190124-M-PY691-236 EAST CHINA SEA (Jan. 24, 2019) A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 (Reinforced) takes to the sky during a tiltrotor and helicopter-borne raid, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in the East China Sea, Jan. 24, 2019. VMM-262 (Rein.) is the tiltrotor and rotary-wing component of the Aviation Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Its naval aviators fly the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, as well as a variety of other rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU partnering with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kyle P. Bunyi/Released)