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By KATE BANVILLE
Troops could train anywhere in the world and yet they come to regional Queensland. There are a few reasons why.
For most foreign forces the weather and terrain is unlike anything they’re used to. From climate conditions to poisonous plants and venomous wildlife – country Queensland has it all.
And there’s another reason. As competition for regional dominance escalates, Northern Australia is an area of strategic importance as the gateway to the Indo-Pacific.
The recent Exercise Talisman Sabre was set to a backdrop of Chinese posturing as more than 34,000 military personnel from 13 nations joined forces across sea, land, air, cyber and space.
Individual activities spanned across five states and territories over a two-week period before officially concluding on August 4.
While the military drills were one thing, the soft diplomacy was a byproduct on display throughout every military and rank.
Australia’s Combat Training Centre Commander Colonel Ben McLennan said there were no KPIs to achieve, or adequate measures to quantify the ‘bang for buck’ achieved by participating nations.
“There’s a temporal benefit but there’s also a longitudinal benefit,” COL McLennan told the Caller.
“I mean, how do you measure the value of a relationship where there’s trust in any context and the dividend that comes from building (those relationships) pays for decades, for generations, for centuries.”
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The financial investment by invited nations has been immense. Countries like Japan, South Korea and Germany all footing the enormous bill to transport their personnel and equipment to Australia for the show of force.
COL McLennan said it highlighted the commitment of unity towards a “rules-based order”.
“The logistics enterprise to get tanks from South Korea, to get aircraft from Alaska, to get equipment from New Caledonia through our quarantine stations and procedures (which are all completely legitimate given the fragility of our ecosystem here in Australia) is an extraordinary enterprise and very costly,” he said.
“There’s a collective resolve amongst like-minded nations to preserve the pillars underpinning our prosperity, our security and our stability.
“I also think that a lot of nations think that we can be better together when we find a common ground in the military space to work and integrate to be better.”
There’s also another reason why foreign forces may be attracted to train in Australia.
At 2437 sqkm, the Townsville Field Training Area alone is larger than the Australian Capital Territory.
And while the war games have included others, it’s the bilateral relationship between Australia and the United States as joint hosts which has been on display during military drills and the accompanying high-level AUSMIN discussions taking place.
For troops testing their military drills in real-life scenarios, interoperability has far surpassed the traditional feel-good sentiment of simply coexisting as a coalition force.
The Caller spoke to a multinational battlegroup led by the US to give insight as to just how challenging mission execution could be.
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Yun (pictured above) said while the role of Light Infantry was to “close in and destroy the enemy”, working together and the steps taken to get there would determine the outcome. Not as simple as it sounds, particularly when his unit – the Hawaii based and Asia-Pacific focussed 25th Infantry Division – trains in jungle warfare.
“It’s not just Australians we’re training with, we also train with Indonesians, with the Philippines, with Thai Army,” he said.
“It’s about understanding relationships, how people and their government or their military would overcome some friction.
“And we welcome ideas when those frictions come has been enlightening.”
Integration of forces during Talisman Sabre 23 moved well beyond convention interoperability. During this most recent iteration forces trained in what’s refeferred to as a ‘multidomain’ environment, COL Yun said.
Australian Officer Commanding Major Stephanie Sheldon of Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment said the “diversity of skillset” needed as an engineer enabled potential battlespace advantages through preemtive moves against adversaries.
“We’ve been able to provide counter mobility support to battle groups, and that’s in a mechanized sense deployed in Bushmasters,” MAJ Sheldon said.
There’s been a shift to revert to land warfare tactics ater two decades of counter terrorism operations in South East Asia and the Middle East with convential training increasingly relevant.
“The focus on combined arms for Talisman Sabre has been really quite refreshing,” MAJ Sheldon said.
“Complex problems require a lot of different thinkers in the room and diversity.
“Whether that’s infantry engineers or field intelligence teams, it’s diversity of thought in these environments which means solutions.”
US elements including Aviation rotary wing capabilities Apache and Blackhawk helicopters have remained in Australia for ongoing joint training in addition to the US 1st Armored Division operating M1A2 Abrams.