New River Air Station, July 2013

07/24/2013
07/24/2013: During a visit in July 2013, a newly forming ACE for a MEU about to go on deployment was generating its aircraft for the mission. This slideshow shows some of those aircraft on the flight line, or being maintained. [slidepress gallery='new-river-air-station'] Credit: Second Line of Defense:2013 The first three…

VMM-363 and Ospreys for Japan

07/18/2013
07/18/2013: U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing stage nine MV-22B Ospreys for shipment to Okinawa, Japan on Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego Calif., June 12, 2013. Staging the Osprey completed the second phase for their shipment to…

Osprey Lands on Japanese Ship For the First Time

06/27/2013
06/26/2013: An MV-22B Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 (VMM-161) lands onboard the JS Hyuga (DDG-181), during Dawn Blitz 2013 for the first time in history off the coast of Naval Base Coronado, June 14. [slidepress gallery='osprey-lands-on-japanese-ship-for-the-first-time'] Credit: 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade:6/14/13 Exercise Dawn Blitz 2013 is a multinational…

Ospreys Make Historic Landing on Tinian

12/14/2012
12/142012: Two MV-22B Ospreys landed on West Field here Dec. 10 during exercise Forager Fury 2012. These were the first Ospreys to land on Tinian which marks another milestone achieved during the exercise. This is the first exercise the Osprey has participated in since replacing the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter…

Refueling Ospreys at Sea: In the Future, Will the Osprey Be the Refueler?

11/19/2012
11/07/2012: Refueling Ospreys at Sea [slidepress gallery='refueling-ospreys-at-sea'] Credit: 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit:9/23/12 In the first photo, a KC-130J Hercules with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (Reinforced), 24h Marine Expeditionary Unit, flies over Djibouti City after conducting aerial refueling training Sep. 23, 2012.The training consisted…

US Military Presence and the “Dynamic Defense” of Japan

09/30/2012
2012-09-30 By Richard Weitz Although the Japanese-U.S. security relationship has evolved considerably since the end of the Cold War, the fundamental bargain enshrined in their mutual security treaty has remained. The United States will defend Japan from external aggression while the Japanese will facilitate this process by hosting U.S. military…