USS Tripoli, 31st MEU conduct flight ops in U.S. 7th Fleet

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, prepares to take off during flight operations aboard forward-deployed amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7), flagship of the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group, Dec. 2, 2025, while conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Marines and Sailors conducted flight operations in order to expand mission capabilities in support of the 31st MEU. U.S. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Raul Sotovilla)