Pacific Marines Stories

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Daniel Grimes, administrative clerk, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, enjoys a moment of levity with Col. Mark F. Schaefer, commanding officer, H&S Battalion, MARFORPAC during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Single Marine Program building located on Camp H.M. Smith on May 22, 2025. The commanding officer and sergeant major of H&S Battalion, MARFORPAC along with Marine Corps Community services held a grand opening ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new Marine Corps Exchange MicroMart, which provides 24-hour meal options for those residing in the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters. - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Daniel Grimes, administrative clerk, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, enjoys a moment of levity with Col. Mark F. Schaefer, commanding officer, H&S Battalion, MARFORPAC during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Single Marine Program building located on Camp H.M. Smith on May 22, 2025. The commanding officer and sergeant major of H&S Battalion, MARFORPAC along with Marine Corps Community services held a grand opening ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new Marine Corps Exchange MicroMart, which provides 24-hour meal options for those residing in the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Blake Gonter, combat photographer, Communication Strategy and Operations, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, looks at a display at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 31, 2025. MARFORPAC Professional Military Education extends beyond traditional military training to encompass opportunities for Marines to deepen their understanding of the Indo-Pacific region through cultural immersion and historical awareness (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Roger-Junior Annoh) - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Blake Gonter, combat photographer, Communication Strategy and Operations, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, looks at a display at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 31, 2025. MARFORPAC Professional Military Education extends beyond traditional military training to encompass opportunities for Marines to deepen their understanding of the Indo-Pacific region through cultural immersion and historical awareness (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Roger-Junior Annoh)

U.S. Marines with U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific present the colors during the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 25, 2025. ANZAC Day commemorates the sacrifices made by all Australians and New Zealanders who have served in all wars, conflict and peacekeeping missions around the world. This date marks the 110th anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australia and New Zealand during World War I on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. This is the 53rd year MARFORPAC has provided support to ANZAC Day in Honolulu. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Blake Gonter) - U.S. Marines with U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific present the colors during the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 25, 2025. ANZAC Day commemorates the sacrifices made by all Australians and New Zealanders who have served in all wars, conflict and peacekeeping missions around the world. This date marks the 110th anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australia and New Zealand during World War I on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. This is the 53rd year MARFORPAC has provided support to ANZAC Day in Honolulu. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Blake Gonter)

U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, operate the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation as a part of Exercise KAMANDAG 9 in the Philippines, May 25, 2025. The MKTSO involved elements of 3d MLR, U.S. Soldiers with 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, and Philippine Marines with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10 inserting via air and sea into various islands in the Batanes and Babuyan Island chains in order to rehearse securing and defending key maritime terrain with the NMESIS, Marine Air Defense Integrated System, and High Mobility Rocket Artillery System. KAMANDAG is an annual Philippine Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps-led exercise aimed at enhancing the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ defense and humanitarian capabilities by providing valuable training in combined operations with foreign militaries in the advancement of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malia Sparks) - U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, operate the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation as a part of Exercise KAMANDAG 9 in the Philippines, May 25, 2025. The MKTSO involved elements of 3d MLR, U.S. Soldiers with 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, and Philippine Marines with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10 inserting via air and sea into various islands in the Batanes and Babuyan Island chains in order to rehearse securing and defending key maritime terrain with the NMESIS, Marine Air Defense Integrated System, and High Mobility Rocket Artillery System. KAMANDAG is an annual Philippine Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps-led exercise aimed at enhancing the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ defense and humanitarian capabilities by providing valuable training in combined operations with foreign militaries in the advancement of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malia Sparks)

From left, University of Hawaii Navy ROTC 2nd Lt. Abraham Palacios, 2nd Lt. Dylan Kealohamauloa Yamaguchi, 2nd Lt. Anthony Venanico Tirao and Ensign Robert Reagan Nelson pose for a photo during a commissioning ceremony aboard the decommissioned battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) at Ford Island, Hawaii, May 22, 2025. The newly commissioned officers include 2nd Lt. Abraham Palacios, a native of El Paso, Texas; 2nd Lt. Anthony Venancio Tirao of Leesville, Louisiana; 2nd Lt.Dylan Kealohamauloa Yamaguchi of Poipu, Hawaii; and Ensign Robert Reagan Nelson of Kapolei, Hawaii. The ceremony commissioned four University of Hawaii Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps students as officers, including the program’s first-ever group of Marine Corps officers. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jose Villasenor) - From left, University of Hawaii Navy ROTC 2nd Lt. Abraham Palacios, 2nd Lt. Dylan Kealohamauloa Yamaguchi, 2nd Lt. Anthony Venanico Tirao and Ensign Robert Reagan Nelson pose for a photo during a commissioning ceremony aboard the decommissioned battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) at Ford Island, Hawaii, May 22, 2025. The newly commissioned officers include 2nd Lt. Abraham Palacios, a native of El Paso, Texas; 2nd Lt. Anthony Venancio Tirao of Leesville, Louisiana; 2nd Lt.Dylan Kealohamauloa Yamaguchi of Poipu, Hawaii; and Ensign Robert Reagan Nelson of Kapolei, Hawaii. The ceremony commissioned four University of Hawaii Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps students as officers, including the program’s first-ever group of Marine Corps officers. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jose Villasenor)

The ACM exercise is a simulated crisis response drill that must be executed within 24 hours to prepare Marines to mitigate emergencies, provide humanitarian aid, or counter threats to U.S. national interests within the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ryan Sotodavila) - U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division board a CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 during an Alert Contingency Marine Air Ground Task Force (ACM) drill on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, May 8, 2025.

U.S. Marines with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, and members of the United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard point out targets during United Arab Emirates Unit Enhancement Training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, May 8, 2025. - U.S. Marines with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, and members of the United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard point out targets during United Arab Emirates Unit Enhancement Training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, May 8, 2025. The training aims to strengthen partner relations and enhance the UAE Presidential Guard’s understanding of Marine Corps tactics and procedures for indirect fire and close air support. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ricardo Ramirez)

U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, and Australian Army soldiers with 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, fire their weapons during a Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations event, in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 near Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines May 5, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces designed to strengthen the alliance, showcase the capable combined force, and demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones) - U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, and Australian Army soldiers with 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, fire their weapons during a Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations event, in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 near Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines May 5, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces designed to strengthen the alliance, showcase the capable combined force, and demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones)

Exercise Kaiju Rain 25 enhances III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group’s ability to conduct command and control, employ sensor capabilities and integrate multi-domain operations to enable III MEF, the joint force, and allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Hodgkins, a transmissions system operator with A Company, 7th Communication Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group is a native of Minnesota. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kira Ducato) - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Hodgkins tightens a rope to set up a Long-Range Radio System during Exercise Triad Thunder as part of Kaiju Rain on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 5, 2025.

U.S. Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit from a U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle assigned to Charlie Company, BLT 1/7, 31st MEU, during a simulated force-on-force mechanized raid at Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 24, 2025. The purpose of the exercise was to create a challenging, realistic training environment with the integration of the newly fielded ACV that produces combat-ready forces in urban terrain. 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 Cpl. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca) - U.S. Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit from a U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle assigned to Charlie Company, BLT 1/7, 31st MEU, during a simulated force-on-force mechanized raid at Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 24, 2025. The purpose of the exercise was to create a challenging, realistic training environment with the integration of the newly fielded ACV that produces combat-ready forces in urban terrain. 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 Cpl. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca)