U.S. Marines and sailors arrive at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory on March 17, 2025. (Ezekieljay Correa/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines have arrived in northern Australia for six months of training and operating as an air-ground task force across the country and in the Philippines, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
The 2,500-strong Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is the 14th contingent to deploy to Australia’s Northern Territory since the rotation began in 2012, according to a Monday statement from force spokesman Capt. Johnny Fischer.
“The Marines and Sailors of this year’s rotation look forward to training with our Australian counterparts and regional partners, building upon decades of shared tradition and operational experience,” Col. Jason Armas, the force’s commander, said in the statement. “The shared experiences during this deployment will strengthen our collective ability to address challenges and promote stability across the Indo-Pacific.”
The rotational force did not immediately respond to questions emailed Tuesday regarding the specific units and equipment involved in this year’s deployment.
The Marines’ arrival in Darwin is being facilitated by a standing coordination element in the Northern Territory port, according to the statement.
Over the next six months, the Marines will train for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, noncombatant evacuations, embassy reinforcements, expeditionary operations and rapid force deployments.
They will participate in 17 exercises, including the biennial Talisman Sabre drill, which will be Australia’s largest military exercise since World War II, with 19 nations set to take part, according to the statement.
In 2023, the exercise involved 30,000 troops, primarily from the U.S. and Australia, training over 14 days alongside smaller contingents from Europe and the Pacific. This year’s participating forces will begin moving into Australian training areas in July, according to the Australian Defence Department’s website.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Australia alliance in his own statement Monday.
“Past rotations have shown us the value of improving the capability and interoperability of our defence forces through joint exercises and activities, and in 2025, we’re excited to continue building on this momentum,” he said.
Interoperability is a term militaries often use to describe the ability of a country’s armed forces to use another’s training methods and military equipment.
The start of the Darwin rotation coincides with an exercise by Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia in Singapore.
Valiant Mark, which runs through March 26, includes 200 members of the Southeast Asia rotational force training alongside more than 600 personnel from the 3rd Battalion Singapore Guards and 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, according to Singapore’s defense ministry.
The exercise includes live-fire and heliborne training and will culminate in a bilateral urban operations mission, the ministry said.
The Southeast Asia rotational force is nearing the end of its own six-month deployment, which has included relief efforts after a typhoon in the Philippines and training exercises throughout the region.
