- Details
- Hits: 916
Queensland, Australia. (August 22, 2022): In this photo by Corporal Cedar Barnes, U.S. Marine Corporal Luc Cogger, a radio operator with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and Sergeant Terrance Jones, a joint terminal attack controller, guide an MV-22 Osprey assigned to Marine Rotational Force Darwin to a safe landing during mass casualty event exercises at Australia’s Shoalwater Bay Training Area. U.S. Marines are returning to six-month deployments to the land down under after a three-year hiatus due to COVID 19 restrictions.
Queensland, Australia. (August 22, 2022): Always the “tip of the spear”, the U.S. Marines are returning to Australia in force as America and her allies gear up to confront a growing menace from China. Over 2,200 Marines deployed from Camp Pendleton, California along with a detachment of soldiers from the U.S. Army Pacific to the Australian port city of Darwin recently to begin a six-month deployment.
The Marines will train with Australian troops and other friendly forces to respond to crises, both military and humanitarian, in the Indo-Pacific region. This is the eleventh deployment of America’s finest since 2012 and represents a continued commitment to America’s defense umbrella for the region. Elements of the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division began arriving this week restarting a six-month rotation of forces interrupted in recent years by COVID-19.
Read more: FAMOUS “FIGHTING FIFTH” MARINES TRAINING DOWN UNDER
- Details
- Hits: 615
Melbourne, Australia. (August 26, 2022): In this photo by Technical Sergeant Dylan Nuckolls, two U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, fly a bomber task force mission alongside two Royal Australian Air Force F-35 Lightning II bombers during Koolendong 22, a precursor to the restart of Pitch Black, a 16-nation air combat exercise over Australia Northern Territories that is expected to run through September, 2022.
Melbourne, Australia. (August 26, 2022): Described as the “premier multinational air combat exercise”, the skies over Australia’s Northern Territory will be flooded with the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft as 16 nations participate in Exercise Pitch Black.
Naturally, America’s advanced technology will be on full display as elements of the U.S. Air Force join with allied nations to prepare for a potential conflict with an increasingly confrontational China.The American 509th Bomb Wing, based in Missouri, are flying the Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers while the U. S. Marines contribute 12 F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing Craft drawn from squadrons based in Japan.
Speaking of the Japanese, they along with pilots from the German Luftwaffe and South Korea will make their debut in these biennial exercises which are returning after a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19. During three weeks of flight missions, pilots will face realistic, simulated air combat situations designed to test force integration and tactics.
The 509th Bomb Wing threw the first punch after terrorists attacked New York and Washington on 911 being the first to penetrate Afghan air space in October 2001, flying round trip missions from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, logging combat missions of over 30 hours, the longest on record.
- Details
- Hits: 549
Pacific Ocean. (August 24, 2024): In this photo by Royal Australian Navy Seaman Mathew Lyall, a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter lands aboard the Australian Helicopter Land Dock Ship the HMAS Canberra during flight operations as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises. Australian/Chinese relations hit a new low recently over a Defense Technology Agreement with America and Britain to provide nuclear powered submarine technology to Australia
Perth, Australia. (August 19, 2022): There are few things worse than a bad break up, especially when it involves world superpowers. The recent signing of a Defense Technology Agreement with Britain and America to give Australia nuclear submarines and China’s visceral reaction represent a new low in relations between the two nations. The brouhaha over submarines follows a series of tit for tat moves that have deteriorated relations to a dangerous level.
Australia is rightfully concerned about China’s military build up in its back yard and the increasingly belligerent attitude of the Chinese on trade and economic matters. Australia recently passed a law forbidding “covert political activity by a foreign power” to counter illicit Chinese efforts to influence Australian politics. China responded by imposing punishing sanctions on Australian coal, wine, wheat, and other agricultural products. Not to be outdone, the Australians banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei from operating within its borders.
Read more: A Bad Break Up… AUSTRALIAN-CHINESE RELATIONS HIT A NEW LOW
- Details
- Hits: 498
Pacific Ocean. (August 22, 2012): In this U.S. Navy photo, the decommissioned frigate USS Rodney M. Davis is fired upon and sunk during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises in the Southwest Pacific. These sinking exercises help member nations gain proficiency in tactics, targeting, and live firing against surface targets at sea. Australians are alarmed at a recent cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands that they fear could lead to Chinese military bases just 1,200 miles of their coast.
Canberra, Australia. (August 22, 2022): Australians, one of America’s oldest allies, are increasingly alarmed at aggressive moves by China in the Taiwan Strait that threatens their national security. In a recently released annual survey by the Lowly Institute, a highly respected Australian Research organization, 46% of respondents say China is a growing threat to their security.
Recent events, including China’s overreaction to visits by U.S. dignitaries to Taiwan, have clearly rattled Australians whose sense of security has dropped dramatically from 70% in 2016 down to 53% in 2022, a 17-point drop in six years. Along with a sense of insecurity, Australians are worried about a potential U.S. conflict with China over Taiwan, with 64% saying such a skirmish between superpowers poses a critical threat to world order according to the Lowly Institute’s assessment.
The Aussies have reasons to be concerned.
- Details
- Hits: 575
Wonju Air Base, South Korea. (August 21, 2022): In this photo by South Korean Air Force Master Sergeant Hyung Kwon, a Republic of Korea KA-1 Woongbi, a locally built flight trainer, flies alongside two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts assigned to the American 25th Fighter Squadron participating in Buddy Squadron 22 exercises held here recently. The Republic of Korea Air Force trains with American pilots regularly to develop trust, introduce new tactics, and improve readiness.
Wonju Air Base, South Korea. (August 21, 2022): Japan and North Korea, traditional enemies, continue to face off in the South China Sea in a hair-trigger conflict that could endanger the entire world. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, in defiance of the international community, continues to develop and test nuclear weapons many of which he has test fired at Japan.
The provocations have been many.
Since 2017, North Korea has shown a willingness to test its high-powered missiles by firing them into Japanese waters, rattling nerves from Tokyo to Washington. One such missile flew over the Japanese city of Hokkaido, home to thousands of American Marines, and another in September landed within 200 nautical miles of northwestern Japan. Despite international sanctions, North Korea continues to present a real and imminent threat to free nations in the Indo-Pacific that must be countered by allied firepower.
- Details
- Hits: 851
Okinawa, Japan. (August 10, 2022): In this photo by Corporal Christopher Lape, U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Cristobal Denaoseguera, an infantry Marine with Battalion Landing Team 2/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, holds a defensive position during a helicopter raid exercise on le Shima, Okinawa. During these exercises, Marines train with Japanese Defense Forces to secure an objective and to create forward arming and refueling points. The 31st MEU operates aboard the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group of the U.S. 7th Fleet.
Okinawa, Japan. (August 10, 2022): The Marines have landed… in Japan. That’s right, Japan. What many Americans may not realize it that the U.S. still maintains a massive military presence on the Japanese islands that are strategically vital to the defense of the Indo-Pacific. In fact, Japan hosts over 50,000 American servicemembers and their families at 23 bases, most located on the island of Okinawa. The troops serve under a bilateral defense agreement with the Japanese Defense Forces to defend against neighborhood bullies like Russia and China.
For its part, the Japanese Defense Force boasts more than 900 warplanes, 48 destroyers, and 20 submarines as part of a recent arms buildup that includes the purchase of 147 F-35 Stealth fighters. This purchase gives Japan a larger stealth fighter fleet than Britain, Germany, and Italy. To further underscore their commitment to the alliance, Japan is now retrofitting two aircraft carriers, the Izumo and Kaga, which will be their first new flat tops since the end of World War II.
- UNSUNG HEROES; NAVAL SUPPLY SHIPS CRITICAL TO VICTORY
- DEFENDING THE INDO-PACIFIC… U.S. AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATORS TRAINING IN JAPAN
- JAPAN; THE “LITTLE KNOWN” MILITARY SUPERPOWER
- MONTANA MILITARY COMMUNITY STUNG HARD
- YOU’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN… CADETS CLIMB THEIR FIRST MOUNTAIN
- AIR FORCE “BRAT” DOES GOOD… SOT CONGRATULATES MARINE GENERAL LANGLEY