U.S. Marines with the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, prepare to conduct shipboard fire fighter (SBFF) training on a mock MV-22 Osprey at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina on Dec. 11, 2024. SBFF is designed to prepare Marines to assist Navy personnel in combatting fires on the flight deck of an amphibious vessel in an emergency situation and is a training requirement for VMM-263 prior to deployment with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sharon Ruiz).
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Cael O'keefe and Sgt. Micheal Arwood, MV-22B tiltrotor crew chiefs with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162), speak about the fiscal year 2025 selective retention bonus program and what it takes to qualify for it.
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...
