U.S. Marines and Sailors of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 261 arrive at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, June 3, 2024. VMM-261 returned home from a 9-month deployment in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Christopher Hernandez)
U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 167 perform a terrain-familiarization flight during Distributed Aviation Operations Exercise (DAO Ex) 24 near Andros Island, Bahamas, June 4, 2024. HMLA-167 supported DAO Ex 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...
