Exercise Talisman Saber in Australia gets underway in earnest July 13. Over the past week, participating units from all branches of service of the U.S. military and Australian Defence Force have been conducting training and familiarization in preparation for joint and combined drills focused on contingency response operations and crisis action planning.
The field training portion of the exercise will be concentrated in the Shoalwater Bay Training area near Rockhampton, as well as the Townsville Field Training Area in Queensland.
Air operations are also taking place in and off the Northern Territory of Australia, as highlighted in a recent article in the Sunday Territorian.
Australia is a strong U.S. ally in the Pacific, and Talisman Saber, which is jointly sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and the Australian Defence Force Joint Operations Command, is an opportunity to further develop the high level of interoperability that already exists between U.S. and Australian forces. More than 20,000 U.S. and 10,000 Australian personnel are to take part.
You can follow the exercise via the Australian Defence Force Talisman Saber website, as well as the U.S. exercise website. Both sites have and will continue to capture the varied events that take place leading up to, and throughout the large scale exercise. Also, become a friend of Talisman Saber on Facebook for updates, and check out the video stories on the exercise’s YouTube page.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Talisman Saber Exercise Picks Up Pace in Australia
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Samoans Making the Most of Pacific Partnership
A recent Samoa Newsline article provides some examples of the impact of the Pacific Partnership mission on individuals there.
Hundreds of people have been receiving free, basic medical services each day this week as part of the mission that has also included a number of engineering, dental and veterinary civic action programs.
Samoa is the first stop on the four-month Pacific Partnership mission, operating from USNS Richard E. Byrd. The ship arrived July 1.
Mirroring U.S. Pacific Command’s emphasis on collaboration across multiple agencies and organizations, as well as multilateral cooperation, the team for Pacific Partnership 2009 includes military and government personnel from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States, as well as civilian volunteers from organizations such as Project Hope, the Loloma Foundation, International Aid and the Shriners.
The Pacific Partnership website includes news and photos, and links to the mission’s several social media sites and blog.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Combined and Joint Exercise Talisman Saber Ramping Up in Australia
More than 20,000 U.S. and 10,000 Australian personnel are gearing up for the military training exercise Talisman Saber, primarily in and off the coast of the state of Queensland, Australia, during much of the month of July.
Participating forces have assembled in Australia and through July 12 are conducting workups and force integration training. Extensive combined and joint field training that includes land, sea and air assets as part of a Combined Task Force (CTF) begins July 13. The exercise concludes on July 26.
The exercise is focused on crisis action planning and execution of contingency response operations, and is designed to bring the different branches of the U.S. and Australian militaries together to test interoperability and refine military procedures and doctrine. The U.S. Marine Corps III Marine Expeditionary Force staff and the Australian Deployable Joint Force Headquarters staff will also train as a designated CTF headquarters.
Towns such as Rockhampton, Cairns and Townsville welcomed U.S. service members over the past week as they arrived in Australia for the exercise.
Talisman Saber is jointly sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and the Australian Defence Force Joint Operations Command, and demonstrates U.S. and Australian commitment to the two nations’ military alliance.
Exercise news and photos are available on both the U.S. and Australia Talisman Saber websites.
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