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A team of U.S. forces from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade left for the Philippines from a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan.
They are part of a first wave of promised U.S. military assistance for relief efforts after a devastating typhoon killed at least 10,000 people, U.S. officials said.
They secured pallets of supplies aboard two KC-130J Hercules transport aircraft.
Two Florida-based Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, which had been on a six month rotation to Misawa, Japan, have been prepositioned in the Philippines to assist with search and rescue operations, the Marines said in statement.
The typhoon is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines. Most of the deaths appear to have been caused by surging sea water strewn with debris that many said resembled a tsunami, leveling houses and drowning its victims.
