Service members with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 171 arrived at Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) Camp Fuji after a two-day tactical convoy starting at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 13 to July 15, 2018.

The squadron is participating in a Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation exercise, Eagle Wrath 18, where the goal is to work with local forces to repel a simulated invasion on mainland Japan.

MWSS-171’s mission is to train Marines to respond to the demands of a combat situation in order to support Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12 in future operations. MWSS-171 will provide all essential aviation-ground support requirements to a designated fixed-wing component of an aviation combat element and all supporting or attached elements of the Marine Air Control Group.

Service members with MWSS-171 will train with a variety of weapons systems and techniques, as well as conduct patrols and live in the field. The squadron will finish their three-week exercise with a hike up Mount Fuji.

The first group that arrived was the Air Base Ground Defense (ABGD), which set up a Forward Operating Base (FOB). The group practiced defending the FOB by setting up a perimeter, conducting patrols, and practicing with different weapons systems on a range. The main body of MWSS-171 is scheduled to arrive at a later date to provide an augmented force to the ABGD already in place.

“We are all excited to begin training here.” Said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jesus Ruiz, a motor transport operator with MWSS-171, “but I am mostly excited to climb Mount Fuji for the first time.”