U.S. Marines and Australian troops plan movements during the Southern Jackaroo exercise at Townsville Field Training Area in Queensland, Australia, May 25, 2024. (Earik Barton/U.S. Marine Corps)
Four hundred U.S. Marines are in Australia preparing for the live-fire phase of a multinational exercise as Aussie sailors help crew a Navy submarine tender that recently arrived Down Under.
The Marines are at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland, for the annual Southern Jackaroo exercise. Jackaroo — Australian slang for a young person working on a farm to gain experience — began March 20 and runs through June 10.
The training involves nearly 2,300 troops from the United States, Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
“There have been many lessons learned during this exercise, which prepare us to respond to events together in the region if required,” Australian army Brigadier Dave McCammon, commander of the Townsville-based 3rd Brigade, said in a statement Friday.
The Marines — members of a 2,000-strong force that arrived in the Northern Territory in late March for a six-month rotation — went to Townsville by air while contractors shipped their tactical vehicles more than 1,500 miles by road, said Maj. Neal Jones, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin’s executive officer for ground combat.
The Marines are from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., he said by phone Thursday. Their specialties include infantry, combat logistics, mortars, anti-armor, medical and engineering.
“It’s early in the rotation,” he said. “We are generating readiness by getting down here and conducting field training.”
Southern Jackaroo’s warfighting component involves battling an adversary played by Australian soldiers from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Jones said. Soon, they’ll start live-fire training with missiles, rockets, mortars, machine guns and rifles.
“The best part has been the Marines getting to see another part of Australia and working with another Australian unit,” he said.
Meanwhile, the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land is making a port call on Darwin that includes community and cultural events on shore. Australian sailors have helped crew the Guam-based vessel since January, Australia’s Department of Defence said in a statement Thursday.
The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land prepares to pull into HMAS Coonawarra, a navy base in Darwin, Australia, on May 28, 2024. (Reyes Villatoro/U.S. Navy)
Australia is gearing up to operate its own nuclear-powered submarines using technology shared by the U.S. and United Kingdom under the AUKUS alliance.
“More than 30 of our people have spent the last five months in Guam with our US Navy partners, learning the ropes of nuclear submarine tender maintenance,” Australian Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said in the statement.
“This unique program will contribute significantly to our Navy’s future, developing our people to have the skills to operate, maintain and steward conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines,” he said.
