DEFENDER is the Army’s largest annual opportunity to exercise moving personnel and equipment into theater across modes for initial and follow-on operations critical to Large Scale Combat Operations. Led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the exercise focuses on the strategic deployment of CONUS-based forces, employment of Army Prepositioned Stock and follow-on exercises demonstrating lethality and interoperability with Allies and partners

DEFENDER 25 Outreach tour
DEFENDER 25 Infographic

Videos
Video by Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola
31st MEU | Patrol 25.2 MEUEX
31st Marine Expeditionary Unit
May 21, 2025 | 2:29
U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conduct MEU Exercise in Okinawa, Japan, April 28-May 9, 2025. The training was to prepare the unit for future warfighting capabilities with immersive, scenario-based evolutions focused on lethality, readiness, and interoperability. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola)
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  • Saber Guardian

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Press Information

enlightenedTo find information about filing a claim related to exercise DEFENDER activities, visit Claims Information and select your country.