NEWS

U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command interacts with Australian Soldiers with 1st Brigade, Forces Command, during a welcome to country ceremony and capabilities brief at Robertson Barracks, Darwin, NT, Australia, March 23, 2022. Admiral Aquilino served as the guest of honor at the ceremony where he addressed Marines from Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 22 and Australian Defence Force personnel on the strength and importance of the U.S. - Australian alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Cedar Barnes) - U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command interacts with Australian Soldiers with 1st Brigade, Forces Command, during a welcome to country ceremony and capabilities brief at Robertson Barracks, Darwin, NT, Australia, March 23, 2022. Admiral Aquilino served as the guest of honor at the ceremony where he addressed Marines from Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 22 and Australian Defence Force personnel on the strength and importance of the U.S. - Australian alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Cedar Barnes)

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A company commander with the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), communicates through a translator during an air assault training exercise, on Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) Camp Fuji, Japan, March 9, 2022. The training exercise was conducted to build proficiency in rapidly seizing and defending key terrain. Maritime Defense Exercise Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (MDX-ARDB) is a bilateral exercise meant to increase interoperability and strengthen ties between U.S. and Japanese forces for the defense of Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malik Lewis) - A company commander with the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), communicates through a translator during an air assault training exercise, on Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) Camp Fuji, Japan, March 9, 2022. The training exercise was conducted to build proficiency in rapidly seizing and defending key terrain. Maritime Defense Exercise Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (MDX-ARDB) is a bilateral exercise meant to increase interoperability and strengthen ties between U.S. and Japanese forces for the defense of Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malik Lewis)

The U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Marines of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and U.S. Embassy Tokyo, along with family members and survivors of the 3.11.11 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster visit a memorial in Oshima dedicated to the relationship between the residents of the island and the U.S. Marine Corps in Kesennuma, Oshima, Japan March 11, 2022. The visit marked the 11-year anniversary of the disaster and subsequent relief response Operation Tomodachi. (Courtesy photo by U.S. StateDept. photographer) - The U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Marines of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and U.S. Embassy Tokyo, along with family members and survivors of the 3.11.11 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster visit a memorial in Oshima dedicated to the relationship between the residents of the island and the U.S. Marine Corps in Kesennuma, Oshima, Japan March 11, 2022. The visit marked the 11-year anniversary of the disaster and subsequent relief response Operation Tomodachi. (Courtesy photo by U.S. State Dept. photographer)

Cpl. Jacob Wright, a scout sniper, with Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) captures imagery of key road terrain during a two-day route reconnaissance mission at the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 12, 2022. Scout snipers play an integral part in the Stand in Force Concept operating as the eyes and ears of the ground force commander, allowing for a more efficient decision making process. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England) - Cpl. Jacob Wright, a scout sniper, with Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) captures imagery of key road terrain during a two-day route reconnaissance mission at the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 12, 2022. Scout snipers play an integral part in the Stand in Force Concept operating as the eyes and ears of the ground force commander, allowing for a more efficient decision making process. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England)

A U.S. Marine with Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), cuts into a makeshift wall using a power saw aboard the USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) to begin a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) mission during operation Noble Fusion in the Philippine Sea, Feb. 5, 2022. VBSS training reinforces the Marine Corps’ presence within ocean waters by having a team at the ready to act in a moment’s notice. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, joint forces and allies in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for US, partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training throughout the year, in the Indo-Pacific, to maintain readiness. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cesar Ronaldo Alarcon) - A U.S. Marine with Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), cuts into a makeshift wall using a power saw aboard the USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) to begin a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) mission during operation Noble Fusion in the Philippine Sea, Feb. 5, 2022. VBSS training reinforces the Marine Corps’ presence within ocean waters by having a team at the ready to act in a moment’s notice. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, joint forces and allies in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for US, partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training throughout the year, in the Indo-Pacific, to maintain readiness. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cesar Ronaldo Alarcon)

PHILIPPINE SEA (Feb. 6, 2022) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Shelby Mann, from Udall, Kan., assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), signals a CH-47J Chinook helicopter from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to take off from the ship’s flight deck during Exercise Noble Fusion. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, as well as other joint force elements and allies, in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for U.S., partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training throughout the year, in the Indo-Pacific, to maintain readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vincent E. Zline) - PHILIPPINE SEA (Feb. 6, 2022) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Shelby Mann, from Udall, Kan., assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), signals a CH-47J Chinook helicopter from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to take off from the ship’s flight deck during Exercise Noble Fusion. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, as well as other joint force elements and allies, in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for U.S., partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training throughout the year, in the Indo-Pacific, to maintain readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vincent E. Zline)

An F-35B Lightning II from the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 gets refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron in support of Exercise Noble Fusion over the Pacific Ocean Feb. 4, 2022. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, joint forces and allies in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for U.S., partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training in the Indo-Pacific throughout the year to maintain readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Moses Taylor) - An F-35B Lightning II from the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 gets refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron in support of Exercise Noble Fusion over the Pacific Ocean Feb. 4, 2022. Noble Fusion demonstrates that Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed stand-in naval expeditionary forces can rapidly aggregate Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group teams at sea, along with a carrier strike group, joint forces and allies in order to conduct lethal sea-denial operations, seize key maritime terrain, guarantee freedom of movement, and create advantage for U.S., partner and allied forces. Naval Expeditionary forces conduct training in the Indo-Pacific throughout the year to maintain readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Moses Taylor)

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James W. Bierman, the III Marine Expeditionary Force Commanding General, and Japan Self-Defense Force LTG Ryoji Takemoto, the Western Army Commanding General, collaboratively lead a virtual bilateral operations confirmation brief during exercise Keen Edge 22, Feb. 2, 2022. Keen Edge 22 was a bilateral command post exercise conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 3, 2022. The exercise is an annual event that improves interagency coordination, combat readiness and interoperability of all participants. This U.S.-Japan exercise series alternates between field training exercises (i.e., Keen Sword) and command post exercises (i.e., Keen Edge). (U.S. Marine Corps photo illustration by Cpl. Francesca Landis) - U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James W. Bierman, the III Marine Expeditionary Force Commanding General, and Japan Self-Defense Force LTG Ryoji Takemoto, the Western Army Commanding General, collaboratively lead a virtual bilateral operations confirmation brief during exercise Keen Edge 22, Feb. 2, 2022. Keen Edge 22 was a bilateral command post exercise conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 3, 2022. The exercise is an annual event that improves interagency coordination, combat readiness and interoperability of all participants. This U.S.-Japan exercise series alternates between field training exercises (i.e., Keen Sword) and command post exercises (i.e., Keen Edge). (U.S. Marine Corps photo illustration by Cpl. Francesca Landis)