U.S. Marines with 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Battalion, march during a change of command ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, June 13, 2024. The ceremony represented the transfer of responsibility and authority from Lt. Col. Bradley S. Creedon to Lt. Col. Leonard J. Niedosik. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Christopher Hernandez)
U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 167 participate in Distributed Aviation Operations Exercise (DAOEx) 24 at the U.S. Navy Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island, Bahamas, June 1-14, 2024. HMLA-167 supported DAOEx 24, which is designed to distribute command and control of aviation forces across echelons of command, pushing authorities to the lowest levels, while keeping forces moving between airfields and air sites. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Rowdy Vanskike)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. -- The U.S. Marine Corps continues its transitional journey and development of its fifth-generation fixed-wing capabilities with the F-35B Lightning II jet. Those jets could not fly without Marines like Sgt. Rhett Butler who maintain them through long days and nights.
Butler, a native of Monrovia, Maryland, and an F-35B Lightning II jet airframes mechanic, joined the Marine Corps in 2020 because of his family’s military history. His great-grandfather served as a Marine rifleman during World War II and fought in the Pacific theater, another family member served as a U.S. Army officer, and another as a Sailor in the U.S. Navy. Because of this heritage, he decided to enlist into the Marine...
