MELBOURNE, VIC, AUSTRALIA -- Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) arrived for a port visit in Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 28, 2017.

The Melbourne port visit, the first for a U.S. Navy vessel since 2008 according to the U.S. Department of State, gives Marines and Sailors with the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group a chance to experience Australian culture and connect with the Melburnians. Several U.S. Department of State organized community relations events are scheduled throughout the visit to allow the Marines and Sailors of both the 31st MEU and BHR ESG to engage with the Melbourne community.

The 31st MEU partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the amphibious component of the BHR ESG, which spent the past month in the Shoalwater Bay area taking part in the multi-national Exercise Talisman Saber 17, and the 31st MEU’s and BHR ESG’s Amphibious Integration Training and Certification Exercise.

After departing Melbourne, the 31st MEU will continue its regularly scheduled patrol, providing security and maintaining stability within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.