U.S. and Japan protocol flags sit next to a bundle of flowers on a table during a meeting between U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura and two Japan Air Self-Defense Force warrant officers with the 3rd Air Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. The three met to discuss one of the warrant's retirement plans. This meeting reflects a very common theme for the three men who over the past four years have become "like family." Ventura is a vertical inspections planner with the 35th Fighter Wing's Inspector General's office and hails from Los Angeles, California. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)