DARWIN, Australia -- Rear Admiral Pamela Miller, Command Surgeon of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Major General Michael Place, Commanding General of the 18th Medical Command, visited the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) and the Australian First Brigade on April 27.

“There are lots of opportunities for MRF-D to get after medical initiatives alongside our ADF allies,” said Rear Admiral Miller, who leads medical operations and planning for the United States’ largest combatant command. “We have to maintain a mobile medical capability and be creative with our support to the force.”

Medical planning and tactical casualty care are just small parts of a greater logistical challenge that MRF-D faces in the Indo-Pacific. Planning for exercises across the Australian continent and potential crisis response operations forces MRF-D’s logistics leaders to create new solutions to longer ranges and more austere environments. Utilizing combined and joint capabilities, including medical assets, along with existing civilian entities, will prove critical to successful response efforts in the region.

“When we identify options for medical care during expeditionary advanced base operations we must consider combinations of military and civilian support,” said Lieutenant Junior Grade Larenzo Lott, the lead medical planner for MRF-D 22. “This is a complex problem not just for medical care, but for all of logistics, and MRF-D is exploring every possibility available.”

For questions regarding this story, please contact the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin media inquiry email address at MRFDMedia@usmc.mil. Imagery from this rotation and previous can be found at dvidshub.net/unit/MRF-D.