Oklahoma native, U.S. Marine deploys to Australia

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dillon Mason, a network technician with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, is one of the Marines planning MRF-D 2020 at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin. Mason, an Oklahoma City native, helps maintain the health and security of the network the Marines and Australians rely on during the rotation.
“I joined the Marine Corps because I wanted to do something more with my life. Many people in my family have joined the military, but I decided I wanted to be the first to become a Marine. Everyday I feel like I am serving a higher purpose than myself, and knowing that is rewarding. The coolest thing I've done so far is seeing the work from the ground up and participating in it. Being able to see a deployment being built up and in working with communications out here from the bare programing all the way up to formulating an entire network to work for MRF-D was a really cool experience."
The U.S. and Australian governments decided in late March to delay the rotation due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to resume the deployment comes as the government of Australia is granting an exemption to current travel restrictions to allow the 2020 MRF-D rotation to proceed, based on Australia’s record to date in managing impacts from COVID-19 as well as strict adherence by deployed U.S. Marines to the mandatory 14-day quarantine and other requirements.