The biggest Marine rotation to deploy to Australia returned to California on Monday after spending six months Down Under, paving the way to base a full Marine air-ground task force there in the future.

Members of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, returned to Camp Pendleton, California, after training with the Aussies since April. They deployed with members of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24. The roughly 1,250 Marines were the first to deploy to Australia with an air combat element that included four CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters.

The deployment marked the second phase of rotations to Australia. Marines first began deploying company-sized units in 2012, and the Corps plans to send 2,500 Marines — a full Marine air-ground task force — to Darwin in 2016 as the third phase.

"The real takeaway is that 1/5 proves what's possible" said Maj. Nathan Fleischaker, the operations officer for Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, shortly after he returned to Camp Pendleton.

The six months in Australia required more integrated and complex levels of coordination with the different assets, but it also meant they were capable of doing more than Marines had done there before, he said. More people meant bigger training exercises. The capstone training event, Exercise Koolendong, involved the 1,250 Marines from MRF-Darwin, plus 320 Australian troops, which was significantly larger than last year's exercise.

Lt. Col. Keven Matthews, 1/5's commanding officer, said his infantry Marines worked closely with the aviators from HMH-463. The helicopters worked exclusively with the ground combat element, he said, so they had their undivided attention and the two assets were involved in planning and operations more than usual.

The increase in the number of Marines Down Under caused minor challenges, Matthews said. The Marines had to work closely with the Australian forces to share base facilities like fitness centers and chow halls, he said. Since the Aussies operate similarly to U.S. forces, he said it made working on those challenges easy.

Both Australian civilians and service members welcomed Marines both as war fighters and as temporary neighbors, he said. They all worked well together professionally and in the community, he said.

"Australians in the Northern Territory really love the Marine Corps," he said. "They support our presence."

Marines worked with Aboriginal Australian children, who are indigenous to the continent, which won admiration and appreciation from their teachers. News of their volunteerism made its way to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who praised the Marines with MRF-Darwin during a visit to Camp Pendleton this summer.

The Defense Department is gradually building up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Marine rotations to Australia. The next unit tapped to head to Australia has not been publicly named, but Marine Corps officials typically make that announcement around early December.

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