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Brigadier General Ben Blaz Memorial Highway

On Monday, July 28, the Government of Guam honored U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General (Brig. Gen.) and Delegate Vicente “Ben” T. Blaz, a Guam native and the first CHamoru Marine to achieve the rank of general officer in the U.S. Armed Forces, by renaming Guam Route 3 as “Brigadier General Ben Blaz Memorial Highway.”

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U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Brady Sims, a motor vehicle operator with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, poses for a photo at Camp Hansen, Japan, June 30, 2025. Sims was recently credited with rendering aid to a local Okinawan woman after she sustained minor injuries during a slip and fall. Sims is a native of Texas. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bridgette Rodriguez) - U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Brady Sims, a motor vehicle operator with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, poses for a photo at Camp Hansen, Japan, June 30, 2025. Sims was recently credited with rendering aid to a local Okinawan woman after she sustained minor injuries during a slip and fall. Sims is a native of Texas. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bridgette Rodriguez)

“No Better Friend”: III MIG Marine aids Okinawan local after slip and fall

On June 7, Sims was shopping in American Village when he and another Marine, LCpl Ryland Sawyer, decided to walk by a nearby beach. During that walk, they noticed a local Japanese woman slip from the concrete barriers that break up the waves and fall headfirst down an approximately 15-foot drop. Sims did not hesitate to spring into action.

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U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Brian Wolford, second from right, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations Pacific, and Dean Thompson, U.S. ambassador to Nepal, greet officers with the Nepali Army during the 10th Anniversary Operation Sahayogi Haat Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Nepal Military Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal, May 12, 2025. On April 25, 2015, Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake, prompting the deployment of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installations Pacific personnel as part of Joint Task Force 505 to provide humanitarian assistance during Operation SAHAYOGI HAAT. On May 12, 2015, a UH-1Y Huey helicopter, Vengeance 01, crashed while attempting to rescue wounded civilians, resulting in the deaths of all eight individuals on board, including U.S. Marines and Nepalese soldiers: Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, Sgt. Ward M. Johnson IV, Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, Cpl. Sara A. Medina, Capt. Christopher L. Norgen, Maj. Tapendra Rawal, Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, and Warrant Officer 1 Basanta Titara. Wolford is a native of Maryland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Thomas Sheng) - U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Brian Wolford, second from right, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations Pacific, and Dean Thompson, U.S. ambassador to Nepal, greet officers with the Nepali Army during the 10th Anniversary Operation Sahayogi Haat Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Nepal Military Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal, May 12, 2025. On April 25, 2015, Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake, prompting the deployment of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installations Pacific personnel as part of Joint Task Force 505 to provide humanitarian assistance during Operation SAHAYOGI HAAT. On May 12, 2015, a UH-1Y Huey helicopter, Vengeance 01, crashed while attempting to rescue wounded civilians, resulting in the deaths of all eight individuals on board, including U.S. Marines and Nepalese soldiers: Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, Sgt. Ward M. Johnson IV, Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, Cpl. Sara A. Medina, Capt. Christopher L. Norgen, Maj. Tapendra Rawal, Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, and Warrant Officer 1 Basanta Titara. Wolford is a native of Maryland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Thomas Sheng)

Marines of Vengeance 01, a decade later | Operation Sahayogi Haat

That 7.8 magnitude earthquake, on April 25, 2015, was recorded as the most devastating in Nepal’s history. Killing almost 9,000 people, injuring tens of thousands, and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings. The earthquake spanned 120 kilometers long and 80 kilometers wide, leaving much of the country in ruins. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. responded to Nepal’s request for assistance. Joint Task Force 505 was formed, employing the skillsets of 900 service members from the U.S. Armed Forces.

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Iwakuni EOD Lands at Camp Fuji

Iwakuni EOD officer transports training material to CATC Camp Fuji by U.S. Army helicopter.

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Christopher Kane, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and 36th Civil Engineer Squadron natural resources specialist, looks up at the last adult Serianthes nelsonii tree on the island at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 2, 2021. - Christopher Kane, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and 36th Civil Engineer Squadron natural resources specialist, looks up at the last adult Serianthes nelsonii tree on the island at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 2, 2021. Serianthes nelsonii is a large tree endemic to Guam and Rota of the Mariana Islands. Only one mature tree exists on Guam, while 121 mature trees have been identified on Rota since 1984. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Aubree Owens)

Last adult Serianthes nelsonii tree on Guam

Serianthes nelsonii is a tree species found only on Guam and Rota. The CHamoru name for the Serianthes tree on Guam is Håyun lågu, meaning "wood of the north" or "foreign wood," and in Rota, Trongkon guåfi, meaning "fire tree." Specimens were first collected in the late 1800s and again in 1918 by Peter Nelson, from whom the species was described by Elmer D. Merrill. Although there is no remaining knowledge of traditional uses of the tree in CHamoru culture, early navigator Louis Claude de Freycinet listed Håyun lågu as a tree suitable for timber in his travel journals in the 1800s. Given the tree’s full stature and strength, it would have been suitable for shelter construction or canoe-building. In 1987, Serianthes nelsonii was listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service due to its rarity and threats to its survival.

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Photo by Sgt. Phuchung Nguyen - Jennifer Ayers, the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni aquatics director and a South Carolina native, poses for a portrait at the Marine Corps Community Services’ indoor pool on Sept. 5, 2024. Ayers and the MCAS Iwakuni aquatics team provide swim clinics and master classes, and train instructors with the goal to improve service members’ survival skills and increase their water confidence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Phuchung Nguyen)

Modern Day Mermaid

In 2023, it was recorded that 27 Marines and sailors lost their lives due to preventable off duty mishaps. On Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Jennifer Ayers, the aquatics director and swim survival skill master trainer, is on a mission to help change these statistics for the better. Finding ways to improve the service members' confidence and

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A Marines stand in a row, waiting to hear how their teams did. - Food service Marines stand waiting to hear how their teams did at the Marine Corps Installations Pacific’s Food Services Specialist of the Quarter competition, held at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, August 30, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Song Jordan)

MCIPAC Chef of the Quarter Competition Held at Camp Fuji

Marine Corps Installations Pacific’s Food Services Specialist of the Quarter competition was held at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji.

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Players from the Minatogawa Junior High and the Camp Humphrey Hoops Club, play basketball during the End of Summer Friendship Tournament on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 10, 2024. The Okinawa 1215 Boys and Girls Basketball Club brought together eight teams from Japan and Korea to play in the End of Summer Friendship Tournament. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brody Robertson) - Players from the Minatogawa Junior High and the Camp Humphrey Hoops Club, play basketball during the End of Summer Friendship Tournament on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 10, 2024. The Okinawa 1215 Boys and Girls Basketball Club brought together eight teams from Japan and Korea to play in the End of Summer Friendship Tournament. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brody Robertson)

2024| End of Summer Friendship Tournament

The Okinawa 1215 Boys and Girls Basketball Club brought The OKI1215-Gold and Scarlet Team, The South Basketball School, SPICE Basketball School, Minatogawa Junior High Boys and Girls Teams, Kuwae Junior High, and the Camp Humphrey Hoops Club Together for competition, celebration, and community between the teams.

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Teodori Eisa dancers with the Namizato District Youth Association perform during the Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival at Kin District Park in Okinawa, Japan, July 28, 2024. The 22nd Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival showcased youth groups performing a modern form of Eisa dancing that was traditionally performed by Japanese Buddhist monks to honor their ancestors. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jesse Davis) - Teodori Eisa dancers with the Namizato District Youth Association perform during the Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival at Kin District Park in Okinawa, Japan, July 28, 2024. The 22nd Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival showcased youth groups performing a modern form of Eisa dancing that was traditionally performed by Japanese Buddhist monks to honor their ancestors. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jesse Davis)

Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival

Under the rhythmic beat of drums and the lively dance of performers, local residents and service members gathered for the 22nd Kin Town Youth Eisa Festival at Kin District Park in Okinawa on July 28, 2024. The festival showcased youth groups performing a modern form of Eisa dancing traditionally performed by Japanese Buddhist monks to honor their ancestors.

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Leadership from Marine Corps Installations Pacific and Combat Logistics Regiment 37, along with members of the Neighborhood Pantry at Camp Butler, pose for a photo during the opening of the new pantry location on Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, July 19, 2024. The Neighborhood Pantry offers food and resources to all service members across the island, in addition to its existing location on Camp Foster. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jesse Davis) - Leadership from Marine Corps Installations Pacific and Combat Logistics Regiment 37, along with members of the Neighborhood Pantry at Camp Butler, pose for a photo during the opening of the new pantry location on Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, July 19, 2024. The Neighborhood Pantry offers food and resources to all service members across the island, in addition to its existing location on Camp Foster. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jesse Davis)

Camp Kinser Opens a New Neighborhood Pantry

The Neighborhood Pantry Camp Butler expands its reach with the opening of a new location on Camp Kinser, aimed at bolstering resources for service members stationed on Okinawa. Located within the Deployment Readiness Coordinator’s office of Combat Logistics Regiment 37, the new pantry represents a significant step in enhancing support for military personnel across the region. The initiative provides accessible resources and essential supplies to service members and their families.