From April to October each year, the MRF-D Marine Air-Ground Task Force deploys to Darwin, Australia, postures for contingency, and enhances interoperability with regional allies and partners in order to strengthens relationships, respond to crisis and set conditions for operational tasking.
Philippine, U.S., Japan, Korean and United Kingdom military leaders launched KAMANDAG 9 on Monday with an opening ceremony hosted at Marine Barracks Rudiardo Brown, marking the official start of the ninth iteration of the Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat (“Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea”) exercise.
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From the northern coast of Australia to the southern edge of the Philippine archipelago, U.S. Marines with the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) spent the last month executing rapid maneuver, joint and combined integrated fires, and combined exercises alongside Philippine and Australian allies across one of the world’s most complex and challenging maritime regions.
U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3 participated in a commemoration service for the Battle of the Coral Sea in Darwin on May 6.
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines — U.S. Marines from 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), Australian Army Soldiers with the 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5/7 RAR), Australian Defence Force (ADF), and Philippine Marines from the 3rd Marine Brigade, Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), executed a high-tempo, trilateral simulated airfield insertion during a maritime key terrain security operation (MKTSO) for Exercise Balikatan 25, May 4, 2025.
Service members from the United States, Philippines, Japan, Republic of Korea and United Kingdom will kick off Exercise KAMANDAG 9 on May 26, 2025, training across the Philippines to enhance multinational military readiness, interoperability, and regional defense capabilities.
Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 has commenced its 14th iteration, projecting its operational reach well beyond northern Australia. While most of the force has successfully closed in Darwin, a portion of the ground combat element deployed directly from Camp Pendleton, California, to the Philippines to train with the Philippine Marine Corps’ (PMC) 1st Marine Brigade in Mindanao.
Three years after enlisting out of Ayden, North Carolina, Cpl. Jonathan J. Jones, a data system administrator with Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, deploys for a second rotation with the 14th iteration of MRF-D.
U.S. Marines and Sailors have arrived in the Northern Territory to kick off the 14th annual rotation of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Marine Air-Ground Task Force.