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EXERCISE KAKADU COMES TO A CLOSE

Levels of interoperability are set to improve with seven nations having participated in Exercise Kakadu this week.

Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Nigel Coates AM, RAN, today hosted the closing ceremony for Exercise Kakadu VIII. 

Over the past week, senior military and civilian representatives from eleven nations within the Asia and Pacific region came together to discuss the challenges of operating in the maritime environment.  Key focus areas included the conduct of security, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance operations, in an international and interagency force.

Guest speakers at the seminar come from the Australian Border Protection Command, Australian Customs Services and AUSTCARE and included the internationally renowned naval strategist, Dr Norman Freidman. 

Kakadu VIII has built on the ability of the involved Navies to work together, particularly in circumstances such as the Boxing Day Tsunami.

“The format of this exercise allowed for excellent opportunities to learn from each other and furthered our understanding of issues of common concern,” said Rear Admiral Coates.

This year’s collaborative effort has been most successful.  The outcomes will be put to the test in next year’s activity where Kakadu will be a multilateral maritime exercise held at sea off the coast of Northern Australia.

The exercise was hosted at HMAS Watson, Watson’s Bay.

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