Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, speaks with U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), during the welcoming ceremony of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 20, 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. Nathan Wicks)