Operation Allies Welcome

U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Matthew Good, Deputy Commander, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, Marine Forces Command, Marine Forces Northern Command, inquires Marines from Fox Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve about High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) training during exercise Arctic Edge 2024, at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Feb. 22, 2024. In 1996, Lockheed Martin developed the first HIMARS. After years of testing and development, in 2005 the Marine Corps began integrating them into units for training exercises. Two years later, in 2007, Fox Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, became the first unit to use HIMARS in combat. Arctic Edge 2024 (AE24) is a U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise demonstrating the U.S. military’s capabilities in extreme cold weather, joint force readiness, and U.S. military commitment to mutual strategic security interests in the arctic region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Madisyn Paschal)