15 March 2023 13th MEU Conducts Expeditionary Strike Force Operations in the South China Sea South China Sea -- The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group conducted Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF) operations with the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea. ESF operations combines the ARG/MEU amphibious capabilities with the naval combat power...
15 March 2023 Readout of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Dr. William LaPlante's meeting with the Republic of Korea’s Minister of Defense, Acquisition Program Administration, Mr. Eom Dong-hwan WASHINGTON -- Department of Defense Spokesman Jeff Jurgensen provided the following readout:The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Dr. William LaPlante, welcomed Mr. Eom Dong-hwan, the Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of the Republic of Korea...
15 March 2023 USS Makin Island Participates in Cobra Gold 2023 THAILAND -- Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) and embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) finished operation Cobra Gold 2023 while ported in Thailand, March 10.During the exercise, Makin Island, John P. Murtha and 13th MEU,...
14 March 2023 Agile Reaper 23-1 wraps up a successful ACE Exercise in Guam and Tinian ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam – Exercise Agile Reaper 23-1, an Agile Combat Employment exercise that took place on Guam and Tinian, came to a close with a constructive and positive conclusion mid-March, 2023...
14 March 2023 Marine Littoral Regiment Concludes Historic Exercise, Set to Join Stand-in Forces: ‘From This Point Forward, We Are Integrating Them into Our Operations’ CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan -- MLR-TE marked the first field training exercise featuring a MLR with all of its subordinate battalions integrated into a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) operating as a Stand-in-Force (SiF).The 3d Marine Division deployed its forward command element from Okinawa,...
14 March 2023 Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on AUKUS Optimal Pathway Announcement WASHINGTON -- Today, I was honored to join President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Albanese, and U.K. Prime Minister Sunak as they announced the AUKUS Optimal Pathway, a commitments-based, phased plan for Australia to acquire conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines. This is the next step...
14 March 2023 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary at Camp Zama CAMP ZAMA, Japan -- The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) celebrated its 10-year anniversary of the establishment of a JGSDF camp at Camp Zama with a ceremony and reception held here March 4.The event, hosted by Col. Kenji Honda, commander of the 4th Engineer Group and JGSDF Camp Zama, began...
14 March 2023 Public Advisory: U.S. Coast Guard Invites Public in Saipan to View Coast Guard Helicopter, Meet the Crew SANTA RITA, Guam -- A U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point and crew are scheduled to hold a search and rescue demonstration and static display in Saipan on March 18 and 19, 2023.Residents can expect to see and hear the aircraft in the Saipan area...
14 March 2023 U.S. Participating in Second IPEF Negotiating Round in Indonesia JAKARTA , U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Indonesia -- A U.S. interagency delegation is in Bali, Indonesia for the second negotiating round of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which will take place March 13-19, 2023.The Bali IPEF negotiating round is being hosted by...
13 March 2023 USINDOPACOM Statement on DPRK Missile Launches We are aware of the ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launches, and the recent cruise launches, highlight the...