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III MEF is the nucleus of a joint and coalition Stand-In Force within the First Island Chain. In competition, III MEF assures and expands access for the joint force across the Indo-Pacific. In crisis, it provides in-place response forces to secure allies and partners while deterring adversary aggression. In conflict, III MEF fights from advanced naval bases as part of a naval expeditionary force and enables Joint Force objectives in the Indo-Pacific.
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Marine with MASS-2 changes an M240B machine gun barrel in the Central Training Area, Okinawa, Japan, May 13, 2025.
Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, May 10, 2025
U.S Marines conduct on and off drills out of a LAV while conducting a TRAP simulation as a part of MEU Exercise at Camp Hansen, Japan, May 3, 2025.
A U.S. Marine gives commands to surrendering adversary forces during a simulated force-on-force mechanized raid at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan.
Marines with Maritime Raid Force fast-rope from a CH-53E Super Stallion during alternate insertion and extraction training.
Staff Sgt. Jacob Rizzo, with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 171, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, fires an M4 carbine.
The III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group concluded Exercise Kaiju Rain 25 on May 12 with a closing ceremony, marking a significant step forward in advancing the Marine Corps’ operations across the information environment in the Indo-Pacific.
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – The U.S. Marine Corps deployed Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, an F-35B squadron based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program on May 10, 2025. The stealth fighter squadron, known by the moniker “Wake Island Avengers,” joins Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in support of flight operations across the Indo-Pacific region.
NAVAL STATION LEOVIGILDO GANTIOQUI, Philippines – U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, alongside Philippine Airmen with 960th Air and Missile Defense Group, concluded one of six Combined Joint All-Domain Operations (CJADO) events during Exercise Balikatan 25, April 27, 2025. The Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) was held at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui from April 25 - 27 and included live- and dry-fire demonstrations from the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, and Philippine Air Force’s counter-unmanned aerial systems (c-UAS) weapon systems.
NORTHERN LUZON, Philippines – U.S. Marines with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, deployed to the Philippines in support of Exercise Balikatan 25, scheduled for April 21 to May 9, 2025. During this year’s iteration of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense event (IAMD), one of the 6 Combined Joint All-Domain Operations events scheduled during Balikatan 25, U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion’s Ground-Based Air Defense Battery (GBAD) will conduct live-fire training with the newly fielded Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS).
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HAWAII – Since January 14, a platoon of U.S. Marines with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division has been conducting training on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in preparation for integrating with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment and its subordinate battalions while forward in the Philippines for Exercise Balikatan 25.