Philippines welcomes US MRF-SEA deployment

MANILA, Philippines — United States Marines and sailors from the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) are deploying to the Philippines for the sixth iteration of the Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA).

The US Pacific Command said each rotation builds on the relationships and lessons of the force before it, an approach MRF-SEA calls “presence with purpose.”

The US Pacific Command said the deployment marks the second MRF-SEA rotation, building on months of bilateral training and integration between US and Philippine forces, focused on the Philippines to continue a persistent rotational Marine Corps presence designed to strengthen combined readiness and the alliance.

Operating at the invitation of the Philippine government, MRF-SEA serves as I MEF’s forward command element in the Philippines. Marines and sailors work alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Marine Corps while providing command and control for Marine Corps forces training throughout the archipelago.

“Our goal was never simply to be present in the Philippines,” said Col. Robert Bunn, commanding officer of the outgoing MRF-SEA rotation.

“Presence has to have purpose. Every exercise, planning session and repetition alongside our Philippine Allies was an opportunity to become more interoperable, responsive and capable together, progressively getting better with each event,” Bunn said.

He added the next rotation now has the opportunity to take those lessons and relationships to move the alliance another step forward.

The incoming rotation will continue that progression through the Archipelagic Coastal Defense Continuum and Exercise Balikatan 27.