FORMOSA 2024

A U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y “Venom” helicopter from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 773, Marine Air Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, in support of Special Marine Air-Ground Task Forces UNITAS LXIII, hovers above the flight deck of the USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) while conducting cross deck ship landing operations off the coast of Brazil in support of exercise UNITAS LXIII, Sept. 17, 2022. This particular flight serves as the last for Lt. Col. John Bopp in a ‘Huey,’ as he moves onto fixed wing C-12 aircraft in his next assignment. HMLA-773 serves as the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) for the exercise and executes missions ranging from troop transport, to parachute operations, and close air support (CAS) missions for all 19 countries involved in this year’s exercise. UNITAS is the world’s longest-running annual multinational maritime exercise that focuses on enhancing interoperability among multiple nations and joint forces during littoral and amphibious operations in order to build on existing regional partnerships and create new enduring relationships that promote peace, stability and prosperity in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Jeremy Wheeler)