The dock landing ship USS Ashland sits idle off the coast during the U.S. Defense Support of Civil Authorities relief effort in response to Super Typhoon Yutu, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 3, 2018. Businesses, government buildings, homes and schools were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu, which made a direct hit with devastating effect on Tinian Oct. 25 packing 170 MPH winds – it is the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil and the strongest storm of 2018. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and CLB-31 have been leading a multi-service contingent since Oct. 29 as part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency-directed DSCA mission here. The Ashland arrived today to deliver a larger contingent of Marines and Seabees to further assist the people of Tinian. The Marines arrived at the request of CNMI officials and FEMA to assist relief efforts in the wake of Yutu, the largest typhoon to ever hit a U.S. territory. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region. - The dock landing ship USS Ashland sits idle off the coast during the U.S. Defense Support of Civil Authorities relief effort in response to Super Typhoon Yutu, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 3, 2018. Businesses, government buildings, homes and schools were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu, which made a direct hit with devastating effect on Tinian Oct. 25 packing 170 MPH winds – it is the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil and the strongest storm of 2018. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and CLB-31 have been leading a multi-service contingent since Oct. 29 as part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency-directed DSCA mission here. The Ashland arrived today to deliver a larger contingent of Marines and Seabees to further assist the people of Tinian. The Marines arrived at the request of CNMI officials and FEMA to assist relief efforts in the wake of Yutu, the largest typhoon to ever hit a U.S. territory. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region.

Cpl. Mackenzie Higgins guides a UH-1Y Huey for takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 5. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 and Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 262 carried supplies in a UH-1Y Huey and MV-22 Ospreys to Charikot, Nepal. The supplies will provide Nepalese people with shelter after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal, April 25, causing fatalities, injuries and significant damage. The government of Nepal declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. The U.S. military, at the direction of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will continue to support Nepal as needed. HMLA-469 and VMM-262 are attached to Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Higgins is a UH-1Y crew chief with HMLA-469 from Pala Way, California. - Cpl. Mackenzie Higgins guides a UH-1Y Huey for takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 5. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 and Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 262 carried supplies in a UH-1Y Huey and MV-22 Ospreys to Charikot, Nepal. The supplies will provide Nepalese people with shelter after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal, April 25, causing fatalities, injuries and significant damage. The government of Nepal declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. The U.S. military, at the direction of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will continue to support Nepal as needed. HMLA-469 and VMM-262 are attached to Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Higgins is a UH-1Y crew chief with HMLA-469 from Pala Way, California.