Marines, Red Dragons conduct flight familiarization training

Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the East Africa Response Force (EARF), Task Force Red Dragon, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), set security positions during an air assault with the U.S. Marine Corps Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron-161 (VMM-161) in the Grand Bara Desert, Feb. 8, 2022. The EARF is postured to respond to a broad range of military operations to provide limited-defense crisis response in the region, including support for non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations, recovery capabilities of aircraft and personnel, support to U.S. embassies and other missions as directed. The EARF is augmented by U.S. Marine Corps aviation assets that transport and insert ground forces wherever they are needed throughout the region, supporting crisis response through seamless and immediate force deployment capabilities across vast distances. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jeff Clements)