Login
iscover
The rotational force has wrapped up a seven-month deployment in northern Australia, which involved participation in over a dozen military activities.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The 2022 Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) has departed the Top End, marking an end to the 11th annual rotation, which commenced in March.
Approximately 2,200 United States Marines Corps (USMC) personnel trained alongside counterparts from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and a host of other regional partners throughout the seven-month deployment.
Among the activities were humanitarian aid, crises response exercises, and joint military training.
Commander Headquarters Northern Command, Colonel Marcus Constable, noted the continued importance of the MRF-D in strengthening the Australia-US alliance.
“The Alliance is our most important defence relationship and is central to Australia’s strategic and security arrangements,” he said.
“The MRF-D focuses on increasing regional cooperation with partners in the Indo–Pacific and deepening interoperability between the ADF and the USMC.
“This year, we conducted a range of training activities, including humanitarian assistance, security operations and live fire, which better position our forces to respond to crises in the region.”
MRF-D 22 Commanding Officer and regimental commander for the historic 5th Marine Regiment, Colonel Chris Steele, said the annual deployment forms part of a collective commitment to fostering a “stable and inclusive” Indo-Pacific.
“This year, our marines and sailors participated in over a dozen multinational exercises and events, enhancing our partnerships with over 20 different nations, including great teammates like Australia, Indonesia, and Japan,” Colonel Steele said.
“Serving as the first regimental headquarters to lead MRF-D, we were able to further integrate two highly capable and interoperable forces, to demonstrate the strength and endurance of our alliance and posture the team to contribute to regional security.”
MRF-D 2023, the thirteenth annual deployment, is expected to commence in March next year.
MRF-D forms part of the United States Force Posture Initiatives, which includes an expanded commitment to enhanced air, land, maritime, theatre logistics, space and cyber co-operation.
Earlier this year, preliminary work was commissioned to construct a new fuel storage facility in Darwin, expected to hold up to 300 million litres of fuel to support the transfer, management and storage of military specification jet fuels used by US forces.
A US delegation, led by US Indo-Pacific Command’s director for logistics and engineering, Brigadier General Jered Helwig, also visited bases and facilities in Australia to advance commitments announced following the Australian-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2021.
These commitments included the establishment of combined logistics, sustainment, and maintenance enterprise to support high-end warfighting and combined military operations in the region.
[Related: ADF, US Marines team up in Top End]
