MRF-D: Admiral welcomes US Marines for eleventh year of rotation
US Marines were welcomed by Admiral John Aquilino for the eleventh year of the Territory’s Marine Rotational Force.
Northern Territory
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THE Commander of US military forces in the Indo-Pacific made a special visit to the Top End and welcomed the latest deployment of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D).
US Marines and Australian soldiers greeted Admiral John Aquilino at the Robertson Barracks on Wednesday morning.
The ceremony started off with Larrakia man James Parfitt-Fejo giving a welcome to the country and Admiral Aquilino a pair of thongs.
The visit was one of his first stops of meeting senior defence officials across Australia.
More than 1400 US Marines have already been deployed to the Territory for the historic relationship strengthening exercise, with the last of the troops arriving by the end of next month.
Admiral Aquilino reinforced the importance of the US and Australia alliance.
“The United States and Australia alliance is critical to maintain peace and security and stability in the region as well as the prosperity for not just Australia, the United States but for all nations who believe and support a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Admiral Aquilino said.
The MRF-D aims to strengthen the relationship of the Indo-Pacific.
More than 2200 US Marines will be based in Darwin until October, conducting a series of exercises which enhance regional security.
With the new Marine force becoming a part of the Northern Territory community, Commander of 1st Brigade, Brigadier Nick Foxall welcomed the new force and the rest of the troops to come.
“It’s very, very important for the region and our regional ability to engage in both humanitarian and disaster assistance, to work together to solve problems in the region are key to how the Indo-Pacific will move forward as an organisation and as a group,” Brigadier Foxall said.
“Any chance for the Australian nation to interact with our partners is valuable.
“The more we interact as like-minded people who have a like-minded vision of what right looks like is valuable for this nation and it’s valuable for all of our partners.”
Admiral Aquilino said “like-minded” nations in the region would see expansion of joint forces operations like MRF-D in the coming years.
“You will see increased joint co-operation, collaboration, co-ordination, you will see more of the US Joint force operating together,” he said.
When asked how Darwin was positioned in terms of security, he said: “There are certainly threats still, as a matter of fact today in the Indo-Pacific, it hosts the most concerning security challenges that we’ve faced in a number of years.”
“The number one mission is to defend our homeland, both the United States and Australia, that includes Darwin,” he said
Marines land on Territory soil
UNITED States Marines have landed in the Top End their 11th annual rotation with the Australian Defence Force.
Up to 2200 US personnel will participate in the Marine Rotational Force Darwin (MRF-D), conducting crisis response exercises, engage with regional partners and more.
For the first time, US Army personnel will also deploy to work alongside the rotation.
MRF-D Commanding Officer Colonel Christopher Steele was excited for the rotation to begin.
“This year our Marines will be coming from Camp Pendleton in Southern California as the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force assumes this mission, working alongside our US Army and Australian Defence Force counterparts,” he said.
“We are excited to serve as the first regimental headquarters to lead MRF-D.”
The Marines are expected to complete the rotation in Australia by October 2022.
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Originally published as MRF-D: Admiral welcomes US Marines for eleventh year of rotation
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