 1.One of 13 Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) pre-located to store and deliver everything U.S. Marines would need to conduct combat operations. As in each MPF squadron, ships of MPSRON Three can sustain a Marine Air Ground Task Force of up to 17,000 personnel in combat for up to 30 days. The MV Pfc. DeWayne T. Williams is prepositioned in Guam and Saipan. 2. The bridge of the MV Pfc. DeWayne T. Williams. 3. Besides the holds, cargo can be cocooned on deck as shown here on the MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett. 4. An MPS carries tanks, ammunition, engines, spare parts, food, fuel, and any other supplies needed for Marine operations. Cargo is stored in environmentally-controlled holds and containers for protection. 5. An MPS carries tanks, ammunition, engines, spare parts, food, fuel, and any other supplies needed for Marine operations. Cargo is stored in environmentally-controlled holds and containers for protection. 6. An MPS carries tanks, ammunition, engines, spare parts, food, fuel, and any other supplies needed for Marine operations. Cargo is stored in environmentally-controlled holds and containers for protection. 7. An MPS carries tanks, ammunition, engines, spare parts, food, fuel, and any other supplies needed for Marine operations. Cargo is stored in environmentally-controlled holds and containers for protection. 8. If no port facilities are available, an MPS can discharge all cargo from offshore in five days, using its own small water craft, a side-loading warping tug, and causeway sections. Here, a causeway ferries Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) to shore. |
 9. An MPS can offload all of its cargo in three days, using a huge roll-on/roll-off stern ramp. Here the MV Sgt. William R. Button unloads U.S. Marine heavy equipment and vehicles for employment in exercise FOAL EAGLE 98. 10. The powerful crane of a side-loading warping tug. 11. The stern ramp can also launch AAVs directly into the sea. 12. THE MPS vessels do not stay in one place. They move around and take part in exercises to constantly test the system. Here, an MPS offloads in Pattaya, Thailand for an exercise. 13. MPS effectiveness is demonstrated when U.S. Marines successfully conduct their mission, as in exercise COBRA GOLD 98 when the MV 1st Lt. Jack Lummus and MV 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez flawlessly offloaded AAVs and support equipment, transferred fuel, and conducted crane operations from ship-to-ship and ship-to-pier. |
 1. Fourteen chiefs or vice chiefs of defense forces in the Asia-Pacific region attend a conference hosted by the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC). L to R: Lt. Gen. Bey Soo Khiang (Singapore), Gen. Mongkon Ampornpisit (Thailand), Brig. Gen. Epeli G. Ganilau (Fiji), Gen. Henry H. Shelton (U.S.), Adm. Joseph W. Prueher (then USCINCPAC - host), Col. Fetu'utolu Tupou (Tonga), Lt. Gen. Anthony L. Birks (New Zealand), Brig. Mohamed Zahir (Maldives). Back row: Lt. Gen. Sakamaki Takao (Japan), Adm. Christopher Barrie (Australia), Maj. Gen. Pengiran Dato' Seri Paduka Haji Abidin bin Pengiran Ahmad (Brunei), Maj. Gen. Dashzeveg (Mongolia), Gen. Joselin B. Nazareno, (Philippines), Vice Adm. Lee Ji-Doo (Korea), and Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi (Indonesia). 2. The first-ever Chiefs of Defense Conference was designed to increase high-level dialogue and foster regional military-to-military cooperation. 3. Gen. Mongkon Ampornpisit, Supreme Commander, Royal Thai Armed Forces, speaks on regional military cooperation in Southeast Asia. |
 4. Attendees enter the conference. L to R: Gen. Joselin B. Nazareno, Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines; Adm. Christopher A. Barrie, Chief of Australia Defence Forces (rear); and Brig. Mohamed Zahir, Chief of Maldives National Security Service. 5. Attendees enter the conference: L to R: Col. Fetu'utolu Tupou, Commander, Tonga Defence Services; Brig. Gen. Epeli G. Ganilau, Commander, Republic of Fiji Military Forces; and Maj. Gen. Dashzeveg, Chief of the General Staff, Mongolian Forces. 6. Attendees during a conference break. L to R: Lt. Gen. Bey Soo Khiang, Chief of Defence Force, Singapore; Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Development Group of Hong Kong, a guest speaker; and Lt. Gen. Anthony L. Birks, Chief of New Zealand Defence Force. |
 1. U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles fly in formation in the expansive Alaskan airspace during exercise Cooperative COPE THUNDER. 2. Over 1,200 airmen from Australia, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States participated in the largest air combat exercise in the Pacific. In addition, representatives (some shown here) from Brunei, China, Malaysia, and Thailand observed the training areas and air maneuvers. 3. Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18s from Australia line up on the ramp at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. |
 4. The RAF brought 10 fighters, two C-130s, an air refueling tanker, and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft (with crew shown here). 5. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) brought 60 pilots and other personnel to train and fly in the superb airspace available in Alaska. One of the two C-130s flown by the JASDF to Alaska to participate. 6. An observer from the Chinese People's Liberation Army-Air Force at Cooperative COPE THUNDER. |
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