Pacific Perspective - Combat Power:Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Deploys to Northern Territory

According to MRF - D,a new group of about 2,000 U.S. Marines and Sailors in the form of a Marine Air - Ground Task Force has arrived in Australia's Northern Territory for the 13th iteration of the deployment.The arrangement was signed by Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2011.It has another 12 years remaining.Each year,the deployment has grown in scale and complexity,enhancing our Alliance's capability and ability to work together and improving our combined capacity to respond to crises and contingencies in the Indo-Pacific Region.MRF - D remains an important touchpoint of the Australian/U.S. security Alliance,said MRF - D.*Said U.S. Marine Corps COL Brian T. Mulvihill,commanding officer of MRF - D 24.3:Our strong Alliance contributes to stability in the region and enables the readiness of our forces to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises.*Participants will conduct operations across a full spectrum of missions,including expeditionary operations;geographically distributed communications;non-combatant evacuation operations;embassy reinforcements;humaitarian assistance and disaster relief;and rapid projection of combat power.So the Alliance intends to deter our adversaries,and,if necessary,defend the rules-based international order.*The Marines are based at RAAF Darwin and,in concert with the Australian Defence Force,will carry out training throughout the region unitil the end of MRF - D 24.3's deployment in October.*MRF - D is a unit of I Marine Expeditionary Force.The motto of I MEF is "Ready.Engaged.Faithful".I MEF provides the Marine Corps with a globally responsive,expeditionary,and fully scalable Marine Air - Ground Task Force (MAGTF,pronounced MAGTAF),capable of generating,deploying,and employing ready forces and formations for crisis response;forward presence;major combat operations;and campaigns.*Leadership:I MEF is led by LTG Michael S. Cederholm,Commanding General,and MG Robert C. Fulford,Deputy Commanding General.A graduate of Weslyan University,LTG Cederholm,a Marine Corps Aviator,is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom.He is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN);the National War College (MS in National Security Strategy);and is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Seminar XXI Fellow.*MG Fulford was commissioned in 1992 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy.He is a career infantry officer and veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 1.MG Fulford is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Advanced Course;the Marine Corps Command and Staff College;and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.*A Marine Air - Ground Task Force is the principal organisation for all missions across the range of military operations.MAGTF's are a balanced,air-ground,combined arms task organisation of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that is structured to accomplish a specific mission.The four elements of a MAGTF are:1.Command Element (CE);2.Ground Combat Element (GCE);3.Air Combat Element (ACE);and 4.Logistics Combat Element (LCE).*The MAGTF was formalised by the publication of Marine Corps Order 3120.3,"The Marine Corps in the National Defense,MCDP 1-0".

Enormous Marine Corps and NATO Exercise Underway in SoCal

Marine Air-Ground Task Force Warfighting Exercise (MWX) 1-20 is running in the Mojave Desert in Southern California from mid-October through early November.More than 10,000 US Marines and Sailors of the 2nd Marine Division,as well as NATO troops are participating in the drills.They are enacting a scenario involving the conflict between sophisticated and well-equipped peer and near-peer adversaries.It is an unscripted event, unique in the history of the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, the high desert terrain in San Bernardino County.The base's more than 998 square miles is larger than some small countries.The range provides live fire combined arms training to promote readiness of operating forces.*
The purpose of MWX 20-1 is to increase warfighting readiness in preparation for major combat operations on a Division scale (such as versus China and/or Russia).It is a multi-regimental war game in which 2ndMARDIV will serve as Ground Combat Element for a notional Joint Task Force higher HQ.All elements of the MAGTF will participate, including close-air support; integrated artillery fires; tanks; amphibious assault vehicles;and light infantry vehicles.It will provide the Division with an opportunity to better understand and modulate its signiture, be it physical or across the electromagnetic spectrum: how it looks from an adversary's perspective, and how we can effectively command and control while minimising our footprint.*
Scenario specifics are being withheld for operational security reasons.Overalll,it will enable 2ndMARDIV to hone its skills at regimental-level operations in the defence; transitioning from the defence to the offense; and serving as a Combatant Command blunt force in order to reassure notional Partners and Allies,and deter aggression in a given AOR;and to set conditions for the reestablishment of a partner nation's sovereignty.
NATO participants include the UK's Royal Commandos,who are serving as part of the ADFOR, reinforcing and validating the long-held understanding that when the US goes into a fight,it does not go alone.*
Logisticians across the Division and supporting units crafted a deployment and support plan to transport and sustain the thosands of Marines and and tens thousands of end items in equipment.Managing hundreds of rail cars, tractor trailer loads, and aircraft through six different ports has proven the Division's capability to mobilise.*
According to 2ndMARDIV commander MGEN David J. Furness:
In the Exercise design, we will encounter a free-thinking "adversary force" with tactics and capabilities as good as our own.
2ndMARDIV will conduct complex manoeuvre warfare training on a plethora of disparate and geographically-disbursed ranges in order to challenge and improve our command and control (C2) capabilities.
We will employ and test some technologically advanced equipment...all with an eye on modernising our force.
Success may well be defined by getting the Division, and all the personnel and materiel that entails, the 3,000 miles required to prosecute the battle.*

Strategic Thinking:US Marines Increasing Presence in Norway

One of the main events for US Marine Forces Europe and Africa this summer was the augmentation of its rotational presence in Norway,at the request of the Norwegian government as stated in a bilateral document.This provides for:
1.More than doubling the number of Marines from about 330 to 700;
2.Establishing a second rotation of Marines in Trom County,Northern Norway,around 250 miles from the Russian border;and
3.Extending the programme for another five years.
The programme began in 2017 with a rotation in Central Norway's Trondheim area,some 900 miles from the Russian border.In a crisis,these troops could be rapidly shifted to Sweden as a Baltic reinforcement.
Besides troop rotations,the Marines have been prepositioning military equipment in the Trondelg area under the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway (MCPP-N).The MCPP-N is intended to supply a full Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) or Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) for 30 days if bolstered with additional supplies.There are 6 caves and 2 storage facilities near air bases in this Central Norway location for Marine Corps vehicles and other gear.The exact locations are classified;but the stated purpose of the caches is to support global operations.
The Marines also utilise the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF),storing their gear on ships.The gear is used for exercises in Northern Europe and Theater Security Cooperation Events,as well as being on hand for crisis response.*
Most of the Marines are based near Trondheim;under the new agreement,an undisclosed number will rotate to the Arctic Trom region.Indeed,even those in Central Norway have concentrated on acquiring Arctic warfighting skills.Norway is very concerned about Russia's Arctic activities,since Norway's land border with Russia is in the Far North;as well,Russia's Northern Fleet transits the Barents Sea,including ballistic missile submarines armed with ICBMs.*
In strategic circles,it is commonly believed Russia might launch a surprise ground attack on the Baltic States,fortified with its anti-access/area denial advantage from its ballistic missile,air power and surface-to-air defence assets in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad,which is located between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.
This scenario could also entail a quick strike on Sweden's Gotland Island to establish a second Baltic A2AD chokehold,so the Marines have done some training on Gotland,during the Aurora 17 drills.

US Marines Add More Combat Aircraft to Their Rotation in Australia

Having brought their personnel numbers in Australia up from an initial 200 in 2012 to 1250 in 2016,and planning to double this to 2500 by 2020,the US Marines are now more than tripling the number of combat aircraft accompanying their troops from four in 2016 up to 13 in 2017.This year,the complement of aircraft will include:
four MV-22 Ospreys,whose long range and speed make them ideal for Asia-Pacific island-hopping;
five AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters;
and four UH-1Y Venom helicopters.
This Aviation Combat Element will be hosted at RAAF Darwin.It is being described by the Marines as being more diverse and capable than previous deployments.All of the aircraft will be drawn from units in Hawaii.The next six-month rotation begins in April 2017,with most of the Marines coming from 3rd Battalion,4th Marine Regiment,out of Camp Pendleton,California. *
The US has used Australia as a base for many decades and in many different respects,explains Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne,whether it's cyber security information gathering,the Marines in Darwin and the Air Force.Australia has real capability in maintaining and sustaining our aircraft and American aircraft.The Americans know that if they send their aircraft to Australia and they need to be maintained or sustained in some particular way,it can be done here.*
In October,the US and Australia reached a cost-sharing agreement for the 25-year long pact that will improve the Northern Territory infrastructure and pay for ongoing costs,settling a squabble over just how the Marine Corps rotations will be funded.The rotational programme furthers the US aim of rebalancing its forces to the Asia-Pacific,while bolstering Australia's defence against a growing menace from China and North Korea.*
When the Marines reach 2500 troops,they will have a full Marine Air-Ground Task Force with all of its aircraft,vehicles and other equipment in Australia's remote Northern Territory.The pact for this rotational force was signed in 2011 by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former President Barack Obama.*
Overall,the Marines are in the process of redistributing their forces to four major Forward Areas of Operation:Japan;Guam;Hawaii;and Australia.This is their part of the new US strategy of rebalancing the military to the Asia-Pacific region.

War On ISIL:Marines Send EA-6B Prowler to Turkey;US Steps Up Involvement in Iraq

The US Marine Corps has deployed a legacy aircraft,the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler,to Incirlik Air Base,Turkey to support electronic attack requirements in the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve,according to US European Command.The Prowlers are from Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4 out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,North Carolina.They will stay at Incirlik for operations over Syria through the end of September on a mission to protect OIR aircraft and ground forces by intercepting and jamming communications.EUCOM characterised the Prowler,in service since 1971,as a force multiplier continuing to do what it has done for 45 years:support warfighters flying in the air and fighting on the ground by giving them the electronic communications dominance to ensure a decisive win.*
MTEWS4 supports the Marine Air-Ground Task Force by conducting airborne Electronic Warfare,day or night,under all weather conditions during Expeditionary,Joint or Combined Operations.Their EA-6Bs have 5 tactical jamming pods;electronic surveillance systems;radar-seeking HARM missiles;non-kinetic fire systems that leave electronic equipment disabled but intact;and countermeasures that mask the approach of our nearby ground-attack aircraft.*
These aircraft will be retired from service in 2019 and the Squadron will be deactivated in 2017 as the Marines move to the MAGTF-EW,a multi-platform concept involving deploying the ALQ-231 Intrepid Tiger (IT-II) airborne EW pods in several Marine Corps aviation platforms such as the AV-8B Harrier II jump jets and F/A-18 Hornet combat aircraft,as well as the UH-1Y Venom helicopter;and various unmanned aerial vehicles.The Marines will also be using ground-based EW nodes;and cyber capabilities to provide commanders with an organic and persistent EW capability for every MAGTF,large or small,spokesperson Captain Sarah Burns told IHS Jane's.*
At the same time,President Barack Obama has authorised an increase in the US troop level in Iraq from 3870 to 4087.The new troops,along with 8 Apache attack helicopters,will assist Iraqi Security Forces with the Battle of Mosul,an ISIL stronghold in the north of the country.Mostly US Army Green Beret Special Operations Forces,the troops will move out of headquarters and into the brigade and battalion levels as advisors and trainers closer to the front lines;security forces to protect the advisors;and Apache maintainers.The US will also send additional HIMARS artillery rocket systems to Iraq;and 415 million dollars to assist the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.*
Northrop Grumman (NOC)

AV-8B Still a Marine Corps Mainstay

With the F-35B Lightning II program trundling along,the US Marine Corps is very glad it has the AV-8B Harrier II jump jet to rely on for fire support,close air support and interdiction missions.The Harrier is to be in service till 2030.
Several upgrades over the years have kept the Harriers in fighting trim,such as equipping 74 of them for night operations with a Forward-Looking Infrared senso;,APG -65 radar;and night-vision-goggle-compatible cockpit.
The Lintening targeting pod gave the aircraft a video downlink capability for improved close air support;time-sensitive targeting;and intelligence,search and rescue.The latest upgrade,6.0 Block,provides a new bomb rack;countermeasure dispensing system;and advanced radar software.
In their essential role with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force,these short-takeoff,vertical-landing warplanes offer the fastest response time of any fixed-wing aircraft.From both austere forward operating bases and amphibious assault ships,the AV-8B has been critical to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,as it was to Operations Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn and Operations Oddysey Dawn/Unified Protector in Libya.
The Marines had 117 of the Harrier jump jets as of late 2012.

Marines Evolve Their Australian Presence

The US Marine Corps has established a presence in Australia.There are currently 250 Marines based there.General Joseph F. Dunford,Jr,Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps,said their presence has been a reinforcement of our already strong partnership with the Australians.They are a key ally,a trusted partner,and we've fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Australia has some great training ranges in the north.Our current teaming effort involves combined training,enhancing our teamwork and building our partnership.
This includes training  and exercising with other nearby nations.We hope to gradually deepen our partnership at a pace both nations are comfortable with.While our training force today is infantry-centric,the desired end state is a Marine Air Ground Task Force,or MAGTF,that includes all elements-ground,air,logisitcs-that flows through this training environment on a rotational basis,General Dunford told Seapower magazine.
When constituted,the MAGTF will bring the total number of Marines in Australia up to 2500.General Dunford is now being considered by the US Senate for the post of commander of International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan,or ISAF.