According to a senior US Marine general, the Pentagon will send another three-ship Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the Asia Pacific as early as October 2018.
Head of US Marine Corps Forces Command Lieutenant General John Wissler said the goal is to augment the Marines that currently deploy to the Marine Rotational Force - Darwin (MRF-D) on six month rotations. About 1,250 Marines are currently stationed in Darwin but as part of the Force Posture Review US and Australian officials hope to boost that number to 2,500 by 2020.
Accroding to LTGEN Wissler, adding another MEU will mean another 4,000 sailors and Marines will be rotating through the South Pacific.
The Japan-based 31st MEU currently conducts two 90-day patrols in the Pacific each year: one in spring and another in autumn. The Marines and sailors also respond to humanitarian crises in the region throughout the year. The new arrangement would allow that unit to focus on Northeastern Asia while the new ARG (Amphibious Ready Group)/MEU conducted two 90-day patrols in the South Pacific.
The Marine Corps Times reported it was unclear which ships would make up the ARG, but former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jon Greenert has said the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) is a “prime candidate” to visit Australia as part of such a group.
They will go into Darwin … and conduct on-load and off-load,” Greenert told Navy Times in March 2015.
While the Marines train in Australia, the ships in the ARG can operate and conduct exercises in the Southeast Asia region, Greenert said.
According to ADM Greenert, the amount of time Marines can train in Australia is limited by the monsoon season from November to March, during with most of the training centre in Darwin is swamped.
"With the way the rainy season works, it is only good to operate around there about six months out of the year," ADM Greenert said. "In fact, when we were in Australia, we chose the rainy period. We [now] know what they mean."
The bad weather also makes it difficult for ships like USS America to offload equipment in Darwin’s port, which will need to be expanded to accommodate an amphibious assault ship and two dock landing ships.