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Misawa AMC terminal ushers global reach

U.S. Air Force Airmen work with the 730th Air Mobility Squadron Operating Location Bravo air terminal ground handling services civilian contractors to connect loading stairs to a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 733rd AMS out of Kadena Air Base, Japan, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 19, 2017. The 730th AMS terminal works with contractors and provides support during medical evacuations. The aircraft landed at Misawa to retrieve a patient.

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F-35B arrives in Japan

An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Jan. 18, 2017. VMFA-121 conducted a permanent change of station to MCAS Iwakuni, from MCAS Yuma, Ariz., and now belongs to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter, which is the world's first operational supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft. The F-35B brings strategic agility, operational flexibility and tactical supremacy to III MEF with a mission radius greater than that of the F/A-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier II in support of the U.S. - Japan alliance.

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Refueling 35th FW Falcons

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Jones, boom operator assigned to the 134th Air Refueling Wing, Tennessee Air National Guard, refuels 13th and 14th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon’s over Northern Japan, Jan. 18, 2017. Boom operators refuel various types of aircraft in midair, extending the amount of time spent on training or combat missions.

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MV-22 OSPREY DEPOT-LEVEL REPAIR FACILITY OPENS IN JAPAN

Capt. Matthew Edwards, commander, Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, joins Japanese city officials, business executives, and Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) leaders in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly opened MV-22 Osprey, depot-level repair facility in JGSDF airfield, Camp. Kisarazu, Jan. 12, 2017. The facility is the first depot level facility for the MV-22 to open in Japan and will serve a critical role in keeping forward-deployed aircraft operational.

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Marines raise combat standards for rifle range in hopes of more realistic training

Marines from various units within Okinawa prepare for their turn to fire the table two portion of the annual rifle range qualification, Jan. 12, 2017, at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The Marine Corps revised table two of the marksmanship program October 2016 to increase marksmanship skill and realism in a combat environment. The Corps requires Marines to annually qualify at the range to determine their marksmanship skill.

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Precision Guided Partnerships

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Mollye Voorhees, 18th Munitions Squadron conventional maintenance crew member, and Floyd Higa, 18th MUNS chief master labor contractor, show members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force different pieces of munitions equipment during a tour Jan. 11, 2017, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. These JGSDF members are training to become logistics officers and are touring U.S. munitions storage units to get an understanding of how they operate in an effort to stregthen ties between the U.S. and Japan.

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67th AMU avionics Airmen keep F-15s ready

U.S. Air Force Senior Airmen Jason Garciadealba and Adrian Garrucho, 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit avionics technicians, check the avionics systems of an F-15 Eagle Jan. 10, 2017, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Avionics technicians are responsible for keeping aircraft avionics systems properly operating.

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Humble Heroes rescue Japanese locals

Four U.S. Marines receive Navy Achievement Medals during a battalion formation Jan. 9, 2017, aboard Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, for their instinctive response when a vehicle with five passengers fell from the fifth story of a parking garage in Yokosuka, a city in the Greater Tokyo Area, Dec. 31, 2016. Once the Marines arrived on scene, the group flipped the car in order to remove the passengers prior to Japanese Emergency Medical Services arriving. The Marines are riflemen assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and forward-deployed to 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan. U.S. Marines pictured left to right: Lance Cpl. Manaure Arellano, Lance Cpl. James Flores, Lance Cpl. Raheem Gilliam and Pfc. Jacob Boerner.

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Shogun structural success

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Taylor Dufrene, 18th Equipment Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintenance journeyman, drills past the head of a rivet on a simulated aircraft structure Jan. 9, 2016, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. One of the jobs of aircraft structural maintenance Airmen is replacing rivets on aircraft, making the aircraft structures mission capable.

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VMFA-121 departs for relocation to Japan

Marine Corps F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, transit the Pacific from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 9, 2017, with its final destination of Iwakuni, Japan. VMFA-121 is the first operational F-35B squadron assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, with its relocation to 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Iwakuni. The F-35B was developed to replace the Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA- 6B Prowler. The Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft is a true force multiplier. The unique combination of stealth, cutting-edge radar and sensor technology, and electronic warfare systems bring all of the access and lethality capabilities of a fifth-generation fighter, a modern bomber, and an adverse-weather, all-threat environment air support platform.

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VMFA-121 departs for relocation to Japan

An F-35B lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 prepares to take off aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Jan. 9, 2017, as it transits the Pacific en route to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. VMFA-121 is the first operational F-35B squadron assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, with its relocation to 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Iwakuni. The F-35B was developed to replace the Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA- 6B Prowler. The Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft is a true force multiplier. The unique combination of stealth, cutting-edge radar and sensor technology, and electronic warfare systems bring all of the access and lethality capabilities of a fifth-generation fighter, a modern bomber, and an adverse-weather, all-threat environment air support platform.

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F-35s Land in Japan, Launch New Aviation Era

An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conducts an aerial refuel while transiting the Pacific Northwest from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 9, 2017, its final destination being MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, to join 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. VMFA-121, originally an F/A-18 squadron, was redesignated as the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron in 2012.

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Can you hear me now?

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 17th Special Operations Squadron light flares during a combat survival training exercise, Jan. 6, 2017, at Camp Hansen, Japan. Combat survival training is for aircrew members to retain currency on a course they are required to have every three years.

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Kadena Air Base 18th Maintenance Group Hosts Annual Weapons Load Competition

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare for the annual weapons load competition Jan. 4, 2017, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The competition is held between the 67th and 44th Aircraft Maintenance Units to find out which Airmen make up the fastest weapons load crews on Kadena.

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President Obama and Prime Minister Abe Visit USS Arizona Memorial

On Dec. 27, 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on Kilo Pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam while Japanese Prime Minister looks on. President Obama described the U.S.-Japan alliance as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and a force for progress around the globe.

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President Obama and Prime Minister Abe Visit USS Arizona Memorial

On Dec. 27, 2016, Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, Yeoman 2nd Class Michelle Wrabley, assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet, President of the United States, Barack Obama, and U.S. Pacific Command Commander, Adm. Harry Harris pause to honor the service members killed during the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor. Abe is the first Japanese prime minister to visit the USS Arizona Memorial.

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Japan, U.S. forces unite in Yama Sakura 71

Lt. Gen. Kiyoshi Ogawa, commanding General of the Western Army, Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF), and Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza, I Corps commanding General, shake hands following a successful Yama Sakura exercise in Camp Kengun, Dec. 13, 2016. Exercise Yama Sakura 71 is an annual command post exercise co-sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and the JGSDF. The purpose of the exercise is to enhance U.S. and Japan's combat readiness and interoperability while strengthening bilateral relationships and demonstrating U.S. resolve to support the security interests of allies and partners in the Indo-Asia- Pacific region. During the exercise, U.S. military members and JGSDF members exchange ideas, tactic, techniques, military experiences, and culture. Yama Sakura strengthens military operations, trust and friendship.

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Navy EA-18G capabilities brief

U.S. Navy Lt. Shaun Randall, the Naval Air Facility Misawa VAQ-135 training officer, briefs Japanese and Republic of Korea colonels and lieutenant colonels on the mission and capabilities of the EA-18G Growler at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 13, 2016. In addition to seeing the EA-18G, Japanese and Republic of Korea leaders listened to a mission brief on the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Air Force’s presence in Misawa.

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Crew chiefs sustain airpower, presence

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Eric Chung, left, a crew chief, and Staff Sgt. Esteban Ramirez, right, an engines technician, both with the 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, perform maintenance underneath an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 12, 2016. Several shops from the 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron work with each other to perform their specialized craft on the aircraft. Airmen performed maintenance through engine panels in an F-16, allowing personnel to troubleshoot an engine without removing it.

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Remarks by Secretary Carter and Japanese Defense Minister Inada in Tokyo, Japan

Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada host a joint news conference in Tokyo, Dec. 7, 2016.

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