Maintainers with Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224 prepare McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18D ''Hornets'' to take off at Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido, Japan, Jan. 14, 2016. VMFA (AW)-224, home based at MCAS Beaufort, S.C., is temporarily based in Iwakuni on a unit deployment program and deployed to Northern Japan to participate in the Chitose Aviation Training Relocation Exercise Jan. 12-22. During the exercise, the squadron conducted dissimilar air combat training with and against the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to further support combined interoperability and Pacific theater security cooperation.