Northern Strike

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kody Nowicki, a second loadmaster, with Marine Transport Squadron 1, Marine Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserves, briefs instructions on how to retrieve a life raft aboard a C-40A assigned to VMR-1, during awhile flying over the Gulf of Papua, May 1, 2024. VMR-1 transported Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3 to Papua New Guinea in support of a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise. The HADR exercise will be conducted in coordination with the Papua New Guinea Defence force and U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, with a focus on projecting select role II medical, logistics, and Marine Air-Ground Task Force command and control capabilities off-continent, to validate HADR training and readiness. Nowicki is a native of Minnesota. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Migel A. Reynosa)