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Pacific Ocean. (March 4, 2023): In this photo by Sergeant Marcos A. Alvarado, U.S. Marines with the maritime raid force 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conduct a search during a visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) exercise aboard the tank landing ship JS Osumi during Exercise Iron Fist 23.
Iron Fist 23 provided an opportunity for the USS America Amphibious Ready Group and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force to work together in combined counter-piracy operations at sea. The 31ST Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) serves as America’s forward deployed, quick response force capable of responding immediately to crises around the world. Commanded by a Marine colonel, the 31st MEU is comprised of approximately 2,200 Marines and Sailors embarked aboard three or four amphibious ships.
Iron Fist 23 is an annual field training exercise designed to increase interoperability and strengthen the relationship between the Marine Corps, Navy, and the Japanese Self Defense Force. This year’s exercise simulated an island seizure involving airborne and battalion landing teams working with their Japanese counterparts.
Visit, board, search, and seizure exercises practice maritime boardings of suspect vessels at sea and is one of the more dangerous peacetime missions for the Navy. These boarding teams capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, stop piracy, and prevent smuggling of contraband or human traffic. These highly trained professionals undergo eight weeks of training in close quarter battle, shooting, rappelling, and search and seizure procedures. Marines are trained to fast rope from helicopters onto potentially hostile vessels and use their tactical skills to subdue and seize the ship and its crew. As one can imagine, the school’s dropout rate is unusually high, around 30% fail to qualify.
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Washington, D.C. (February 13, 2023): You can see the terror that was Iwo Jima on their faces. In this National Archives photo by Bob Campbell, members of 2nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, land on the island seventy-eight years ago. Sadly, the participants of this epic battle have faded into history, but their memory remains in the proud young Marines of today.
U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, after months of naval and air bombardment. The Japanese defenders were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle.
In thirty-six days of fighting, nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed and another 20,000 wounded. Marines captured 216 Japanese soldiers; the rest were killed in action. The island was finally declared secured on March 26th after one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. After the battle, Iwo Jima served as an emergency landing site for more than 2,200 B-29 bombers, saving the lives of 24,000 U.S. airmen. Securing Iwo Jima prepared the way for the last and largest battle in the Pacific: the invasion of Okinawa.
Read more: BATTLE OF IWO JIMA TURNED THE TIDE OF THE PACIFIC WAR
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CHIÈVRES AIR BASE, Belgium (March 3,2030): In the early stages of any conflict, America’s military will need to launch aircraft from remote locations all over the world, some without runways, buildings, or infrastructure. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Alexandra Longfellow, Air Force Staff Sgts. Mason E-Quantay, top, and Jesus Solis-Zavala, right, 435th Security Forces Squadron contingency response team members, provide security during Exercise Agile Bison 23-1. An Air Force Contingency Response Squadron deploys a unique blend of civil engineers, construction specialists, and air operations folks to forward locations where air operations are nonexistent. These teams establish airfields, construct buildings, and provide water and sanitation to remote locations, often under the threat of enemy fire.
Once an airfield is opened, the Squadron does quick-turn maintenance of aircraft, airfield management, passenger and cargo movement, air traffic control, and force protection. The 435th Security Force is an airborne capable squadron based at Pulaski Barracks, Germany, whose mission is to secure, protect, and defend Air Force weapons systems, personnel, and resources in Europe.
During Exercise Agile Bison 23-1, the 435th established expeditionary airfields using NATO allies and partner bases along with the group’s own personnel, logistics and equipment, while also maintaining force protection during high threat levels.
Exercises like Agile Bison provide realistic training with our NATO allies under a variety of scenarios, from parachuting into forward areas to create runways to defending these remote airfields from enemy attack. In war, victory or defeat might well be decided on which force managed to project air power to far flung locations around the globe.
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MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. (February 14, 2033): In this photo by Tech Sgt. Diana Cossaboom, U.S. Air Force Capt. Sydney Hultz, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot assigned to the 91st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, flies the aircraft over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The KC-135 delivers fuel for U.S. and partner nation forces, extending the reach of allied aircraft to the far regions of the world.
The KC-135 Stratotanker provides the core aerial refueling capability for the United States Air Force and has excelled in this role for more than 60 years. Currently, the KC-135 fleet provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and allied nation aircraft. The plane is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.
The 91st Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 6TH Air Mobility Wing that was first activated in January 1941 as the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Langley Field, Virginia. Today, these long-range tanker aircraft are capable of refueling a variety of aircraft in mid-air, anywhere in the world, and under all weather conditions.
The tricky part of arial refueling is the delicate dance between approaching aircraft and this flying gas station which dispenses thousands of gallons of aviation fuel in mid-air. The receiving aircraft must maneuver into position behind the KC135 while flying at 30,000 feet and speeds up to 530 mph. The pilot skillfully connects the plane to a special shuttlecock-shaped drogue attached to and trailing behind the flying boom to refuel. Some aircraft have been configured with a multipoint refueling system, which consists of special pods mounted on the wingtips, that allows the KC-135s to refuel two aircraft at the same time.
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Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. (February 23, 2023): In this photo by Staff Sergeant Michael A. Richmond, crew chiefs assigned to the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron run toward a 23rd Bomb Squadron B-52H Stratofortress to remove the chocks before launching the aircraft to Moron Air Base, Spain. The Spaniards played host for Bomber Task Force 23-2, an exercise to familiarize aircrews with the overseas bases they would use in the event of war.
For the pilots and crews of the 23rd, this deployment reads like a European vacation. The mission began with a low approach flyby of 2 B-52H Stratofortress aircraft in Tallinn, Estonia, in celebration of Estonia’s Independence Day. Next, the Squadron flew sorties in Northern Europe with British Royal Air Force F-35s in close-air-support training with Norwegian Joint-Terminal Attack Controllers. Last week, the 23rd joined French and Spanish forces to practice delivering nuclear and conventional firepower to simulated targets.
The squadron is one of the oldest in the Air Force, having deployed to England as part of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, and the unit saw action in World War II. The 23rd later became part of the famous Strategic Air Command (SAC) protecting America during the Cold War.
Read more: Older than the crews that fly them… B-52 BOMBER IS STILL AMERICA’S “BACKBONE”
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Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (February 16, 2023): In this Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr., Staff Sgt. Jared Elliot puts Airman 1st Class Hunter Warren in a choke hold during a training class that is part of a new consolidated curriculum combining the needs of security forces with those of combat-ready deployment forces. Conducted by the 96th Security Forces Squadron, this combined approach is more “combat focused” than traditional law enforcement training and will become the standard for Air Force instruction.
The goal is to ensure security forces are always ready for combat, not just prior to deployment. The program consists of nine days of classroom and hands on training covering physical combat tactics, casualty care, close-quarters combat, and how to use a variety of weapons. The 96TH Security Forces Squadron is headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base in the western Florida Panhandle which serves as the Air Forces’ test and evaluation center. The base plans, directs, and conducts tests and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and control systems.
The group provides fuel, supply, transportation, ground combat training, security, communication, personnel, education, family services, lodging, food service, recreation and logistics planning and deployment support to approximately 20,000 military and civilian personnel and 43,000 retirees.
Eglin AFB is named in honor of Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin (1891-1937), who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 attack aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field, Alabama.