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| US Marines exit an Osprey at the Bradshaw Field Training Area |
By GINA HARKINS
The Australian government will begin a multi-million dollar construction project this month at two military facilities to accommodate future rotations of up to 2,500 US Marines.
Australia’s defense department announced Friday that it awarded $11 million for new facilities at the Australian army’s Robertson Barracks and the Royal Australian Air Force Base in Darwin, according to a news release. The project will ensure “appropriate living and working accommodation is available for the US Marine Corps.”
The Corps’ presence in Australia’s Northern Territory is expected to increase dramatically next year when, starting in the spring, about 1,200 Marines arrive for six months of training in the region. The last two rotations comprised about 200 Marines. By 2016, the U.S. expects to deploy a full Marine air-ground task force numbering 2,500 personnel, officials have said.
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