Pacific Marines Stories

U.S. Navy Petty Officer Second Class Austin Washington, an aviation boatswain mate handler, directs an MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, for landing aboard the expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 29, 2025. For the first time in the rotation’s history, the MRF-D Marine Air-Ground Task Force's Aviation and Ground Combat Elements embarked aboard a U.S. Navy vessel to extend operational reach and provide flexible, combat-credible options across the Indo-Pacific. MRF-D is an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and allies and partners and provide a forward postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. Washington is a native of California. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angelina Sara) - U.S. Navy Petty Officer Second Class Austin Washington, an aviation boatswain mate handler, directs an MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, for landing aboard the expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 29, 2025. For the first time in the rotation’s history, the MRF-D Marine Air-Ground Task Force's Aviation and Ground Combat Elements embarked aboard a U.S. Navy vessel to extend operational reach and provide flexible, combat-credible options across the Indo-Pacific. MRF-D is an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and allies and partners and provide a forward postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. Washington is a native of California. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angelina Sara)

U.S. Marines with the III Marine Expeditionary Force clean their weapons outside the combat operations center in Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa Japan, Sept. 13, 2025, during the Command Post Exercise portion of Resolute Dragon 25. Resolute Dragon 25 is an annual bilateral exercise across Japan, including the southwest islands, that strengthens the command, control and multidomain maneuver capabilities of III MEF and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Western Army personnel, alongside representatives across the U.S. and Japanese Joint Force, with a focus on controlling and defending key maritime terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Wetzel) - U.S. Marines with the III Marine Expeditionary Force clean their weapons outside the combat operations center in Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa Japan, Sept. 13, 2025, during the Command Post Exercise portion of Resolute Dragon 25. Resolute Dragon 25 is an annual bilateral exercise across Japan, including the southwest islands, that strengthens the command, control and multidomain maneuver capabilities of III MEF and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Western Army personnel, alongside representatives across the U.S. and Japanese Joint Force, with a focus on controlling and defending key maritime terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Wetzel)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Steele Armstrong, a satellite transmissions systems operator, and U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jaden Coleman, a transmission systems operator, both with MarineWing Communications Squadron 18, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing,set up a radio call during the inaugural Thunderstruck Communications Competition, hosted byMWCS-38, MACG-38, 3rd MAW, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Sept. 10,2025 - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Steele Armstrong, a satellite transmissions systems operator, and U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jaden Coleman, a transmission systems operator, both with Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, set up a radio call during the inaugural Thunderstruck Communications Competition, hosted by MWCS-38, MACG-38, 3rd MAW, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Sept. 10, 2025. Thunderstruck is a service-wide competition dedicated to communications Marines, showcasing the increasing importance of resilient command and control in distributed operations. The six-mile course integrated high frequency radio, Mobile User Objective System satellite communications, and data networking tasks under expeditionary conditions, testing the tactical, technical, and physical proficiency of Marine Corps communicators. Armstrong is a native of Minnesota, and Coleman is a native of Florida. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Renee Gray)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Rijohn Adams, an intelligence specialist with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, attached to Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia, places a Parrot Amari AI drone prior to an unmanned aerial systems flight during the field training exercise as part of Valiant Mark 25 at SAFTI City training facility, Singapore, March 26, 2025. SAFTI City is one of the largest and most technologically advanced urban training facilities in the world and the premier urban training facility in Southeast Asia. Valiant Mark is an annual, bilateral training exercise designed to enhance interoperability, build mutual defense capabilities, and strengthen military-to-military relationships between the U.S. Marine Corps and Singapore Armed Forces. MRF-SEA is a rotational unit derived from elements of I MEF executing a U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific operational model that involves training events and exchanges with partner military subject matter experts, promotes security goals with allied and partner nations, and ensures a persistent I MEF stand-in presence west of the international date line. - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Rijohn Adams, an intelligence specialist with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, attached to Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia, places a Parrot Amari AI drone prior to an unmanned aerial systems flight during the field training exercise as part of Valiant Mark 25 at SAFTI City training facility, Singapore, March 26, 2025. SAFTI City is one of the largest and most technologically advanced urban training facilities in the world and the premier urban training facility in Southeast Asia. Valiant Mark is an annual, bilateral training exercise designed to enhance interoperability, build mutual defense capabilities, and strengthen military-to-military relationships between the U.S. Marine Corps and Singapore Armed Forces. MRF-SEA is a rotational unit derived from elements of I MEF executing a U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific operational model that involves training events and exchanges with partner military subject matter experts, promotes security goals with allied and partner nations, and ensures a persistent I MEF stand-in presence west of the international date line.

U.S. Marines with 1st Marine Division watch a vendor loaned small unmanned aircraft system fly during Project G.I. at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 26, 2025. - U.S. Marines with 1st Marine Division watch a vendor loaned small unmanned aircraft system fly during Project G.I. at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 26, 2025. The Defense Innovation Unit’s Project G.I. Challenge brought together Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force, industry partners, and Department of Defense leaders to evaluate commercial sUAS, with Marine feedback shaping future procurement decisions and advancing modernization for contested environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Sawyer Carleton)

U.S. Marines with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division pose for a photo with various unmanned systems on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 13, 2025. This class, which certifies Marines to fly multiple variants of sUAS, was the first time untethered drones were flown over a military installation on Okinawa under the Secretary of Defense's new guidance, which seeks to expand the use of small, American-made drones to enhance military capabilities. From left to right, the unmanned platforms are the Mission Master Silent Partner Unmanned Ground Vehicle, the Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS), the RQ20-B Puma, the Stalker UAS, and the in-flight, Skydio X2D. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joaquin Dela Torre) - U.S. Marines with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division pose for a photo with various unmanned systems on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 13, 2025. This class, which certifies Marines to fly multiple variants of sUAS, was the first time untethered drones were flown over a military installation on Okinawa under the Secretary of Defense's new guidance, which seeks to expand the use of small, American-made drones to enhance military capabilities. From left to right, the unmanned platforms are the Mission Master Silent Partner Unmanned Ground Vehicle, the Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS), the RQ20-B Puma, the Stalker UAS, and the in-flight, Skydio X2D. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joaquin Dela Torre)

A U.S. Army AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, engages a simulated target at the joint land strike exercise with the Indonesian National Armed Forces and Australian Defence Forces during Super Garuda Shield 25 in Baturaja, Indonesia, Sept. 1, 2025. - A U.S. Army AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, engages a simulated target at the joint land strike exercise with the Indonesian National Armed Forces and Australian Defence Forces during Super Garuda Shield 25 in Baturaja, Indonesia, Sept. 1, 2025. Super Garuda Shield is an annual exercise between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, and cooperation. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Seu Chan)

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Cpl. Leighton Willhite, who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, views the name painted on a World War II-era Sherman Tank at the Museum Support Facility in Dumfries, Virginia. - U.S. Marine Corps veteran Cpl. Leighton Willhite, who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, views the name painted on a World War II-era Sherman Tank at the Museum Support Facility in Dumfries, Virginia.

KMEP is conducted regularly between the ROK and U.S. Marine Corps to increase their combined capabilities through realistic training geared towards deterrence and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific. Patris is a native of Oklahoma. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kanoa Thomas) - U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Anthony Patris, an infantry infantry unit leader with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, forward deployed with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division as part of the Unit Deployment Program, collects expended brass with a Republic of Korea Marine with 1st Marine Division, ROK Marine Corps, during the Korean Marine Exercise Program 25.2 in Pohang, South Korea, July 29, 2025.