Pacific Marines Stories

The IAMD event consisted of dry- and live-fire demonstrations of counter-unmanned aerial systems, to include the U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Air Defense Integrated System, the U.S. Army’s AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, and the Philippine Air Force’s Surface-to-Air Python and Derby - Medium Range. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Iyer P. Ramakrishna) - U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, teach Philippine Airmen with the 960th Air and Missile Defense Group, how the Marine Air Defense Integrated System operates during the Integrated Air and Missile Defense event as a part of Exercise Balikatan 25, at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui, Philippines, April 24, 2025.

3d MLR Concludes Balikatan 25, Prepares for Kamandag 9

Exercise Balikatan 25, the 40th iteration of the long-standing annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military, has officially concluded. As U.S. Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Australian Defence Force, and Japanese Self-Defense Force servicemembers, along with those from 16 observer nations, begin retrograding from the Philippines, the U.S. Marines with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, look forward to an extended stay. At the invitation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the forward-deployed Marines with 3d MLR will remain in the Philippines for Exercise Kamandag 9, scheduled to commence May 26 and run until June 6, 2025.

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VMFA-211, an F-35B squadron from MCAS Yuma, Arizona, deployed to augment MAG-12, 1st MAW under the Unit Deployment Program, which provides U.S.-based units with operational experience in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by LCpl. Erick Reyes) - A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, May 10, 2025.

U.S.-based F-35B Squadron Deploys to Japan

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.

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U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Adam Clyne, an assistant patrol leader with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, and a Philippine Marine with 3rd Marine Brigade, Philippine Marine Corps, pose for a photo before a counter-landing live-fire rehearsal in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 at Rizal, Palawan, Philippines, April 27, 2025. - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Adam Clyne, an assistant patrol leader with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, and a Philippine Marine with 3rd Marine Brigade, Philippine Marine Corps, pose for a photo before a counter-landing live-fire rehearsal in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 at Rizal, Palawan, Philippines, April 27, 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. Clyne is a native of Minnesota. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones)

Multinational forces set to launch KAMANDAG 9 in the Philippines

Service members from the United States, Philippines, Japan, Republic of Korea and United Kingdom will kick off Exercise KAMANDAG 9 on May 26, 2025, training across the Philippines to enhance multinational military readiness, interoperability, and regional defense capabilities.

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Armed Forces of the Philippines, U.S. Marines, and Japan Self-Defense Forces service members and U.S. government officials pose for a group photo during a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Tabletop Exercise in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, Philippines, May 1, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Carson Jeney) - Armed Forces of the Philippines, U.S. Marines, and Japan Self-Defense Forces service members and U.S. government officials pose for a group photo during a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Tabletop Exercise in support of Exercise Balikatan 25 at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, Philippines, May 1, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Carson Jeney)

Balikatan 25: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise strengthens multinational cooperation

CAMP AGUINALDO, Philippines — U.S., Philippine, and Japanese military forces, along with civilian leaders, gathered for the Balikatan 25 Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Tabletop Exercise, working together to enhance crisis response coordination and strengthen their longstanding alliance from April 29 to May 1, 2025. The trilateral exercise fulfills a pledge made by the leadership of the three nations and captured in an April 11, 2024, Joint Vision Statement. It strengthens their extensive cooperation in HADR while simultaneously demonstrating that working together advances the security and prosperity of the nations and the Indo-Pacific region.

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A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk with 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, prepares to land while transporting U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, and Philippine Marines with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10, to the Batanes island chain for the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations event during Exercise Balikatan 25 in the Philippines, April 24, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malia Sparks) - A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk with 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, prepares to land while transporting U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, and Philippine Marines with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10, to the Batanes island chain for the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations event during Exercise Balikatan 25 in the Philippines, April 24, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Malia Sparks)

Balikatan 25 | 3d MLR Concludes Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations in Batanes

U.S. Marines and Sailors with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, supported by U.S. Marines with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, U.S. Soldiers with 25th Infantry Division, and Philippines Marines with Marines Battalion Landing Team 10, concluded the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations event during Exercise Balikatan 25 with the retrograde of forces from the Batanes islands to Northern Luzon, May 2, 2025.

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Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mitchell Johnson) - U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, prepare a Marine Air Defense Integrated System for the Integrated Air Missile Defense training during Exercise Balikatan 25, at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui, Philippines, April 25, 2025.

Balikatan 25 | 3d MLR Participates in Integrated Air and Missile Defense

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.

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A Marine Air Defense Integrated System Mk 1 fires upon a small unmanned aircraft system during a training exercise at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. A key component of the Marine Corps’ Force Design initiative, the mobile MADIS increases 3d Marine Littoral Regiment’s tactical flexibility by extending the range of the airspace which 3d MLR is able to sense and defend without support from the Joint Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jacqueline C. Parsons) - A Marine Air Defense Integrated System Mk 1 fires upon a small unmanned aircraft system during a training exercise at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. A key component of the Marine Corps’ Force Design initiative, the mobile MADIS increases 3d Marine Littoral Regiment’s tactical flexibility by extending the range of the airspace which 3d MLR is able to sense and defend without support from the Joint Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jacqueline C. Parsons)

Enhanced Defense: 3d MLR Deploys MADIS to Philippines for Balikatan 2025

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).

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U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3 unload cargo from a U.S. Air Force C-130J. - U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3 unload cargo from a U.S. Air Force C-130J with 36th Airlift Squadron, 374th Airlift Wing after their arrival to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines, from Mindanao for Balikatan 2025, April 15, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between 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 Sgt. Ezekieljay Correa)

MRF-D 25.3 surges forward for Balikatan

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines – Following the successful completion of Marine Exercise 2025 in Mindanao, the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) seamlessly repositioned it’s ground combat element (GCE) forces from Mindanao to Palawan, Philippines, as a show of allied and partner commitment to regional security and building maritime domain awareness in support of Exercise Balikatan 25.

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U.S. Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3 and Armed Forces of the Philippines service members disembark a Philippine Naval vessel during an amphibious assault demonstration as part of Marine Exercise 2025 near Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines, April 9, 2025. - U.S. Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3 and Armed Forces of the Philippines service members disembark a Philippine Naval vessel during an amphibious assault demonstration as part of Marine Exercise 2025 near Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines, April 9, 2025. MAREX 2025 is a bilateral exercise between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Philippine Marine Corps designed to further enhance relationships, interoperability, and combined arms capabilities in a realistic training environment. MRF-D 25.3 is part of 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. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Ezekieljay Correa)

Combined Strength and Shared Commitment: MRF-D 25.3 concludes MAREX 25

CAMP IRANUM, Mindanao, Philippines – U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, concluded a two-week bilateral exercise alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during Marine Exercise (MAREX) 25, held from March 31 to April 11 in Mindanao.

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Philippine and U.S. government and military representatives conduct the “crossing of hands” during the opening ceremony to commence Exercise Balikatan 25 at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2025 - Philippine and U.S. government and military representatives conduct the “crossing of hands” during the opening ceremony to commence Exercise Balikatan 25 at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Erica Padgett)

Exercise Balikatan 2025 kicks off with opening ceremony highlighting ironclad alliance

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City, Philippines – Exercise Balikatan 25, the largest annual bilateral exercise conducted between the Philippines and the U.S., commenced with an opening ceremony today.

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