After conducting training and humanitarian efforts throughout the Philippine archipelago last week, U.S. Marines are deploying across the region for exercises in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia, a forward-deployed contingent of U.S. Marines composed of a command element from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and supplemented by personnel from the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group and 1st Marine Division, arrived in the Philippines earlier this month to kick off the 8th iteration of KAMANDAG.
Col. Stuart Glenn, the commanding officer of MRF-SEA, highlighted KAMANDAG’s activities and the number of countries participating in or observing this year’s iteration as a “testament” to how Philippine Marines have developed the exercise over the years.
“It’s a testament to the Philippine Marine Corps for putting on a high-quality exercise that has attracted these like-minded countries. I used the analogy the other day from the old movie Field of Dreams, they said if you build it they will come. So I think the Filipinos have built a pretty robust, high-quality amphibious exercise focusing on Marine maritime activity and you can see that a lot of partner and allied nations have come to participate,” Glenn told USNI News in a phone interview.
The week-long exercise saw the Marines train with their Philippine, Japanese, South Korean, Australian and British allies from Northern Luzon to Palawan. Notable activities included a coastal defense exercise on a beach facing the South China Sea and a humanitarian assistance and disaster response activity led by Japanese and Philippine forces.
For Glenn, who was also present during Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024, the most impressive aspect of this year’s KAMANDAG was the combined command and control abilities of U.S. and Philippine Marines. This coordination allowed for the multinational exercise to conduct complex maneuvers and logistical operations. While Glenn acknowledged that these activities were not as exciting as live-fire or coastal defense exercises, he stressed that these operations reflected a “professional, well-organized command and control.”
“Some of it is just not very compelling, you like to see militaries do military things. But getting in the equipment from the U.S. into the Philippines, getting in equipment from Japan here, that is not easy. Just the logistics piece is not easy, it takes a professional, well-organized command and control to do that and the Filipinos were able to do that at scale,” Glenn said.
Despite the disparities in force size, capabilities and tactics between the two marine corps, Glenn commended his Philippine counterparts.
“They’re a resilient force,” he told USNI News. “They do the absolute very best with what they have, and they have an extremely positive attitude about it. Another thing is that they’re extremely adaptable.”
Glenn also highlighted the similarities in the outlook of the U.S. and Filipino Marines as the two services modernize.
“The U.S. Marine Corps has shifted through our force design to focus more on naval campaigning and control of key maritime domain, the Philippine Marine Corps is doing the same. They have fought a counterinsurgency for a long time in southern part of their country, and they are shifting their focus as well to develop some capabilities that allows them to defend their sovereignty,” said Glenn.
Amid tensions with China in the South China Sea, the Philippine Marine Corps began to shift from its internal operations in Mindanao to maritime disputes in the country’s exclusive economic zone. Called the West Philippine Sea by Manila, this area has seen numerous incidents with Chinese vessels. In response to a renewed call for territorial defense amid these tensions, Philippine Marines have created new littoral and coastal defense units.
For U.S. Marines, directly informing their own Force Design 2030 experimentation are exercises across the region and MRF-SEA’s deployment. This exercise marked the beginning of their six-month-long presence in the region, which will see the Marines train with partners and inform what capabilities and missions the Stand-in Forces concept would require in the Indo-Pacific.
“What do we need it to do? Because a tale as old in time in warfighting is allocating resources appropriately. We have a limited number of resources, from I MEF or a Marine Corps perspective,” Glenn said.
“So what are the right capabilities to put on a Stand-in Force to accomplish its mission? Do you want a gold standard, full-sized MAGTF, maybe not. Maybe you just want the right capability at the right time, it’s something that we’re working through here with this iteration of MRF-SEA to right-size so that it is a good steward of I MEF resources and is also able to accomplish the missions it’s assigned.”
In future iterations of KAMANDAG, and rotational patrols, Glenn wants to see Stand-in Forces like MRF-SEA enhance and refine coordination with afloat forces. Using the example of MRF-SEA and the 15th MEU’s cooperation in the Philippines, specifically during Typhoon Krathon relief efforts, Glenn pointed to the “synergy” that these two formations can bring if properly integrated. “I think that is something we should be deliberate about in exercising for next year’s KAMANDAG,” he said.
Among the many challenges, Glenn mentioned was the transportation and maneuvering of MRF-SEA, an issue that the service is looking to solve through the future Medium Landing Ship and recent experimentation with stern landing vessels. However, until those capabilities come online, Stand-in Forces like MRF-SEA have to get creative.
While MRF-SEA drew on the USS Boxer (LHD-4) during KAMANDAG for aviation and amphibious craft, the Wasp-class landing helicopter dock departed following the conclusion of the exercise in Palawan. According to Glenn, the Marines will use both contracted civilian and military assets to travel across the region.
“Throughout our patrol, we’re going to use all forms of transportation. So for this particular one, it’s going to be air and a ferry, a commercially procured ship, to get us from Batam Island to Singkep Island. We’re going to continue to work through [U.S. Military Sealift Command] shipping, through contracted shipping and in the air, both military and contracted,” said Glenn.
The bulk of MRF-SEA will head to Indonesia to participate in Keris Marine Exercise 2024, where they will join a reinforced rifle company from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines for a major live-fire exercise. Meanwhile, a smaller contingent bound for Malaysia departed the Philippines over the weekend to participate in a Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise, a maritime security-focused activity.