U.S. Navy hovercraft from the USS Green Bay and USS Ashland land on Langham Beach during the Talisman Sabre finale near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
SHOALWATER BAY TRAINING AREA, Australia — Hovercraft packed with troops and armored vehicles zoomed onto a beach during the culminating event of Talisman Sabre, a massive exercise involving 30,000 mostly American and Australian troops on the southern continent.
The drills conclude Friday after two weeks of training on land, air, sea, cyber and space capabilities by more than a dozen allied and partner militaries, including those of European and Pacific nations. The closing ceremony in Brisbane will be off limits to the press.
The amphibious assault began with paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division parachuting onto Williamson Airfield in central Queensland early Wednesday morning.
Indonesian paratroopers arrived in a second wave two hours later, according to Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, the Australian Defence Force’s chief of joint operations. Bilton, who observed operations Wednesday afternoon from sand dunes at Langham Beach, was deputy commander of U.S. Army Pacific from November 2014 to March 2017.
Talisman Sabre troops cross Langham Beach during an amphibious landing near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The attack’s next phase involved MV-22 Osprey aircraft launched from the amphibious assault ship USS America and Japanese CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the helicopter destroyer JS Izumo.
The Ospreys and Chinooks ferried Marines and Japanese soldiers to landing zones where they took up positions to protect forces arriving in four hovercraft, Lt. Col. Glenn Baker, commander of the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, told reporters near the beach.
U.S. Navy hovercraft emerged from the USS Green Bay and USS Ashland, zoomed onto the beach and dropped off more Marines, German naval infantryman, trucks and armored vehicles.
The forces prepared to battle Australian troops role-playing as the enemy defending high ground, headquarters facilities and radar sites along the coast.
Australia’s strong relationship with U.S. forces predates Talisman Sabre, which has been held every other year for two decades, Bilton said.
“What’s different is now there’s a multinational relationship,” he said. “There’s evidence of that today with the Japanese.”
A U.S. Navy hovercraft lands on Langham Beach during the Talisman Sabre finale near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Indo-Pacific forces worked with U.S. and Australian troops during the drills, Bilton said. More, including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and India, are likely to join the next Talisman Sabre in 2025.
“The important part this year is the European participation,” he said, as German troops and U.S. Marines marched nearby. “There is strong European interest in the region. They see these exercises as an opportunity for their militaries to operate in this environment.”
Australian forces were scheduled to partner with South Korean troops in another beach assault this week. However, the Australian amphibious ship HMAS Adelaide diverted to the recovery operation for four Australian aviators lost July 28 when their MRH-90 Taipan helicopter ditched in waters off Queensland.
Human remains have been found, Bilton said Thursday in report by Australian broadcaster ABC.
A U.S. Marine helps carry out an amphibious assault during Talisman Sabre training near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
"Due to the nature of the debris field, positive identification of the remains is unlikely to occur until we recover more of the wreckage,” he said.
South Korean troops launched from the amphibious assault ship ROKS Marado and conducted their own scaled-back beach landing at a different east coast beach ahead of the other forces, Bilton said.
U.S. Marines and sailors partnered with Japanese amphibious troops during the Langham Beach landings, he said.
Japan and Australia recently signed a reciprocal access agreement that will facilitate training in each other’s territory.
“We are a launch platform for Japan to operate into the Western Pacific,” Bilton said.
U.S. military vehicles take part in the Talisman Sabre finale near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
