Videos

A Tinian resident and Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, speak of their experiences before, during and after Typhoon Yutu during the U.S. Defense support of civil authorities relief efforts on Tinian, commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov.15, 2018. Businesses, government buildings, homes and schools were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu, which made a direct hit with devastating effect on Tinian Oct. 25 as the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Combat Logistics Battalion 31 arrived on Tinian Oct. 29-31 in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu as part of Task Force-West. TF-W is providing Department of U.S. Defense support to the CNMI's civil and local officials as part of the FEMA-supported Super Typhoon recovery effort. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Angelo Garavito/Released)

Happy 243rd birthday message from the Commanding Officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on the island of Tinian

A time lapse video shows Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Combat Logistics Battalion 31 assembling a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency shelter after Super Typhoon Yutu devastated Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 7, 2018. Yutu is the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil. The 31st MEU and CLB-31 arrived Oct. 29-31 to lead the DOD’s relief efforts here, a multi-service contingent of military units addressing Tinian’s urgent needs. Partnering with FEMA, CNMI and Tinian officials, the 31st MEU is the command element for Task Force-West here. FEMA and Tinian officials identified families most in need of emergency shelters during the days after Yutu passed on Oct. 25 – Now, the Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU and CLB-31 are helping assemble tents to house displaced Tinians as more aid continues to arrive. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Gunnery Sgt. Donald Mendiola, a spectrum manager with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit greets the Seattle Seahawks before the start of the season aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), underway in the South China Sea, Sept. 30, 2018. Mendiola is a native of Saipan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Alexis B. Betances/Released)