Up to 2,500 US Marines will be stationed in Australia by 2017 under a new agreement announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US president Barack Obama.
Ms Gillard confirmed the deployment during a joint press conference with Mr Obama only hours after he touched down in Canberra on his whirlwind visit.
She says 200 to 250 Marines will be stationed in Darwin for training from next year, with numbers building up to 2,500 over the next five years.
Read the full story at the ABC