U.S. Marine Corps aircraft rescue and firefighting specialists with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and firefighters with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the Miramar Fire Department, and the Poway Fire Department conduct a prescribed burn along the flight line at MCAS Miramar, California, Sep. 4, 2026. The prescribed burn was conducted as a preventative measure to eliminate underbrush or flammable substances that could ignite during the America's Air Show 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Alexander Vaughn)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur S. Oles IV concluded 22 years of honorable service in the Marine Corps during his retirement ceremony on the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar flightline on May 8, 2026. The crowd of Marines who gathered to bid farewell and congratulate him was a testament not just to his decorated career, but to the personal impact he had on each of them. While a decorated aviator, it was his leadership, rooted in his philosophy of "leading with love," that left an indelible mark on the Marine Corps.
Preceded by generations of service members, it was no surprise that Lt. Col. Oles was drawn to swear the oath and don the nation’s cloth. Through his great-grandfather’s service as an...
