With high-tech weapons, reorganized units and deeper integration with the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the U.S. Marine Corps¡¯ forward-deployed expeditionary force in Japan is shifting how it postures and equips its forces to respond to the new security challenges emerging across the Indo-Pacific, according to the force¡¯s commander.
¡°We are embedding new capabilities and procedures into our daily operations and proving them in large-scale exercises focused on defending key maritime terrain and responding to humanitarian crises,¡± III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) chief Lt. Gen. Roger Turner told The Japan Times in an interview.
The goal, he said, is to transform the Okinawa-headquartered force into one that can project power not just in the traditional sense ¡ª from sea to land ¡ª but also in the air, space and cyberspace.
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