By March 1944, VII Fighter Command was back on Oahu for regrouping, reinforcement, aircraft transition, and general reorganization in preparation for the Marianas campaign.

VII Fighter Command participated in the seizure and consolidation of that island group and, more importantly, gained valuable experience in long-range operations, escorting Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators on strikes to Iwo Jima and Truk from its base on Saipan.

Beginning in March 1945, the command was reassigned to Twentieth Air Force on Iwo Jima, which had been seized by Marine Corps units to provide emergency landing fields for B-29 Superfortresses.

From its forward airfields on Iwo Jima, its mission became the command and control echelon of fighter groups providing escort of B-29 Superfortress bombers operating from bases in the Mariana Islands.

VII Fighter command pilots described the Japanese, who attacked singly during the bomb run and immediately after, as easy targets for the Mustangs that broke off in pairs to engage them.