Colonel Jason Armas to command US Marine force flying to Darwin, Australia

Despite growing uncertainty surrounding trade relations under the Trump administration, Australia’s military relationship with Washington D.C. will remain unchanged in the Top End, with a 2500 strong US Marine force starting to fly into Darwin.

A fresh wave of US Marines are on their way to Australia.

Despite growing uncertainty surrounding trade relations under the Trump administration, Australia’s military relationship with Washington D.C. will remain unchanged in the Top End, with a 2500 strong US Marine force flying into Darwin.

On Monday, the first batch of Marine Rotation Force – Darwin touch down, followed by further sub-units in the following weeks.

Colonel Jason C. Armas will be commander of Marine Rotation Force 25, which will officially arrive from Monday, March 16. Source: 1st Marine Division.

It is understood the US visitors will be commanded by Colonel Jason Armas, who has almost 25 years of military experience under his belt.

A graduate of the US Naval Academy in 2001, Colonel Armas deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.

However, Colonel Armas’ experience is not limited to the Middle East, with the senior commander having also undertaken various assignments in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan and the Philippines.

Indonesian soldiers in action during Talisman Sabre 2023, which is expected to be eclipsed by this year’s iteration. Credit: LACW Emma Schwenke>Defence

The latest MRF-D cohort are expected to have a busy season under Colonel Armas’ leadership, with the ADF having scheduled trilateral exercise Talisman Sabre for July.

As such, MRF-D will have a short window to both acclimatise and familiarise themselves with their Australian counterparts before embarking upon one of the world’s largest military training exercises, which will consist of almost 20 foreign military forces.

The fresh wave of US military presence follows several Washington D.C.-led inquiries concerning the Northern Territory, with a logistics team having inspected supply-chain facilities at RAAF Base Darwin, as well bases in North Queensland and Western Australia just last month.

A team of senior US logisticians inspected RAAF Base Darwin last month as part of Washington D.C.’s continued interest in the Top End.

The logistics team’s examination of key sites was followed by a week-long defence industry mission in Honolulu, Hawaii, this month, in which more than 20 US military contractors and senior officers discussed the Territory’s ability to support US military projects.

It is understood an NT delegation, led by DefenceNT, are yet to debrief Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro on the mission’s findings.

Originally published as Colonel Jason Armas to command US Marine force flying to Darwin, Australia