MCAS Cherry Point Marines send their love to friends and family during this holiday season.

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU) completes Realistic Urban Training (RUT) exercise across the Southwestern United States, in Nov. 2018. RUT is the final shore-based training exercise for the 11th MEU before deployment next year. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Staff Sgt. Donald Holbert, Cpl. Matthew Teutsch and Lance Cpl. Israel Chincio)

Families gather for the 19th annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Nov. 30, 2018. Among the Christmas lights, elves and holiday spirit in the air, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Brass Band provided live music throughout the festivities. The celebration included activities such as a Christmas themed beanbag toss, holiday selfie station, a holiday cookie making station and reindeer antler ring toss. Santa Claus even made a special appearance for the children to come and tell him their Christmas wish list. This celebration is an event hosted by Marine Corps Community Services every year to kick off the Christmas spirit by bringing families together during the holiday season.

Cherry Point service members put their arms, legs and hearts into the 2018 Combined Federal Campaign tug-of-war tournament at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Oct. 19, 2018. The tournament is hosted annually to raise awareness about how the CFC provides opportunities to donate to various nonprofit organizations. This year saw 11 teams compete for glory, with “Corpsman up!,” the Naval Health Clinic team, ultimately rising to the top of the pack to take home the trophy. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Morgan Collett and Sgt. Cody Shepard)

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society was founded in 1904 and has been aiding service members and their families ever since. The society provides financial assistance and education, as well as other programs and services, to members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, their eligible family members, widows, and survivors. The Society also receives and manages donated funds to administer these programs and services. Their main goal is to help each person who comes to them get support for their immediate needs. Their long-term mission is to help Sailors and Marines become financially self-sufficient by learning how to better manage their personal finances and prepare for unplanned expenses. The MCAS Cherry Point NMCRS provided over 1,000 clients with $569,035 in financial assistance in 2017. This assistance ranged from basic living expenses and transportation expenses to family emergency and funeral expenses, with much more in between. The relief society is comprised mostly of volunteers who work daily to give back to service members in need. Whether a Marine needs budget counseling or a Sailor needs a home visit from a nurse, the volunteers at MCAS Cherry Point NMCRS worked a tireless 14,878 hours in the past year providing assistance to our Marines and Sailors aboard the Cherry Point air station.

U.S. Marines and families attend a change of command ceremony for Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Camp Pendleton at the Santa Margarita Ranch House, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 2, 2018. Col. Ian R Clark relinquished command of MCAS Camp Pendleton to Col. Richard T. Anderson after three years of serving as the commanding officer. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Pfc. Stephen Beard)

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort tenant units worked side by side with the U.S. Navy, Naval Hospital Beaufort, Savannah Coast Guard and local first responders to conduct a Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise July 27. The training was the first SAR exercise involving F-35B Lightning II pilots. It not only increased mission readiness for each unit involved, but also increased interoperability between military and civilian first responders. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Christian E. Moreno Aponte with supporting b-roll from Cpl. Parker R. Golz)

Personnel assigned to the Navy Boat Docks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., replace two hurricane buoys on the air station, July 10, 2018. The buoys are used during severe weather to secure naval vessels in open water to prevent the boats from being damaged during a storm. Afterward, the undamaged boats can be used to conduct recovery operations on and near the air station. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Morgan D. Collett and Lance Cpl. Andrew King)

Marine Corps Community Services hosted a Semper Ride event at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., June 27, 2018. The event was created to educate Marines about motorcycle safety awareness to reduce motorcycle mishaps throughout the Marine Corps. Semper Ride speakers gave safety presentations and professional motorcycle riders performed a freestyle motocross demo. Since the start of Semper Ride in 2008, the fatality rate for Marine motorcyclists has been reduced by 44 percent. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Cody Lemons/Released)

Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Specialists and Expeditionary Firefighting and Rescue Specialists join forces with Airmen from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base to conduct a fire training exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., June 21, 2018. The fire exercise gave the service members firsthand experience about how to fight fires they may encounter during their careers. This is the first time that Airmen from the 4th Fighter Wing Fire Department, Seymour Johnson AFB have come to Cherry Point to participate in this training. The ARFF specialists are assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron and EFR specialists are assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, Marine Wing Support Group 27, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Lance Cpl. Andrew King)

Happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day observes those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, our families, and our fellow country men.

Highlights of the 2018 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Air Show, May 4-6. This year’s air show included crowd-pleasing performances by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the U.S. Army Black Daggers Parachute Demonstration Team and many other dazzling performers and static displays. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Cpl. Trystan Jordan and Lance Cpl. Morgan Collett)

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort hosted a safety fair aboard the air station May 14. The purpose of the event was to highlight safety and inform Marines and their families how to safely navigate the 101 days of summer and prevent any safety hazards. For further information or suggestions, you can contact MCCS at 843-228-6377

In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the air show grounds and aerial performances at the @MCAS Cherry Point Air Show, May 5, 2018. This year’s air show features aerial performances ranging from high-speed jet demonstrations by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds 431 Air Demonstration Squadron and the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, to the smaller aerobatic daredevils to vintage warbirds to awesome ground performers like the Shockwave jet truck and much more. To learn more, visit www.cherrypointairshow.com. #CPAirShow (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Morgan Collett and Cpl. Trystan Jordan)

Jeffrey McKennie, a sexual assault response coordinator at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and Col. Jason G. Woodworth, MCAS Miramar’s commanding officer, explain the importance of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Throughout the month, members of MCAS Miramar’s leadership and community participated in events and organized displays to raise awareness.