Source : Perth Now news
The decks of Australia’s largest warship have echoed to the tramp of US boots, with visiting troops performing amphibious drills between Townsville and Darwin.
HMAS Canberra took aboard more than 300 marines and their equipment in Queensland’s Far North and set them ashore in the Top End via landing craft.
Darwin hosts around 2000 US personnel for six months of the year during the dry season as part of a rotation now in its 15th year.
Both nations stress the importance of the arrangement to have troops work side-by-side to better co-ordinate joint missions, integrate forces and strengthen ties.
Completed on August 8, the latest integrated sea voyage gave many of the marines a first-time chance to work with Australians at sea and included preparations to disembark on aircraft from Canberra’s flight deck.
The ship also took on board two US Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft which, for the first time, practised taking off and landing on an Australian ship.
Surprisingly, many of the marines had never been aboard a warship before despite their origins as seagoing soldiers.
For Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Katzman, combat logistics commander for the marine task force in Darwin, the amphibious training on Canberra was a once in a lifetime experience.
“For many of us it’s the first time on an amphibious ship, hopefully not the last as we try to turn back to our previous roots,” he says.
The Darwin marine rotation is hugely important given the situation in the Indo-Pacific and allows US and Australian troops the chance to build relationships and interoperability, Lt Col Katzman says.
“We really appreciate what we have with our Australian partners.”
The two nations have fought together on various battlegrounds for over 100 years, he notes.
“Our operations with Australia are truly special, our background is bonded in blood from the things we’ve done together and we continue to build on that every single day here.”
HMAS Canberra commanding officer Captain David McPherson says it was “a privilege and an honour” to host the marines and the ship’s company totally enjoyed the experience.
Working as an integrated force, with Australian personnel learning how to land and refuel the Ospreys and co-ordinate with the marines to send them ashore was invaluable.
“It’s the execution of the national defence strategy right here,” he says.
An important World War II link between the US and Australia was also commemorated on the sea voyage.
A service was held on the flight deck to mark the 84th anniversary of US marines landing on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 to seize a key airfield from the Japanese.
Also remembered was the loss of 84 crew when Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra was attacked and sunk off Guadalcanal the following night.
The marine rotational force in Darwin is tasked to deploy for humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the region and for full-scale combat operations.
Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Scovel, operations officer with the rotation, says the Townsville exercise was a great opportunity for a land-based special purpose marine unit to practise getting on and off a ship.
“We don’t have US Navy ships with our force so the opportunity to do that with the Australian amphibious forces is tremendous for us.”
Lt Col Scovel says the marines in the rotation enjoy Darwin and the Northern Territory, with the national parks in the region second to none.
“The jumping croc tours are a fan favourite. Every marine that’s gone so far has just raved about it.
“Darwin is absolutely a military-friendly city … and we try to engage as much as we can with the local community.”
Lt Col Scovel says the most challenging part of the rotation is being away from friends and family for six months.
“I’m married and have two small children back home in California and I can’t wait to get home and see them.”
A sailor on HMAS Canberra, who cannot be named for official reasons, says he greatly values working alongside the marines for the first time.
“We’ve swapped stories about life back home and the experiences we’ve had as members of the Australian navy and the US Marine Corps, sharing stories and having a laugh.
“At the end of the day we’re from opposite sides of the planet but we are alike in far more ways than we are different.
“It’s great having them as great pals and knowing that, with the world as it is, they’ve got our back and we’ve got theirs.”
HMAS Canberra is a landing helicopter dock ship with one of the most capable air-land-sea amphibious deployment systems in the world.
The ship has a crew of about 400 and is able to land more than 1000 embarked troops along with their weapons, ammunition, vehicles and stores, using landing craft and helicopters.
Commissioned in 2014, it is the RAN’s flagship and the largest warship ever built in Australia at 230 metres long and weighing 27,800 tonnes.
