U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Navy Adm. Steve Koehler tours the gym at HMAS Stirling, Australia, May 25, 2026. (Jeremy Boan/U.S. Navy)
A new Navy support unit established in Western Australia ahead of planned U.S. submarine rotations under the AUKUS security partnership will operate under Navy Region Japan, service officials said.
Naval Support Activity Stirling was established May 30 at HMAS Stirling near Perth, the Navy announced Tuesday on X. It will support Submarine Rotational Force-West, which is expected to station up to four U.S. submarines and one British submarine in Western Australia beginning next year.
NSA Stirling falls under Navy Region Japan, Cmdr. Joe Keiley, a spokesman for the command headquartered at Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo, said by phone Tuesday.
The support activity operates from Australia’s largest naval base, home to the country’s submarine fleet and a workforce of roughly 2,300 service members and hundreds of civilian employees and contractors.
“Establishment of NSA Stirling with our AUKUS partners demonstrates our command mission to support the Fleet, warfighter, and family,” Vice Adm. Scott Gray, who leads Navy Installations Command, said in a news release provided Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy in Canberra.
“By providing essential services to U.S. personnel and their families, NSA Stirling will enhance rotational submarine force readiness,” he said.
The Australian government invited the United States to establish the support activity, according to the release.
The first U.S. sailors are already working at NSA Stirling, and another 80 personnel are expected to arrive by year’s end, bringing the American presence, including family members, to about 200 people, Keiley said.
By 2030, the Navy expects approximately 2,300 Americans, including sailors, civilian employees, contractors and family members, to be based in Western Australia, he said.
“The focus is on infrastructure there to allow for transfer of personnel,” he said.
NSA Stirling will provide administrative, public affairs, morale, welfare and recreation, and pass-and-identification services for U.S. personnel assigned to the mission, Keiley said. A separate organization will be responsible for maintaining the rotational submarines.
“We are currently in the early stages of establishing NSA Stirling,” Rear Adm. Ian Johnson, commander of Navy Region Japan, said in the embassy release. “While there is still much work ahead, we are confident in our ability to accomplish this task through strong collaboration with our AUKUS partners.”
