"Rifle, Pitbull, Splash” Marines with the Fighting Bengals sink ships

U.S. Marines with Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA(AW)) 224, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, conducts preflight checks on an F/A-18C Hornet aircraft before a sinking exercise during Valiant Shield 24 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, June 16, 2024. VMFA(AW)-224, the “Fighting Bengals,” are based out of Beaufort, South Carolina and currently augment MAG-12 as a part of the Unit Deployment Program. Exercise Valiant Shield 24 allowed U.S. forces to integrate with our allies and partners to conduct precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi-axis, multi-domain effects as a coalition force standing behind our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.