Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 18, 2017. VMFA-121 conducted a permanent change of station to MCAS Iwakuni, from MCAS Yuma, Ariz., and now belongs to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter, which is the world’s first operational supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft. The F-35B brings strategic agility, operational flexibility and tactical supremacy to III MEF with a mission radius greater than that of the F/A-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier II in support of the U.S. – Japan alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Henson) - An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 18, 2017. VMFA-121 conducted a permanent change of station to MCAS Iwakuni, from MCAS Yuma, Ariz., and now belongs to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter, which is the world’s first operational supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft. The F-35B brings strategic agility, operational flexibility and tactical supremacy to III MEF with a mission radius greater than that of the F/A-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier II in support of the U.S. – Japan alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Henson)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Harley Damarputra, an aviation life-support equipment technician and collateral duty inspector with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, forward deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, checks the communication system in a pilot’s helmet during exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 16, 2016. Damarputra supports the squadron as a life-support equipment technician and collateral duty inspector by ensuring the pilots’ safety gear is working properly. (U.S. Marine Corps photo Lance Cpl. Donato Maffin/Released) - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Harley Damarputra, an aviation life-support equipment technician and collateral duty inspector with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, forward deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, checks the communication system in a pilot’s helmet during exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 16, 2016. Damarputra supports the squadron as a life-support equipment technician and collateral duty inspector by ensuring the pilots’ safety gear is working properly. (U.S. Marine Corps photo Lance Cpl. Donato Maffin/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Malcolm Cappelle, a quality assurance safety observer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, and forward deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, inspects a CATM 9X training missile during exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 16, 2016. Cappelle is inspecting the ordnance to make sure it’s secured properly on the squadron’s F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet in support of exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Donato Maffin/Released) - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Malcolm Cappelle, a quality assurance safety observer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, and forward deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, inspects a CATM 9X training missile during exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 16, 2016. Cappelle is inspecting the ordnance to make sure it’s secured properly on the squadron’s F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet in support of exercise Red Flag-Alaska 16-2. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Donato Maffin/Released)