U.S. Marine Corps Forces South

2000 OPELOUSAS AVENUE

New Orleans, LA. 70114

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VMFA-225 joint MCMAP course

U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, grapple during a joint Marine Corps Martial Arts...

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02

From One Corps to Another

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Juan Ipialesparedes, a personnel administrator with 1st Marine Logistics Group, reflects on his path from Ecuadorian...

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CMC Visits Jose Aponte

The 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric M. Smith, center, pins new chevrons on a a U.S. Marine with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA)...

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VMFA-225 in Puerto Rico

A U.S. Marine Corps pilot and plane captain with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces South, conduct preflight checks...

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UNITAS 2025

U.S. Marines, Sailors trained alongside allies and partner-nation marines and naval infantry during exercise UNITAS 2025 at Camp Lejeune, Sept....

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Jungle Orientation Course

Leadership, instructors, and students from across the Joint Security Cooperation Group - Panama, U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division, Panamanian...

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UNITAS 2025

The U.S., allies and partner nation forces will be participating in exercise UNITAS LXVI, along the eastern coast of the United States, 10 Sept.,...

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MLAC 2025

Members of the 2025 Marine Leaders of the Americas Conference pose for a photo with U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith, the 39th Commandant of the...

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SMMC Ruiz MLAC 2025 Keynote

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz, the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, delivers keynote remarks as part of the 2025 Marine Leaders...

MARFORSOUTH IN THE NEWS

Different paths: Marines stick with M27 as Army fields new high-caliber rifle

2/25/2026 - https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-02-25/marines-m27-rifle-army-m7-20869549.html

Sailors and Marines Team Up for Integrated Advance 2025

2/24/2026 - https://www.fourthfleet.navy.mil/Press-Room/News/Article/4119703/sailors-and-marines-team-up-for-integrated-advance-2025/

U.S. Marine Corps ordnance technicians with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, load a Laser Joint Directed Attack Munition onto a Short Airfield for Tactical Support weapons loader at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 22, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

VMFA-225 in Puerto Rico

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Austine L. Rawllins Meets With Chilean Marine Corps Leadership during SPWG

Colonel Rawllins Meets Chilean Marines

CENTAM Guardian 25

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Calvert L. Worth, commanding general, II Marine Expeditionary Force, speaks to U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 12, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

II MEF CG visits VMFA-225

The Honorable John C. Phelan, secretary of the Navy, greets U.S. Sailors with Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 24, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

SECNAV visits Jose Aponte

Colonel Rawllins Meets Chilean Marines

U.S. service members with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA), 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, and Joint Communications Support Element, U.S. Transportation Command, perform a unit chant at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 12, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

II MEF CG visits VMFA-225

CENTAM Guardian 25

A U.S. Marine Corps plane captain with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, launches a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II assigned to VMFA-225 at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 22, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

F-35B operations in Puerto Rico

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz, the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, addresses U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 12, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

SMMC visits Jose Aponte

CONNECT WITH US

No Borders on Service: An Ecuadorian Marine’s Path to the U.S. Marine Corps

Long before earning the title of United States Marine, Lance Cpl. Juan G. Ipialesparedes served as a special operations Marine in his native country of Ecuador. Today, as a personnel administration specialist with 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, he brings a lifetime of military experience and a deep respect for service that transcends nationality to the United States.

U.S. and Chilean Marines Plan Together

Leaders from the Cuerpo de Infanteria Marina, Armada de Chile (Chilean marine corps) and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South came together Oct. 22, 2025, for a Staff Planner Working Group hosted at Marine Corps Support Facilities New Orleans.