Mayor Fukuda Visits MCAS Yuma Prior to Arrival of VMFA-121 to Japan

Posted on | by SysAdmin
12/16/2016

12/16/2016: From left to right, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard Fuerst, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, Kosei Nomura, director of Status of U.S. Forces Agreement Division Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Lt. Col. J. T. Bardo, commanding officer of Marine Fighter Attack Sqaudron (VMFA) 121, Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, Col. Marcus Annibale, commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 13, and Takahiro Sugawara, director general of Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau Japan Ministry of Defense, pose for a group photo at MCAS Yuma, Oct. 24, 2016.

This event gave Mayor Fukuda an idea of what to expect of the aircraft following the scheduled basing of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 at MCAS Iwakuni.

After its transition, VMFA-121 will be the first F-35B squadron stationed in Japan.

We have recently interviewed the CO of VMFA-121 in Yuma in early December 2016 and will shortly publish his interview. 

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION Yuma, Arizona:10/25/2016

  • In the second photo, Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col J. T. Bardo, commanding officer of VMFA-121, observe an F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2016.
  • In the third photo, Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, observes an F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2016.
  • In the final photo, Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. J. T. Bordo, commanding officer of Marine Fighter attack Squadron (VMFA) 12 observes an F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2016.
Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. J. T. Bordo, commanding officer of Marine Fighter attack Squadron (VMFA) 12 observes an F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2016. The demonstration of the F-35B gave Fukuda a better understanding of the aircraft and its capabilities. This event helped Fukuda better understand the capabilities of VMFA-121.(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Nathan Wicks)
Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, Japan, and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. J. T. Bordo, commanding officer of Marine Fighter attack Squadron (VMFA) 12 observes an F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2016. The demonstration of the F-35B gave Fukuda a better understanding of the aircraft and its capabilities. This event helped Fukuda better understand the capabilities of VMFA-121.(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Nathan Wicks)