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Foreword

Australian and
U.S. Forces
Strengthening
Regional Security

Philippine and U.S. Forces Provide Disaster Relief for Typhoon Victims

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Building Global Networks to Combat Security Threats

Australian and U.S. Forces Strengthening
Regional Security
Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Staff

Compiled by the Asia-Pacific FORUM staff from press releases by Lt. Cmdr. Keith Taylor, USN; Lt. Cmdr. Pamela Warnken, USN; Lt. j.g. Kris Hooper, USN; and Lithographer Seaman Jessica R. Vargas, USN, all of whom were assigned to the Combined Joint Information Bureau for Exercise TALISMAN SABER; PH2 (AW) D. Arthur Jones; USN; PH3 Class James Bartels; and PHAN Rudy Polach, USN, all assigned to USS Boxer Public Affairs; JOC(SW) Rick Chernitzer, USN, assigned to U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs; LCpl. Ashleigh Bryant, USMC, assigned to American Forces Network Tokyo; JO Seaman Apprentice Marc Rockwell-Pate, USN, assigned to USS Blue Ridge Public Affairs; PO2 Angela McLane, USN, assigned to Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, San Diego; and JO3 Christopher Koons, assigned to USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs.

Exercise TALISMAN SABER 2005, a biennial exercise held in Australia, focuses on crisis-action planning and contingency response, enhancing both nations’ military capabilities to deal with regional contingencies and The Global War on Terrorism.

Exercise TALISMAN SABER 2005 is a merger of the TANDEM THRUST, KINGFISHER, and CROCODILE series of exercises. Held in Australia, TALISMAN SABER 2005 focused on crisis-action planning and contingency response that strengthens regional security by enhancing both nations’ military capabilities to deal with contingencies and the Global War on Terrorism. More than 6,000 Australian and 11,000 U.S. military personnel from all services participated in Exercise TALISMAN SABER 2005, sponsored by the Australian Defence Force Joint Operations Command and the U.S. Pacific Command.

Exercise sites included Australia’s Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Rockhampton, Townsville, and the Coral Sea. TALISMAN SABER 2005 included a command-post exercise; a sea, air, and land mock battle; and the sinking of two decommissioned U.S. Navy ships brought in from Hawaii for a hulking and demolition exercise. The command-post phase involved a computer-simulated war between two hypothetical island nations. The land, sea, and air phase included paratroop and amphibious insertions into the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Special Forces operations, live-fire exercises, infantry maneuvers, a strategic airdrop, air combat, ship-to-ship operations, and anti-submarine warfare. Each event developed crisis-action planning and execution of contingency response operations. Australian and U.S. forces shared important skills and understanding necessary to prepare for real-world events.

More than 25 Australian and U.S. Navy ships participated in TALISMAN SABER 2005 off the coast of Queensland from Brisbane to Shoalwater Bay. Australian ships included the guided missile frigate HMAS Canberra (FFG 02), frigates HMAS Warramunga (FFH 152) and HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155), amphibious transport HMAS Manoora (LPA 52), and replenishment ships HMAS Success (AOR 304) and HMAS Westralia (AOR 154). U.S. Navy ships included the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVN 63), the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), the guided missile frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), the replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (USNS T-AO 200), and ammunition ship USNS Flint (T-AE 32).

More than 100 aircraft operating from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley, RAAF Base Townsville, and Rockhampton in Queensland, and from the USS Kitty Hawk participated in air combat and maritime events. Australian aircraft included F/A-18 Hornet and F-111 fighters, AP-3C Orion maritime patrol, PC9, DHC4 Caribou transport, C-130 Hercules, and Army rotary wing aircraft. U.S. aircraft included P3 Orion surveillance, F-18 Hornet fighter, Lear jets, C-130 Hercules, E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning, long range EA-6B Prowlers, C2 Greyhound carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft, and MH-47 Chinook and Seahawk helicopters.

Aboard the USS Blue Ridge
Before the start of the exercise, Maj.-Gen. Mark Kelly, Commander 1st Division and the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters for the Australian Military and Deputy Commander of the Combined Task Force (CTF) for TALISMAN SABER, noted that readiness and interoperability are crucial to any operation, whether in the real world or in an exercise. “We will have individuals working together that may have to get past differences not only in culture, but in the procedures they’ve used to complete operations in the past,” he said. “That will present some challenges, but that’s necessary to come together as one cohesive unit. I can’t think of any other setting or situation where this imperative is more critical than in the world we live in today.” Maj.-Gen. Kelly added that the U.S.-Australia defense relationship is strong and has a history of solidarity, especially in recent times.

Vice Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet and CTF Commander for the exercise, agreed. “Australia is a strong ally and special partner in the Pacific. Their efforts in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts after the December 26 earthquake and tsunami, support for a new joint anti-terrorism center in Indonesia, and regional assistance mission to the Solomon Islands, spotlight their solid leadership and resolve to keep the region secure for all.”

Vice Adm. Greenert also noted that TALISMAN SABER, “. . . provides a chance to . . . work in a coalition as a designated Combined Task Force. What that basically means is we’ll be practicing something we as forward-deployed units may be called upon to do at anytime: surge forward with speed and agility,” he said. “My first goal [is] to be able to operate multi-dimensional joint and combined forces . . . . But we’re also exercising to deliver responsive short-term readiness. Can we surge quickly, integrate into a coalition, and win? If not, where are we falling short and how do we correct it?

Commenting on the key role of protecting the environment, as a measure of the success of TALISMAN SABER, Vice Adm. Greenert pointed out that operating forces received extensive briefings on procedures for handling waste, preventing pollution, and protecting endangered species, marine mammals, and other environmental resources. “Protecting the environment is as critical to us as the training we do,” he said. “National defense and responsible environmental management must continue to be compatible goals.”

Maj.-Gen. Kelly agreed, adding concern for the environment is a major player in everything his country’s military does. Shoalwater Bay harbors six species of sea turtles and has the largest population of endangered dugongs, similar to manatees.