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Joint Effort
By LT Kris Gardiner
Volume 50, No. 12, July 12, 2007 |
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Three of the Navy’s hardest working ships came together to land Australian soldiers and US Marines into Shoalwater Bay training area on Exercise Talisman Saber 2007.
HMA Ships Manoora, Kanimbla and Tobruk provided amphibious support to the landing as they came ashore at Sabina Point and Freshwater Beach during the initial phases of the operation.
On board the ship, medical teams were ready to receive simulated casualties brought in by small craft or by helicopter.
The Commanding Officer of HMAS Manoora, CMDR Charles McHardie, said this type of large scale, rapidly deployable support could only be provided by sea.
“As operations in Timor have demonstrated, if we need to move a lot of Australian assets to any theatre in the Pacific region you need amphibious support vessels,” CMDR McHardie said.
Cooks worked hard to feed ships crews and embarked troops which at times grew to 700 personnel with meals four times a day every day, cook CPO Drew Robinson said.
LCM-8s (Landing Craft Medium), operated by the 35th Water Troop and heavy landing craft HMA ships Balikpapan and Betano, ferried Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVS), soft skin vehicles, personnel and equipment to shore over two nights.
The RAN’s ability to conduct amphibious operations will be further enhanced with the recent Government announcement of the construction of two new purpose designed LHDs (Landing Helicopter Dock) ships. |
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Snapping together
By CPL Andrew Hetherington
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NEW PERSPECTIVE: PO Mark Rankin is a US Navy combat photographer and journalist.
Photo: CPL Andrew Hetherington |
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“Fercise Talisman Saber 07 was not only covered by Defence newspapers, 1JPAU and the civilian media. The United States also sent their elite Navy combat camera teams to report on the exercise.
CPO Bart Bauer, detachment chief for the US Navy Combat Camera Crew Pacific, said his team had six months of planning in the lead up to the exercise.
“Myself, the OIC and our CO had correspondence with the exercise coordinators here in Australia to get plans and policies set, so we could come out, hit the ground and be ready to go,” he said.
“We have here nine Navy, two Marine and seven Air Force personnel, which are a mixture of photographers, video camera people and journalists.”
CPO Bauer said his teams had been using the exercise to gain experience working with ADF 1JPAU camera teams and Defence News.
A US Navy combat cameraman and journalist, PO Mark Rankin, from a combat camera group based in San Diego California, said there were two units like this in the US Navy.
“One is based on the West Coast and the other is based on the East Coast of the United States. They are both very elite,” he said.
PO Rankin, originally a journalist working for the US Navy and Stars and Stripes, said he began his career in photography while working as a journalist in South America.
“I was working in a remote village in Honduras with a photographer. The village contained mainly dark-skinned people and because I am African American and the photographer was Caucasian, the village queen mother would only let me in,” he said.
“We needed the story, so the photographer set the camera up, handed it to me and said ‘go shoot’. That was the start of me shooting as a journalist.”
PO Rankin has enjoyed his time working on the exercise and said he appreciates how the US and ADF forces work together.
“The way we do things is very similar. We work well together and as far as getting the job done as allies, we also know what we need from each other,” he said.
“Working with different journalists and photographers on this exercise has given me a new perspective on how compatible we are and it makes me respect the military and Australia that much more.” |
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FLEET FORMATION: (L-R) USS Paul Hamilton, USS Juneau, HMAS Manoora, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Parramatta during Exercise Talisman Saber 2007.
Photo: ABPH Paul Berry |
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SEABOATS: RHIBs from HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora in action at Exercise Talisman Saber 2007.
Photo: ABPH Paul Berry |
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OFFICER OF THE WATCH: SBLT Erin Gilbert on the bridge of HMAS Manoora during Exercise Talisman Saber 2007.
Photo: ABPH Jo Dilorenzo
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DAWN LANDINGS: A Landing Craft Medium approaches HMAS Tobruk for amphibious operations during exercise Talisman Saber 2007.
Photo: ABPH Paul Berry
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D DAY: HMAS Tobruk’s vehicle deck fully loaded with Army vehicles for Exercise Talisman Saber.
Photo: ABPH Paul Berry
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AMPHIBIOUS OPS: Army landing craft conduct a well deck docking with USS Juneau during Exercise Talisman Saber 07.
Photo: ABPH Jo Dilorenzo |
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TANDEM LANDING: A Sea King from HMAS Manoora and a US Navy Seahawk land on the flight deck of USS Essex.
Photo: ABPH Jo Dilorenzo |
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