ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR BASE DARWIN, Australia -- More than 250 Marines and Sailors from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, deployed here recently for Southern Frontier 2003.
Elements of Marine Aircraft Group 12, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadrons 242 and 224 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 will take part in the three-month training evolution.
The exercise will primarily focus on air-to-ground core competency training and combined training with Australian Defence Force units. It will also be conducted in three phases with the VMFA(AW)-242 Bats on deck for the first 30-day cycle.
The Bats, now in their 10th month of a normal six-month Unit Deployment Program aboard MCAS Iwakuni, come equipped with 11 F/A-18D Hornets. The squadron will utilize the Delamere Range Facility in Australia's Northern Territory to employ ordnance such as nonexplosive practice and high explosive bombs, laser-guided munitions, forward-fired rockets, 20 mm ammunitions and conduct close-air support, air interdiction, strikes and night operations.
According to Capt. Neal B. Wynn, VMFA(AW)-242 weapon systems operator, this exercise will afford the Bats the opportunity to work on squadron-level competency training that can?t be done in Japan.
"We have limited opportunities to practice air-to-ground tactics in Japan because they have no ranges available to us," said F/A-18D pilot Capt. Steve McClune, which makes this training "key to maintaining the proficiency level of our air crew."
Not only does this exercise provide the squadrons with rare and valuable training opportunities while deployed to the Western Pacific region, but Lt. Col. Douglas S. Kurth, Southern Frontier 2003 detachment officer-in-charge, said it also gives the Marines a chance to strengthen the relationship between U.S. and Australian forces.
"This is a great opportunity for us to learn each other's tactics while working in a combined environment. It is important that we train together before we are put in a real-world situation," he added.
Kurth said when VMFA(AW)-242 heads back to Iwakuni in mid-July, he hopes the Marines are more focused and better prepared to conduct their mission, know more about how their Australian counterparts operate and most importantly have enjoyed all Australia has to offer.
"The squadron has done incredibly well, and the Marines continue to exceed our expectations," he added. "I hope they enjoy a much needed break."