Pacific Marines Stories

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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U.S. Sailors with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 (Reinforced), Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, Australian Defence Force Soldiers, and Indonesian National Armed Forces, prepare a simulated casualty for treatment as part of a mass casualty exercise during Exercise Bhakti Kanyini AUSINDO 24 at Robertson Barracks, NT, Australia, Aug. 20, 2024. - U.S. Sailors with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 (Reinforced), Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, Australian Defence Force Soldiers, and Indonesian National Armed Forces, prepare a simulated casualty for treatment as part of a mass casualty exercise during Exercise Bhakti Kanyini AUSINDO 24 at Robertson Barracks, NT, Australia, Aug. 20, 2024. BKA 24, previously named Crocodile Response, is a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise focused on strengthening the cooperation and readiness of the U.S. Marine Corps, TNI, ADF, and other government agencies. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Cristian Bestul)

MRF-D 24.3 Marines, Sailors increases readiness to respond to HADR during Exercise Bhakti Kanyini AUSINDO 24

U.S. Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, alongside members of the Australian Defence Force, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and various civil and government agencies, rehearsed humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations during Exercise Bhakti Kanyini AUSINDO 24 in Australia’s Northern Territory from Aug 12-21.

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Bougainville Disaster Response Joint-Agency workers load a MV-22B Osprey with humanitarian aid supplies during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operation on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, Aug. 12, 2023. The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is working in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at the request of the government of Papua New Guinea, in consultation with the Autonomous Bougainville Government, after the volcanic eruption of Mount Bagana. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. J. R. Heins) - Bougainville Disaster Response Joint-Agency workers load a MV-22B Osprey with humanitarian aid supplies during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operation on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, Aug. 12, 2023. The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is working in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at the request of the government of Papua New Guinea, in consultation with the Autonomous Bougainville Government, after the volcanic eruption of Mount Bagana. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. J. R. Heins)

The United States Provides Immediate Emergency Assistance to Support Communities Affected by Mount Bagana Volcanic Eruptions

At the request of the Government of Papua New Guinea, in consultation with the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), USAID is providing $200,000 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide emergency shelter kits and other relief commodities, protection assistance for women and children, and logistical support to deliver essential relief items and other critical relief services based on assessed needs, as ongoing volcanic activity continues to restrict people’s access to food and water and families from returning home. To date, IOM has provided the ABG with four water tanks and 127 collapsible water containers—prepositioned through existing USAID support—to improve access to drinkable water, and deployed a public health specialist to conduct health assessments.

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Service members from the Royal Thai Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Navy and Marine Corps, and the U.S. Marine Corps finish the reconstruction of a new roof for Miss Bunnam Inprom’s home during Exercise Cobra Gold 23 at Chanthaburi, Kingdom of Thailand, March 2, 2023. U.S. Marines and partner nations teamed up to build a new roof for Inprom’s home, which was destroyed by termites. Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 and MWSS-172 participated in the 42nd iteration of the Cobra Gold series of exercises, where they lended their engineering expertise to multilateral humanitarian efforts. - Service members from the Royal Thai Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Navy and Marine Corps, and the U.S. Marine Corps finish the reconstruction of a new roof for Miss Bunnam Inprom’s home during Exercise Cobra Gold 23 at Chanthaburi, Kingdom of Thailand, March 2, 2023. U.S. Marines and partner nations teamed up to build a new roof for Inprom’s home, which was destroyed by termites. Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 and MWSS-172 participated in the 42nd iteration of the Cobra Gold series of exercises, where they lended their engineering expertise to multilateral humanitarian efforts.

Cobra Gold 23: Humanitarian Efforts Make a Difference

“This has been my home for almost 35 years, and I grew too scared to live in it anymore when the roof started to collapse eight years ago from termites,” said Miss Bunnam Inprom, a 61-year-old Chanthaburi native...

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