U.S Marines with Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS) 2 use a quarter-wave ground plane antenna to communicate with aircraft near the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island, Bahamas, Feb. 22, 2025. MACS-2 deployed to the Bahamas to conduct aviation ground support rehearsals and refine distributed aviation operations for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mya Seymour)
U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 272 load cargo onto a barge at the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island, Bahamas, Feb. 23, 2025. MWSS-272 deployed to the Bahamas to conduct aviation ground support rehearsals and refine distributed aviation operations for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Orlanys Diaz Figueroa)
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...