U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 252, Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, travel from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, to Rygge Air Base, Norway, March 2-3, 2026. The squadron deployed its KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Norway in preparation for exercise Cold Response 26. A key component of NATO's enhanced vigilance activity Arctic Sentry, exercise Cold Response 26 is a Norwegian-led winter military exercise designed to enhance collective defense capabilities and ensure U.S. readiness to rapidly deploy and seamlessly operate alongside NATO Allies in challenging arctic conditions. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Donovan Pimentel)
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Todd Mahar, the officer in charge for Expeditionary Operations Training Group, accompanied by his family, walks out after the conclusion of his retirement ceremony on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, March 6, 2026. II Marine Expeditionary Force hosts a retirement ceremony for Mahar after serving honorably for 31 years in the United States Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dorian Melrath)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. — U.S. Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force, alongside U.S. naval forces, and partners from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), tested new defenses against swarming drones during the Technology Operational Experimentation Event (TOEE) “Wave Breaker”, from Jan. 26, 2026, to Feb. 6, 2026.
