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Strength Through Friendship in COBRA GOLD 2007

India-Japan-U.S. Forces Train at Sea in MALABAR/TRILATEX 2007

Enhancing the Australia-U.S. Military Alliance in TALISMAN SABER 2007

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Enhancing the Australia-U.S. Military Alliance in TALISMAN SABER 2007
Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Staff

Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Staff from press releases by Cmdr. Jensin W. Sommer, USN, assigned to Combined Task Force 70 Public Affairs; Capt. Paul L. Greenberg, USMC, assigned to Marine Forces Reserve; Lt. Katharine Cerezo, Amphibious Squadron 11 Public Affairs; Lt. Penny Cockerell, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs; PO3 Jarod Hodge, USN, assigned to USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs; Cpl. Kamran Sadaghiani, USMC, assigned to 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit; PO2 Matthew Bradley, USN, USS Blue Ridge Public Affairs; PO2 Adam R. Cole, USN, assigned to Task Force 76 Public Affairs; PO2 Melissa Mullin, USN, Seventh Fleet Public Affairs; PO1 James E. Foehl, USN, Combined/Joint Public Affairs; PO1 Michael D. Kennedy, USN, assigned to Fleet Public Affairs Center Detachment, Japan; SSgt. Matthew MacRoberts, USA, and SN Brandon A. Myrick, USN, assigned to USS Tortuga Public Affairs.

TALISMAN SABER 2007, a joint and combined biannual exercise, demonstrates and improves the Australia-U.S. military alliance. The May to June 2007 exercise featured crisis-action planning and contingency response operations on land, at sea and in the air. More than 12,000 Australian and 20,000 U.S. military personnel participated in the exercise. TALISMAN SABER enhances interoperability and regional stability which supports increased flexibility and readiness, both force multipliers in winning the War on Terror.

Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet Vice Adm. Doug Crowder served as the Commander, Combined Task Force while embarked aboard amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19). Royal Australian Army Maj. Gen. Richard Wilson, Commander, Training Command, served as the Deputy Commander, Combined Task Force.

Commenting on the importance of the exercise, Australian Navy Commodore Peter Glenn Lockwood, the Coalition Maritime Commander, said, “If a crisis was to come up in the world, you couldn’t just put two countries together and expect them to work well with each other. They need to practice.”

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Carol M. Pottenger, Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7/Task Force 76 and Deputy Commander, Combined Force Maritime Component Command, agreed with Commodore Lockwood. “We are excited to work side by side with our Australian friends, developing seamless interplay where we will train as a joint task force and operations staff in crisis-action planning for executing contingency operations,” she said. “The potential for improving U.S.-Australian relations and combined military capabilities is incredible. I am fully confident that the personnel of both our forces will rise to the challenges and make lasting friendships along the way.”

Exercise Events
TALISMAN SABER 2007 began with a command post exercise involving Australian and U.S. military members in a computer-simulated United Nations peacekeeping operation. This was followed by force integration training (FIT) that provided opportunities for the two forces to familiarize themselves with each other’s capabilities and operational procedures. FIT featured cross-decking and combined training in visit, board, search and seizure; live-fire training by both navies’ ships and aircraft; deck-landing qualifications; combined ship maneuvers that included refueling at sea; understanding communications capabilities; developing relationships with counterparts; and combined planning for an amphibious landing and ground battles.

The exercise culminated in a field training phase that involved a combined amphibious assault and ground battles. Rear Adm. Pottenger and members of her staff joined a combined staff headquarters on the ground for this phase.

Australian Dignitaries Tour USS Juneau
Australian Senator Russell Trood and Parliament Member Alan Griffith toured the amphibious transport dock USS Juneau (LPD 10) and received briefings on the ship’s capabilities. After touring the bridge and meeting with Capt. John D. Alexander, Juneau’s commanding officer, they visited the Combat Information Center, the Health Services Department, the galley and, finally, the flight deck.

“I was very impressed with the professionalism displayed by everyone aboard,” said Senator Trood. “Exercises like TALISMAN SABER are important to keeping ties strong.”

“This [Australia-U.S.] alliance is very important to us. It dates back over 60 years,” noted Parliament member Griffith. “I don’t know how it could get even closer. We are already the closest of allies.”

Cross-decking
Cross-decking occurred in both the FIT phase and the field-training phase. For the FIT phase, a company of Australian soldiers boarded USS Juneau while a company of U.S. Marines boarded amphibious transport ship HMAS Kanimbla (LPA 51). Combined training between Marines and soldiers took place on those platforms.

For the field-training phase, 10 officers and three enlisted sailors from the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Battle Staff joined U.S. sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). The two forces conducted air, sea and ground operations and practiced communications needed if Australia and the United States formed a major regional combat force.

The command staff of the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade arrived on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) from a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter for the field-training phase. Another element of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment embarked USS Juneau. The Australian soldiers were led by Royal Australian Army Brigadier John G. Caligari, who was aboard the Essex and served as the Combined Force Land Component Commander. The soldiers worked closely with U.S. Marines to plan and coordinate a portion of the field training.

Brigadier Caligari and his staff became familiar with their surroundings aboard Essex, which he said was more constricted than working out in the bush. “Gym hours, meal hours ... just finding our way around ... it takes a little adjustment to get attuned to shipboard life,” he observed. “But the Australian Army is made to be flexible, fit in and change to our environment. We both have things we can teach and things we can learn,” he added.

The combined force planned and completed amphibious operations and shared outposts ashore. They worked side by side in a landing force operation center and supporting arms cooperation center.

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