US sends 1,000 Marines to Darwin, in a largest deployment since WWII

CANBERRA - More than 1,000 US Marines arrived in Darwin on Tuesday as part of a rotation of forces to be stationed in northern Australia.

The 1,250 troops who arrived in the Northern Territory will soon be joined by 13 aircraft - four tilt-rotor Osprey helicopters, five Super Cobra helicopters and four Huey helicopters - in one of the largest deployments of US forces to Australia since World War II.

Commanding Officer of Marine Rotational Force Darwin, Lieutenant Colonel Brian S. Middleton told journalists on Tuesday that "the aviation combat element is our most robust deployment to Darwin".