Future NT 2025: Stand-in forces - Marine Rotation Force - Darwin claims major victory

While bureaucrats bicker over defence funding in Canberra, the US Marine Corps is getting into the weeds of how the next conflict will play out by testing their ability to deploy from Darwin.

MRF-D commander Colonel Jason Armas claims his rotation has set a “blueprint” in the Pacific of how to be a ‘stand-in force’.

The US Marine Corps claims their Darwin-based troops have achieved a major training objective set out by their superiors in D.C. – with one senior commander saying the accomplishment “will echo for years to come”.

In a statement last week, Marine Rotation Force - Darwin (MRF-D) declared they had made a significant breakthrough after arriving in March.

They said American troops had “charted a historic path” following their recent return from Asia, claiming MRF-D had demonstrated “what it means to be a stand-in force” in the Pacific.

A US Marine and Filipino soldier training in Palawan, Philippines.

With a view to guiding commanders in how to support stretched and arduous naval campaigns, the concept of a ‘stand-in force’ was developed by USMC superiors in 2021 and details how land-based recon element can win the upper-hand.

Drawing upon historical examples, the concept is backed by a lengthy document detailing how a force can disrupt the enemy across various scenarios, including ‘island hopping’.

Before retiring in 2023, then-USMC commandant, General David Berger, warned the concept would be “difficult” to master, but maintained it was essential ahead of the next conflict.

“This is how we can unleash the ingenuity of the individual Marine and outpace our adversary, as we retain our role as the nation’s force-in-readiness.”

In 2021, General David Berger (centre) said the concept would “unleash” the US Marine.

Now, four years since General Berger’s comments, MRF-D have claimed to have effectively achieved the feat in the Pacific.

MRF-D commander Colonel Jason Armas said the achievement showed his troops “aren’t just showing”.

“We’re proving to our partners and any potential adversary that we can command and control lethal forces across thousands of miles of ocean, from dense jungle to open desert, and do it with precision, speed and overwhelming forces,” he said.

“We are rewriting what it means to be a stand-in force by living it every single day, side-by-side with our allies, ready to bring the fight wherever it’s needed.”

Throughout March and June, MRF-D call signs were separated by thousands of kilometres.

According to a MRF-D spokesman, the challenge started in Camp Pendleton, California, before the rotation flew for Darwin.

En route, the rotation was split, with some troops taking to the Australian bush, while the remainder scattered throughout the archipelago to the north, including the Philippines, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.

With multiple callsigns split across various countries, the greatest distance recorded between two Marines of the same unit was 4800 kilometres.

An Australian-US Marine joint fires team during a targeting sequence.

Colonel Armas said the unit had set a high standard.

“What these Marines and sailors did here will echo for years to come,” he said.

“They’ve shown that you don’t need massive footprints to be effectives – you need endurances, you need adaptability, and you need the will to close with any problem and crush it alongside those who share your purpose.

“This rotation has forged the blueprint for stand-in forces in the Indo-Pacific, and every mile we’ve marched, every round we’ve sent down rage, and every relationship we’ve built has carved our place in the future fight.”

MRF-D will now turn their attention to this month’s Exercise Talisman Sabre, in which they will link up with their ADF counterparts for a mammoth five weeks.

Originally published as Future NT 2025: Stand-in forces - Marine Rotation Force - Darwin claims major victory