The USMC didn't tell us the whole truth about F-35 performance at Steel Knight.

via Marines.mil (Dec 2015)

- Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 conducted the F-35B Lightning II’s first-ever expeditionary test in support of exercise Steel Knight 16, Dec. 10, 2015.
Exercise Steel Knight is a combined arms live-fire exercise that implements a combination of air and ground assets to complete a wide range of military operations to prepare 1st Marine Division for deployment as the ground combat element of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
VMFA-121’s role in the exercise was to conduct close air support drills and expeditionary missions in support of the MAGTF.
During the exercise, the F-35 utilized the expeditionary airfield on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, and the expeditionary landing pad at Red Beach on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.
“We’ve done similar landings in [Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona], but the one at Red Beach was the smallest vertical landing pad we have used to date,” said Maj. Colin Newbold, the flight operations officer with VMFA-121.
Exercise Steel Knight allowed VMFA-121 the opportunity to illustrate the abilities of the F-35 to operate organically in an austere environment while helping accomplish the mission of the MAGTF.
“This is the first time that we get to truly test the capabilities of the aircraft in an expeditionary setting,” said Newbold, the flight operations officer with VMFA-121. “This is going to be a real learning experience for everyone involved and will prove helpful in the future when developing tactics.”

I wrote this about the exercise

This is interesting.  HQMC released a few photos of the F-35 SUPPOSEDLY operating from the Expeditionary Air Field at 29 Palms and Red Beach at Camp Pendleton.
I'll hold my fire until I get better info, but I'm wondering....
The F-35 operating in an austere environment?  But we're building brand new facilities at every Air Station to accommodate this queen.  Did we waste money doing that or is the planes capabilities in challenging locations not up to snuff?
I'll hold my fire but I'm smelling another publicity stunt.

Now I get this info from Herbloke that show the USMC is holding back important information about this airplanes performance during these validation exercises.

Two F-35B aircraft received foreign object damage to their engine fan stages, a result from operating in rugged conditions with jet wash likely blowing small rocks into aircraft intakes. This prevented those aircraft from further participation in flying activities until repairs were completed just prior to the ferry flights home

Mar 23, 2016, Report To Congress by Gilmore

This.  This shit is why I have a hard on for the Deputy Commandant!

The F-35 debacle is doing more than wrecking the Marine Corps budget.  It's corruption is infecting the very fabric of the organization.  We can't trust senior Marine Corps officers to tell the truth and nothing but the truth about an airplane that they're basing the very future of the Corps on.

Side note:  That massive working party with brooms galore makes sense now.  I didn't get what my readers were talking about but do now...I wonder how many times those poor bastards had to sweep that tarmac before they started flight operations.  And you wonder why they're having trouble keeping aircraft mechanics?  A screen cap and the vid below.