Virginia Task Force 1 Search and Rescue members begin their mission, 2011
Ofunato, Japan
Photograph by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock

Following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, American citizens, faith organizations, businesses, volunteers, and the U.S. military mobilized to donate supplies and aid to affected communities. Virginia Task Force 1 was one of the groups sent by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to search structures and debris in support of the U.S. military’s Operation Tomodachi.

U.S. Air Force/Released