ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TOWNSVILLE, Australia -- Japan-based Marine units brought their portion of exercise Talisman Sabre 2011 to an end here July 27.
Talisman Sabre is a biennial exercise meant to test and improve Australian and American forces’ ability to conduct joint and combined task force operations. The exercise focuses on refining the combat readiness and interoperability of the participating units. American and Australian military forces throughout Queensland, the Northern Territory, and neighboring naval areas have been conducting the exercise since July 11.
Japan-based Marine units participating in this year’s Talisman Sabre included service members from Marine Aircraft Group 12 Headquarters, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, Marine Wing Communication Squadron 18, Marine Air Control Squadron 4, and 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company.
Maj. Gen. (select) William D. Beydler, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general, visited Marines here to help bring the exercise to a close and to see the outcome of the exercise.
Beydler said the squadrons have been able to meet many of their goals during Talisman Sabre and have taken advantage of the training ground provided here.
“We were able to get a lot of individual training codes done here that we can’t get done in other places,” said Beydler. “We got a lot done here because it was focused training and we’ve had good (training) ranges. It would have taken us a lot longer to get the same type of training done in Okinawa or Iwakuni.”
More than 400 Japan-based American service members participated in the exercise which logged 167 sorties, totaling 340.5 hours in the air by the VMFA-314 Black Knights.
The squadron originally planned for 150 sorties at the start of the exercise.
During the exercise, the Black Knights had the opportunity to train with a variety of live ordnance at the Highrange Townsville Field Training Area.
They were also able to participate in training scenarios more than 400 miles south of here at the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area. Training was designed to test and refine their close-air support capabilities.
The Black Knights and supporting Marine aviation units were also given the unique opportunity to train with their Australian counterparts.
“They are one of our primary allies; them and Great Britain,” said Maj. Michael Lepore, VMFA-314 operations officer. “We are working with them overseas in Afghanistan hand-in-hand, so the training we do here is going to carry over there and building those relationships — teamwork and understanding in how we do business is going to pay dividends, not only in Afghanistan but any other conflicts in the future where we may have to serve together.”
Although participating American and Australian units have been allies for many years now, the exercise provided different units with challenges to meet and deal with along the way. Some challenges identified were communication and different ways of conducting operations.
“Eventually toward the middle of the second week and by the end of the exercise everything was running smoothly,” said Lepore.
Another challenge Marines here faced was the fallout of another Marine squadron due to transportation issues. All ordnance allotted to that squadron was transferred over to the Black Knights, which they took advantage of to conduct more unit-level training at the Highrange Townsville Field Training Area. Marines were able to turn setbacks into training opportunities.
“I think it was good for Marines all across the board to do the bilateral training with the Australians and to build those relationships, that interoperability,” said Lepore.
Although the Japan-based squadrons here finished their portion of Talisman Sabre July 27, other American and Australian units are scheduled to conduct training until July 29.
The Black Knights and the supporting aviation units here are now participating in Southern Frontier 2011 which started Aug. 1.