Maj. Gen. Brian Wolford, right, head of Marine Corps Installations Pacific, congratulates Col. Kenneth Rossman, the new commander of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — An accomplished Marine Corps helicopter and tiltrotor pilot — a veteran of the war in Iraq — took up his first overseas command Wednesday at the home of a Navy carrier air wing.
Col. Kenneth Rossman, a Pennsylvania native, relieved Col. Richard Rusnok in a morning ceremony on the parade deck at MCAS Iwakuni. Maj. Gen. Brian Wolford, commander of Marine Corps Installations Pacific, presided over the event, which drew about 300 Marines and guests.
“Today, what we see assembled out here in the stands — the Marines, sailors and the Japan Self-Defense Force service members — this is what Iwakuni’s all about,” Wolford said.
MCAS Iwakuni is home to Carrier Air Wing 5, which includes seven squadrons of Navy aircraft — fighters, helicopters and tiltrotors — assigned to the USS George Washington, flagship of a Yokosuka-based carrier strike group.
Col. Richard Rusnok escorts his wife, Kara Rusnok, back to her seat after relinquishing command of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Kenneth Rossman gives his first speech as commander of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
The air station is also home to Marine Aircraft Group 12 — two squadrons of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters, one air refueler squadron and two support squadrons. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Fleet Air Wing 31, which includes reconnaissance and rescue squadrons, is also based there.
“This is the best kept secret in the Marine Corps,” Wolford told the crowd.
Turning to Rusnok, he added: “I’m going to simply say … job well done to you and your family. I know it’s a bittersweet day for you as you head out, but it’s time to go, all right?”
Rusnok, also from Pennsylvania, heads next to Washington, D.C., where he will serve in the office of the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation. He had led MCAS Iwakuni since June 2022.
“I know you’ll go off and do good things there in the Pentagon, but you can be very proud of what your Marines and sailors have done and all the partners here,” Wolford said.
Col. Richard Rusnok speaks to Marines after relinquishing command of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
In his remarks, Rusnok thanked Iwakuni city Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and other local partners the base works with regularly.
“I leave here knowing I have some incredible friends that might wear different camouflage than I do but have the same fabric and heart in everything they do,” he said.
During Rusnok’s command, MCAS Iwakuni supported the 2023 G-7 Summit, hosted eight squadrons under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program, and oversaw four carrier air wing deployments, according to his Legion of Merit citation. The wing also transitioned from F/A-18 Hornets and C-2 Greyhounds to F-35C Lightning II fighters and CMV-22B Ospreys.
“To the Rossman family, it’s going to a be an awesome ride,” Rusnok said. “It’s the best ride, and you don’t even have to buy a ticket. So love it, every day. It’s the best place to serve.”
Col. Richard Rusnok, right, congratulates Col. Kenneth Rossman during their change-of-command ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Rossman, a graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Naval War College, was commissioned in December 2001. Since May 2004, he has logged more than 2,600 flight hours in the CH-53D/E Sea Stallion and MV-22 Osprey, according to his official biography.
His past assignments include staff roles at Headquarters Marine Corps, U.S. Central Command and the Joint Staff, his bio states.
“Once again, if I wasn’t sure that I had big shoes to fill, I have big shoes to fill,” Rossman said, adding that Rusnok has “done a fabulous job here and it’s going to be a tough act to follow for sure.”
