U.S. Marines and Sailors with the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) set a historic precedent this year for the program and the region. Over the course of a yearlong campaign, the MAGTF that never sleeps, led by “The Old Breed” of 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, transformed MRF-D from a rotational presence in northern Australia into a regionally postured, combat-credible force with reach from the Timor Sea to the Luzon Strait and a level of interchangeability with the ADF and multinational allies and partners that are second to none.
Given the name “Inchon” for their historic amphibious landings during the Korean War, 1st Marines took the blueprint of MRF-D and spearheaded one of the largest leaps in the program’s history since it began with the U.S. Force Posture Initiatives in 2011. The “Inchon Way,” characterized by the unit’s creative problem solving, tireless pursuit of operational excellence, and unparalleled warfighting spirit, pitted the deployment in its first true test of the U.S. Marine Corps’ “stand-in force” concept, validating Force Design 2030 principles in one of the world’s most dynamic theaters. Over the course of 18 Operations, Activities, and Investments (OAI), the force prioritized light, agile, and lethal forces that can maneuver, persist, sense, and communicate in position better than any adversary, over traditional crisis response force models that lean heavily on constant, complex, and ever-demanding logistical and command and control requirements.
“Stand-in means you’re already there and inside the threat rings,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jason Armas, the commanding officer of the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. “Not comfortable, not clean, not when you’re one hundred percent ready, but close enough to sense and make sense, close enough to strike, and close enough to matter. That’s what Force Design demands of us.”
The ADF recalled their time working with the MAGTF this year as well, saying, “You're motivated and you're a good live training partner,” said Maj. Adam Blue, the 103rd Royal Australian Artillery Commander. “So having access to that on a regular basis is something that we don't usually get in other parts of Australia. Having MRF-D here is awesome for the amount of training benefit that we can provide ourselves, and then also combine that with you guys to get some real wins."
From combined and joint all domain operations in the Philippines and Australia, to answering the call for foreign disaster relief (FDR) from a nation in need, to integrating a full Marine Air Task Force (MATF) aboard the expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) for the first time in U.S. Marine Corps history, MRF-D 25.3 demonstrated that a rotational force can shape, deter, and respond across multiple nations while deepening alliances and partnerships that bolster regional security. What began as a certification exercise between unfamiliar faces at Camp Pendleton, California, became a campaign of connection, credibility, and change. The standard set here could only have been achieved by the caliber of Marines and Sailors behind every action and will form the foundation for all MRF-Ds to come.
The MRF-D of today aims to integrate tactical-level exercises into a seamless operational continuum, and so, the MRF-D MAGTF approached its deployment as a campaign this year rather than a schedule of exercises. Each movement, training event, and engagement set conditions for the next. Every action was designed to test and show capabilities at a specific time and place, strengthen partnerships, and establish an effective connective framework among joint and combined forces. This mindset shaped the MAGTF’s relationships, including command and control, fire support coordination, intelligence efforts, and operational, logistical, and medical planning. Marines across the MAGTF’s combat, logistics, and aviation elements turned theoretical models into lived experience, bringing to life the concept of a distributed, resilient force capable of operating persistently inside contested spaces.
“Nothing was coincidence. None of this was random. This was a campaign,” said Armas. “MRF-D put a combat credible presence forward the whole time. We didn’t get to Australia and gather our bearings, we hit the ground running. Our Marines used anything and everything to move, survive, and thrive in contested maritime space.”
Loading the box
The foundation for success began months before deployment in October 2024. At Camp Pendleton, 1st Marines’ logistics section began preparations for the Australian Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) inspections involving all gear and equipment coming with the 2,000 plus Marine and Sailor MAGTF. These inspections were critical to protecting Australia’s ecosystem and ensuring foreign contaminants were screened and cleaned before entering Australia. The meticulous planning, synchronization between MSEs, and ‘round the clock cleaning from hundreds of Marines in Camp Pendleton through January ensured the successful execution of the inspections and eventual transport of MAGTF equipment into Australia for training. In December, the MAGTF command element (CE) of 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, the ground combat element (GCE) comprised of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and logistics combat element (LCE) of Combat Logistics Battalion (CLB) 1 conducted integrated training during Exercise Steel Knight, a U.S. Joint annual training exercise built to certify the MRF-D MAGTF’s readiness through a realistic simulated embassy reinforcement, non-combatant evacuation operations (NEO), military assisted departure (MAD), and follow on Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation (MCCRE) for 2d Bn., 1st Marines.
The GCE and MAGTF air combat element (ACE), comprised of U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), continued this string of success into January by executing another MCCRE to validate the skillsets of the MAGTF’s backbone of combat credibility. The Marines aligned tactics and communication procedures, shared understanding, and solidified the synchronization that would define the deployment and actions across the Pacific.
With shipping and flights loaded in February 2025, the MRF-D MAGTF closed with the Pacific on two fronts: Darwin, Australia, and Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The staggered arrival illustrated the flexibility of a MAGTF designed for trans-Pacific reach and marked the first of many historic accomplishments this year. Marines in the Philippines, augmented by 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) Marines, immediately began joint jungle survival and live-fire training with the Philippine Marine Corps’ (PMC) 1st Brigade, building the trust and muscle memory essential to combined operations in the Philippine Archipelago and distributed maritime terrain. In Darwin, the remainder of the force prepared for a regional campaign that would span nations, services, and domains.
“When you look at these OAIs, you can view them as a bill you got to pay, or you view it as an opportunity to posture combat credible formations ready to respond to crisis or contingency,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Travis Onischuk, the commanding officer of the 2d Bn., 1st Marines, MRF-D 25.3. Onischuk painted the MAGTF’s approach to campaigning further, adding, “If you think of it as going there with a combat credible formation, ready to respond to crisis or contingency, I think it changes everything.”
A regional force in motion
After being welcomed for another rotation by the ADF in March, the MRF-D MAGTF prepared to demonstrate a rapid combined flex of operational reach and logistical maneuvering from Darwin to the First Island Chain (FIC) to kick off Exercise Balikatan 25. The MAGTF utilized any and all available means, including U.S. Joint and combined theater lift and logistical assets, to maneuver the MAGTF CE and a GCE rifle company from Darwin, Australia, to Palawan, Philippines, to conduct the 40th iteration of Exercise Balikatan 25, the largest annual military exercise between the U.S. and the Philippines, involving dozens of nations across the globe. This was the first time the Australian Army’s 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, trained alongside MRF-D in the Philippines during Balikatan, demonstrating the range, responsiveness, and credibility of U.S. Marines and Australian Soldiers operating with allied and partner militaries off-continent.
The exercise featured combined tactical-level training, complex Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations (MKTSO), and counter-landing live-fire (CLLF) training events incorporating joint fires from the U.S. Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS). The trilateral exercise force of Marines, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the ADF enhanced jungle patrolling skills, long-range fires integration, and amphibious coordination. Air maneuver assets staged at Clark Air Base in Luzon included MV-22B Ospreys assigned to VMM-364’s “Purple Foxes,” supporting troop insertions in challenging maritime terrain while logisticians maintained forward operating sites in austere locations through local contracting, usage of MRF-D surgical capable Role II expeditionary medical facilities and minimizing logistics and equipment footprints required for specific tactical tasks. Intelligence Marines fused real-time awareness with local partner networks, ensuring the force could sense and make sense across dispersed locations.
At the same time in April, elements of CLB-1, MRF-D 25.3, forward deployed from Darwin to New Caledonia to conduct Exercise Croix du Sud 25, led by U.S. Army Forces Pacific. The exercise incorporated 22 allied and partner forces to test multinational expeditionary logistics capabilities in austere locations like Wallis and Futuna and served as a tangible demonstration of allied and partner crisis response capabilities. A redundant and flexible command and control framework enabled the Pacific-wide dispersion of the MAGTF in this phase. Multiple Combat Operations Centers (COC) between Darwin and the Philippines were manned 24/7, allowing the MAGTF to transfer control of formations in response to any contingency, at any time, and in the harshest conditions. This framework set the high operational tempo that would come to define this MAGTF and the campaign.
“My team consistently worked day in and day out to ensure the overall sustainment and coordination within this MAGTF on and off-continent here in Australia,” said 1st Lt. Gabrielle Jacobo, a logistics officer with the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. Jacobo highlighted her section’s diverse mission-set and strategic importance, adding, “This includes coordinated strategic and opportune airlift, mobility, ground transport while we’re forward, health service support, organically and locally, and water procurement. The execution of tactical logistics involved determining requirements, creating an environment where forces could sustain with the resources that were immediately available to us, no matter where the mission led us to.”
The days between May and June incorporated the greatest dispersion of forces seen throughout the entire campaign. While maintaining a presence in the Philippines, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Malaysia, the MRF-D MAGTF also assumed the role of I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Forward in the Philippines. This led to the successful execution of KAMANDAG 9 — meaning “warriors of the sea” in Tagalog — in the Philippines alongside the AFP, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, and Japan Ground-Self Defense Force, and III MEF’s 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR). The exercise showcased true Combined Joint All Domain Operations (CJADO) culminating in a multinational airfield seizure and subsequent CLLF event in Berong, Palawan, where conditions for maneuver of ground and air forces were set by successful simulated combined constructive kills using strike assets from 1st MDTF and 3rd MLR. Here, multinational forces also conducted realistic Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) training in Palawan, truly highlighting the continued presence and capabilities of MRF-D expeditionary medical teams and their Role II capability. MRF-D’s Role II worked in tandem with the Japanese Role I facility and Philippine and Korean amphibious landing forces to identify casualties in a simulated disaster along the beaches of Palawan, Philippines.
“Above all, may the lessons gained and connections forged become springboards for future engagements as we move forward,” said Brig. Gen. Blanco, Commandant of the PMC and Exercise Director for KAMANDAG 9. “Let me reaffirm that no adversary will ever be greater than our collective strength. Let us continue working shoulder to shoulder to uphold peace and stability now and in the years to come.”
While training blazed on in the Philippines, MRF-D’s GCE conducted the Predator Series in the red earth of Mount Bundey with the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade, progressing from squad-level attacks to company-level force on force evolutions that tested the skills and grit of U.S. and Australian interoperability. Simultaneously in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, MV-22B Ospreys assigned to VMM-363, MRF-D 25.3, saw their first exercise of the year in Southern Jackaroo 25 among JGSDF forces and the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade. Townsville provided the MAGTF GCE and ACE an exercise framework allowing for dynamic tasking of aircraft to support maneuver of ground forces throughout the training area and pivoting forces against each other to provide the most realistic training possible. The exercise culminated in a trilateral live-fire evolution that integrating the fire support coordination measures, tactics, and skills critical for combined arms maneuver.
Roughly 1,700 miles to the north, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians with CLB-1, MRF-D 25.3, conducted reconnaissance and marking of dangerous World War II era unexploded ordnance (UXO) for subsequent disposal operations planned for the following year. Working together with Papua New Guinea Defense Forces and ADF EOD teams, every piece of UXO identified contributed to the allied effort to ensure a safer and more prosperous Indo-Pacific region for generations to come.
Despite the ever-increasing operational tempo, Marines and Sailors found time to explore the Northern Territory and celebrate the almost century-long relationship of trust, comradery, and alliance with Australians. MRF-D Marines and Sailors marched alongside Australian counterparts during Anzac Day commemorations, attended the Barunga Festival to connect with Australia’s First People through music, commemorated the Battle of the Coral Sea alongside the ADF, and competed in friendly sports matches that bridged military and cultural understanding. Whether exploring local restaurants, site-seeing with crocodiles, volunteering, or bringing out their competitive spirit through Australian “Footy” Matches, MRF-D made time to connect with the community and Soldiers that welcomed this rotation for fourteen years. In other places like the Philippines, Marines still found ways to make memories and strengthen the friendships that will stand the test of time. Instead of Footy matches, Marines might find themselves in a pickup game of basketball in Palawan, or singing their hearts out to tried-and-true classics during late night karaoke sessions. The Marines of this deployment didn’t just deploy, train, and move on: they connected with each and every allied and partner warfighter and their communities. That is the difference between agreements and true alliance.
“While maintaining a relentless operational tempo, MRF-D has also demonstrated unwavering commitment to the communities that welcomed them,” said Lt. Cmdr. Adam Bayer, the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF Chaplain. “Across Darwin and the Philippines, Marines and Sailors reached out to the community on over 100 different occasions, volunteering nearly 2,000 hours at homeless shelters, schools, local organizations and anywhere the MRF-D MAGTF could lend a helping hand.”
Continental command and control
Just as quickly as the MRF-D MAGTF surged across the Pacific, they reconstituted the force back in Darwin, placing a combat credible rifle company in the Philippines to train with the PMC during Archipelagic Coastal Defense 25.3 from June to July 2025. This was not downtime; it was deliberate recalibration, marked by the successful execution of a MAGTF Integration Check that brought all elements of the MAGTF together in Darwin to execute simulated crises response operations in Darwin along with U.S. Department of State role players. The exercise allowed the MAGTF ACE to fully integrate the rest of the force with all key leaders and formations present in Darwin. This phase of the campaign emphasized preserving a steady operational tempo while maintaining readiness to respond across the theater.
At the same time, the MRF-D MAGTF surged a small contingent of operations planners to participate in Exercise Bersama Warrior, a planning exercise lead by USARPAC and the Malaysian Armed Forces to develop realistic training scenarios for future combined forces to validate in potential real-world execution. At the same time, the MAGTF GCE’s Kilo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, ran through the gauntlet of Tully’s Jungle Warfighting Training Center in Tully, Queensland, where they tested their mettle against the harsh realities of fighting in dense jungle terrain.
Without missing a beat, MRF-D prepared for Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. Spanning thousands of kilometers across northern Australia, Talisman Sabre 25 served as the testing grounds for stand-in force concepts in the form of combined arms maneuver and mobile, flexible, and scalable command and control models. Alongside the ADF and more than 35,000 troops from 19 nations, the Marines and Sailors of the MRF-D MAGTF demonstrated the full spectrum of stand-in force capabilities with mobile command and control, integrated precision fires, and sustained maneuver across vast, austere terrain.
Tying everything together, MRF-D MAGTF leadership successfully tested agile leadership on the move from a ruggedized mobile COC, handing off control between mobile and fixed command and control nodes to simulate survivability under contested conditions. The system enabled seamless coordination with the U.S. Army’s 3rd MDTF and the ADF during a historic live-fire of an SM-6 missile from the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) system — the first of its kind in Australia. Supported by U.S. Joint ISR assets and Royal Australian Air Force P-8A aircraft, MRF-D’s Fires and Effects Coordination Center (FECC) provided real-time data that helped synchronize layered strikes with ADF National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) batteries, validating combined fires integration and illustrating the future of allied deterrence in the Top End.
On the ground, MAGTF GCE Marines maneuvered with Australia’s 5/7 RAR to seize key terrain across the entire Northern Territory and Queensland in places like Timber Creek, Cloncurry, and Bootu Creek, enabled by MV-22B Ospreys assigned to VMM-363 and KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Transport Refueler Squadron (VMGR) 153, MAG 24, 1st MAW. Artillery Marines from Kilo Battery conducted live-fire missions with Australia’s 103rd Royal Australian Artillery, refining “danger close” coordination and urban fire techniques in the harsh, unforgiving terrain of Mount Bundey. Across the battlespace, logistics Marines from CLB-1 sustained operations through water purification, aerial resupply, and expeditionary medical support, proving that logistics truly win campaigns.
“We had a great time integrating with those guys,” said Maj. Blue. “We did a live-fire exercise with Kilo Battery, where we conducted a danger-close artillery practice alongside the USMC. It’s a good example of how we are able to demonstrate some of our training practices and hopefully inform some Marine training practices going forward.”
In the skies, MRF-D’s ACE logged more than 150 flight hours maneuvering ground forces across the exercise battlespace, executing troop insertions, ordnance transport, and Australia’s first Tactical Air-Ground Refueling System (TAGRS) use with Australian ARH Tiger helicopters. This test of operational flight capacity and resiliency would prove crucial for the operation to come.
Crisis response
As Talisman Sabre 25 drew to a close, the MRF-D MAGTF shifted seamlessly from training to action across the Indo-Pacific. What followed was not a redeployment home, but a surge forward, one that brought reflection, relief, and renewed readiness.
In Honiara, Solomon Islands, Marines stood beside U.S. and Solomon Islands officials at Skyline Ridge for the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Representing 1st Marine Regiment’s “Old Breed,” they honored the Marines and Solomon Islanders whose courage in World War II turned the tide of the Allied Pacific Campaign. Days later, those words and spirit became action.
As aircraft from Talisman Sabre landed back in Darwin, word came from the north: the Philippine government had requested U.S. assistance after tropical storms and monsoons devastated their northern provinces. In hours, MRF-D transitioned from exercise execution to real-world crisis response. The MAGTF’s CE established distributed control between Darwin and Manila, while four MV-22B Ospreys assigned to VMM-363 and KC-130Js assigned to VMGR-153 completed a monumental trans-Pacific flight to Clark Air Base, Philippines. Through longs nights, sorties, and working with the Philippine Air Force and Government, Marines delivered thousands of family food packs to the isolated Batanes Islands in a demonstration of agility, partnership, and purpose.
“The recent collaboration between the United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, and the Philippine Air Force showcased the power of integrated operations in conducting relief efforts," added Lt. Col. Randell R. Medina, Philippine Air Force. “The recent HADR [Humanitarian Aid Disaster Relief] operations not only ensured seamless coordination across forces but also laid a strong foundation for future missions.”
As the last aid flights delivered supplies, the MRF-D MAGTF pivoted to Exercise Alon 25 in Palawan: a Philippine-Australian-led biannual amphibious exercise with U.S. and Canadian support. Marines from the MAGTF’s GCE seized key terrain alongside Philippine and Australian counterparts, while ANGLICO and Marine Air-Control Group (MACG) 38 Marines coordinated joint fires and airspace during multiple CJADO events, demonstrating the level of cohesion developed since the first iteration in 2023. The combined force’s amphibious and air insertions validated the ability to project power and sustain tempo across the archipelago after coming off nearly a month of large-scale exercises and real-world crisis response missions just weeks prior.
Simultaneously, MAGTF GCE Marines deployed to Indonesia for Super Garuda Shield 25, joining Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Dutch forces in amphibious, urban, and jungle warfare training. ANGLICO Marines directed multinational and U.S. Joint fires during a live-fire amphibious assault, serving as a future value proposition to joint and combined commanders that require connective tissue between critical fires capabilities and the authorities to manage and apply them effectively.
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Erik “Sister” Carlson, a forward air controller with 1st ANGLICO, MRF-D 25.3, illustrated the simultaneity of operations: “Where that was exemplified and really stress tested was when we went forward to the Philippines for urgent life-saving support and then ultimately, humanitarian assistance. From there, we tie in MAGTF command assets, MAGTF aviation assets, as well as special operations aviation assets, and then partner nation support. There was no rule book written on that, but we used our partnerships, our experience, to figure that out and do it successfully.”
Moving to the high seas, a combat credible contingent of MAGTF GCE Marines and six MV-22B Ospreys assigned to VMM-363, MRF-D 25.3, seized the opportunity to embark the expeditionary sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) for the first time in U.S. Marine Corps history. The vessel provided MRF-D and the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet with additional combat credible reach in the Philippine Sea during the decisive action of the MRF-D MAGTF Campaign. MRF-D proved itself as a force in position, ready to leverage or be leveraged by joint and combined entities within the decisive battlespace. The integration illuminated the expeditionary heart of U.S. “blue-green” interoperability and paves the way for future MRF-D naval training.
From honoring the past to answering crises and seizing the initiative from Australia to the First Island Chain, the MRF-D MAGTF personified integrated and distributed deterrence. Through proactive positioning of combat credible forces throughout the region, the MRF-D MAGTF remained postured to respond to crises, capitalize on novel joint and combined integration, and remain ready. This MAGTF proved that a rotational force can sense, think, move, and fight as a persistent regional presence — ready for anything, anywhere, at any time, and before any adversary.
“What we did out here showcases to an adversary that no matter where we’re at, we can bring the fight,” said U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Nicholas Newbern, the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF Intelligence Chief. “We demonstrated that we have credibility as a stand-in force, we have the ability to get up from Darwin into the First Island Chain with our organic assets, and that we can maneuver within the littoral space.”
Preserving a legacy and preparing the future force
As the MRF-D MAGTF turned down the regional training volume, they began the transition to redeployment operations, sharing lessons learned and discussing future opportunities with their Australian counterparts and the next year’s rotation. Marines and Sailors continued community engagements and events like the Stray Cats rugby match to commemorate the tragic events of 9-11.
MRF-D 25.3 set the standard for what a rotational force can achieve. The campaign demonstrated that presence is not passive; it is active, adaptive, and deeply connected. Across individually tailored, but intertwined phases, the Marines and Sailors of the MRF-D MAGTF proved that a stand-in force can project strength, respond to crises, and strengthen alliances simultaneously.
Each section played a pivotal role in that success. The MAGTF gained operational maneuver and sustainment through the tireless planning, U.S. Joint and combined coordination, and creative problem solving of MAGTF and MSE logisticians. The MAGTF maintained constant situational awareness through the efforts of MAGTF intelligence Marines, informing the commander of a complex and evolving operating environment, and leading to expanded situational awareness across nations. MAGTF communications Marines sustained multi-nodal network capabilities while maneuvering across nations and challenging terrain. FECC personnel leveraged allied and partner authorities and synchronized their air, fires, and sensing assets to achieve decisive effects within multinational exercise frameworks. Medical personnel sustained maneuver forces in the heart of the Australian Outback and in the most challenging terrain the Philippine Archipelago has to offer. The MAGTF GCE, LCE, and ACE executed every mission asked of them, and then some, without hesitation and unified under a single purpose: to assure partners and deter aggression through action.
“When you give Marines an intent and the space to fight how they need to fight, you’ll make history,” said Col. Armas. “We proved a forward MAGTF can move across nations, leverage any and all means available, integrate with partners at every level, and do it all with the adversary watching. There is no going back.”
MRF-D 25.3 leaves behind more than a record of start and stop exercises. It leaves behind confidence: in our methods, in our alliances, and in our ability to fight and win forward against the unknown. The next rotation will inherit and build upon a legacy of regional credibility. The story of MRF-D is the story of a force that turned a rotation into a campaign, theory into practice, and what began 14 years ago as training between 200 Marines and Australian Soldiers in the Top End, into lasting regional security and powerful deterrence. The Inchon Way will not only shape the next MRF-D rotation but the future of U.S. Marine Corps presence in the Indo-Pacific.
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2025 21:07 |
| Story ID: | 550774 |
| Location: | DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AU |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MRF-D 25.3: Forging a stand-in force legacy, by CPT John Fischer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.