U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Thomas Brougher, from Arizona, an AV-8B Harrier II pilot with Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 231 takes off at Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, California, Feb. 4, 2025. VMA-231 deployed to NAF El Centro to conduct unit-level training and support Marine ground units during Service Level Training Exercise 1-25, a series of exercises designed to prepare Marines for operations around the globe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. David Ornelas Baeza)
U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 252 conduct cold weather and extreme cold weather training at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario, Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut, Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, and Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, from Jan. 14–26, 2025. VMGR-252 participated in a cold-weather training exercise alongside the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 436 Transport Squadron to improve interoperability and increase proficiency while operating KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft in cold and extreme cold weather conditions. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Mya Seymour)
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 251, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), reactivated during a ceremony on Thursday aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, following a four-year, seven-month hiatus.
VMFA-251, known as the “Thunderbolts” or “T-Bolts,” was previously deactivated during a ceremony on April 23, 2020, aboard MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, after returning from deployment in 2020 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The Thunderbolts’ deactivation concluded its 34 years as an F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron was then relocated to MCAS Cherry Point to begin its transition to the F-35.
VMFA-251 received its first F-35C Lightning II Joint...
