The United States (US) Global Force Posture Review (FPR) was established to ensure the US could respond to current and likely future changes in the international security environment. It seeks a politically sustainable, operationally resilient, and geographically dispersed US force posture. One of the key FPR priorities for the US is to increase engagement with Australia and other partners in Southeast Asia, to strengthen regional confidence in US engagement and underscore the US continued commitment to the region.

On 16 November 2011 Prime Minister Gillard and President Obama announced two initiatives to deepen bilateral Defence cooperation under the US FPR. These initiatives were the rotational deployment of US Marine Corps (USMC) personnel to Darwin and Northern Australia for training, and enhanced interaction between the US Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in Northern Australia.

For Australia, these initiatives will support our long-held strategic interests in maintaining and expanding US engagement in our region, and will provide tangible benefits to Australia through enhanced ADF training opportunities and improvements in interoperability with US forces.

The Implementation Team for the US FPR is within Joint Capability Coordination Division. The role of the Team is to coordinate Defence and the relevant Federal, State and Northern Territory government departments, and stakeholders, to implement agreed US FPR initiatives.