Staff Reports
On Oct. 24, 2025, U.S. Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa staged a dramatic elephant walk — lining up aircraft and vehicles on the runway to show combat power and readiness. The short but unmistakable display was captured in official Marine Corps video and photos released this month, a clear reminder that our forward-deployed forces are training and prepared. This was not a photo op; it was a deliberate demonstration that America still has the will and the hardware to deter aggression in the Pacific.
An elephant walk is a blunt, effective practice: jets and support vehicles taxi in tight formation, proving that sorties can be generated rapidly under pressure. The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing staged the exercise to test logistics, coordination, and the nerves of any adversary watching. It’s the kind of gritty, practical training our troops need — not the empty diversity seminars some bureaucrats prefer.
This Marine demonstration follows other high-profile shows of force in the region, including a massive elephant walk at Kadena Air Base earlier in the year that put more than 50 aircraft on the ramp and involved Air Force, Navy, and Marine assets working together. Those coordinated displays — including stealth fighters, electronic attack planes, helicopters, and air defenses — send a single clear message: the United States and its allies are not passive spectators. The strategic theater around Taiwan and the South China Sea is heating up, and these exercises are sensible, measured deterrence.
Patriots should applaud, while the political class on the left should stop wringing its hands and start funding the tools that keep America safe. Instead of endless apologies and pullbacks, we need robust support for forward bases and rapid-reaction units so our Marines and aviators can do their jobs. Weakness invites aggression; strength preserves peace, and these Marines are doing the work Washington too often neglects.
There’s a clear strategic logic to keeping modern fighters and squadrons in-theater — recent deployments of F-35B squadrons and other assets to Japan show the Pentagon is positioning top-tier capabilities where they matter most. Those deployments are not theatrical; they are a response to Beijing’s accelerating military buildup and frequent pressure on neighbors. If our leaders want real deterrence, they must back these deployments with sustained funding and political support, not partisan excuses.
At the same time, America must manage the political complexities of hosting forces overseas — there have been long-running plans to rebalance some Marine presence between Okinawa and Guam to address local concerns while keeping readiness intact. Those plans should not be used as cover for hollowing out our posture in the Pacific; relocations must enhance, not diminish, combat capability. The goal is simple: protect our people, protect our allies, and preserve a free Indo-Pacific.
Watching Marines taxi down the runway in formation should make every American proud and every would-be adversary wary. These are the men and women who stand between freedom and coercion in a strategically vital region, and they deserve not only our gratitude but our political backbone. Congress and the White House must stop playing defense at home and start giving our troops the resources and clear mandates they need to deter threats and keep America first.
