Marine Corps helicopters flex on 1,200-mile trip across Japan
Philip Athey
6 hours ago
While most Marines are no strangers to hard field training, for Marines in one Okinawa, Japan, based squadron, simply getting to the training may have been the hardest part.
On July 15, six UH-1Y Venoms assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, currently attached the 1st Marine Air Wing, took off from Okinawa and conducted a 1,200-mile trip to Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan.
The trip was the longest maritime trip made by the squadron that anyone involved in the planning or execution process can remember, Maj. Kenneth Kunze, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Air Wing, told Marine Corps Times in an email.
Lt. Col. Eric Fleming, the squadron’s commander, said in a press release, “It proves that we can range any adversary in the Pacific theater and conduct missions such as command & control, close air support, deep air support, and aerial reconnaissance with expeditionary and distributed sustainment support.”
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2021/08/09/marine-helicopters-flex-on-1200-mile-maritime-trip/
