaining focus on the squadron’s mission. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph Abrego)

Japanese barbers cut through time - Chieko Murakami, left, Hisato Murakami, center, and Tomie Shigemura, barbers working at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, pose in front of the Torii Pines barber shop at the air station, Oct. 25, 2017. They are currently three of the oldest employed Japanese workers on base. Shigemura began working in 1970, and Hisato and his wife, Chieko, joined her a year later. After nearly half a century, these barbers have whizzed their clippers through the hairs of countless Marines. From the dog days of the Vietnam War to the ongoing War on Terror, they’ve buzzed their way through time at MCAS Iwakuni while watching it flourish, grow and transform in the process. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Jimenez)

US service members celebrate end of summer - U.S. Marine Pfc. Terrence Pennywell, an embarkation specialist with Combat Logistics Company (CLC) 36, plays a saxophone during the 20th annual Single Marine Program’s End of Summer Party at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 27, 2017. The event gave Marines one last opportunity to enjoy the season with their peers as it turns to fall. There was a karaoke competition, pool tournament and sumo wrestling competition. They held raffles giving away a bicycle, a TV, coupons worth $250, a one-hour massage and other prizes during the event. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Japanese, Americans participate in triathlon - A participant in the 30th annual Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Triathlon hosted by Marine Corps Community Services Iwakuni, races during the 23-kilometer bicycle portion of the event at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 24, 2017. Marine Corps Community Services Iwakuni hosted the triathlon to energize the community and provide a positive experience through friendly competition. The event was composed of a 1-kilometer swim, a 23-kilometer bike ride and 8-kilometer run. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Japanese, Americans build relationships in a unique way - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni residents build a replica of the Kintaikyo bridge alongside Japanese locals during a Cultural Adaptation trip in Iwakuni City, Japan, Sept. 15, 2017. Station residents were taken to a hangar filled with wooden parts from Japanese Hinoki and Keyaki trees, the kind used to build the Kintaikyo Bridge, where they worked to create a model replica one-fifth the size of the bridge. The building of the bridge became symbolic for the cooperative, friendly nature between America and Japan, consistently working together in civilian and military environments to achieve mutually-beneficial goals. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Jimenez)

Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific Detachment Iwakuni brings first aircraft into new hangar - From left to right, James Bock, F/A-18 Super Hornet planned maintenance interval line program manager with Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRCWP), Tomoshi Kometani, general manager of Nippi Corporation maintenance division, U.S. Navy Capt. Matthew Edwards, commanding officer of FRCWP, and U.S. Marine Corps Col. Mark Palmer, commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 22, 2017. The ceremony celebrated FRCWP Detachment Iwakuni’s induction of the first aircraft for maintenance in the unit’s new hangar. The facility allows the air station to conduct depot-level maintenance locally rather than flying aircraft to Naval Air Facility Atsugi. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Service members volunteer, make difference in community - U.S. Marines and Sailors based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, dig a hole to make a koi pond at You En, a special needs home in Hiroshima City, Sept. 15, 2017. The landscaping at the special needs home consisted of digging holes for a future garden as well as a koi pond for the residents to enjoy walking through and watching it grow day-by-day. The event helped build relations between the service members and the Japanese community. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

VMFA-121 helps prepare JASDF for F-35A - Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) personnel study the F-35B Lightning II during an educational tour and class led by Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 13, 2017. Several classes were conducted for JASDF personnel regarding maintenance, serviceability, operability and more. Afterwards, they briefly toured VMFA-121’s facility, taking a peek into different departments and visiting the hangar to see, touch and study the aircraft up close. This is the first time VMFA-121 has conducted an exchange like this. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Jimenez)

Iwakuni Expo gives residents insight into station, community - Sayaka Takabayashi, right, a Semper Fit fitness instructor with Health Promotions, and Cindy Franz, a recreation assistant with Marine Corps Community Services, demonstrate a kickboxing instruction lesson during the Iwakuni Expo at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 9, 2017. Throughout the expo, residents enjoyed shows by ballroom dancers, Semper Fit Group Exercise Programs and a Japanese dance performance. The expo aimed to give residents an idea of the services, resources and benefits available to them on base and around the community. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Jimenez)