Schofield Barracks Based News Today

Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division have kicked off the 2023 rotation for the Hawaii portion of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, a series of training ranges in Hawaii, Alaska and around the Pacific. It's the third iteration of the training, which certifies Army brigades for deployment.

The MQ-9A Reapers replace the RQ-21A Blackjack drones that the Marines previously operated.

Marines in Kaneohe are now officially cleared to operate their new drones as the service reorganizes its forces for Pacific operations.

Col. John Lehane, who took command of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment at a Thursday morning ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, has been getting lots of phone calls since taking over the Kaneohe-­based unit.

The 3rd MLR is meant to serve as a blueprint for an ambitious Marine Corps plan to restructure its entire force amid boiling geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China.

The soldiers were methodical as they went through their gear and prepared to venture into the jungle Tuesday. They had just arrived by helicopter at the Army’s jungle warfare school in Wahiawa — known as the Lightning Academy — after conducting a beach landing by boat and launching a simulated raid at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows.

The Pentagon has been shifting its attention to the Pacific amid tensions with China, and soldiers are training for the potential of a very different sort of war.

For members of the 2nd Ranger Battalions Bravo Company out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, training in Hawaii proved to be a humbling experience.