Exercise Croc ready to rock

Planning for the ADF’s major training activity for the year, Exercise Crocodile 2003 (CR03), is being finalised at the ADF Warfare Centre, RAAF Base Williamtown.

Lead planner Commander Bill Garner said CR03 was a major combined Australian-led exercise with the US focused on practising “high-end” warfighting.

“As we have seen in recent operations, when the ADF needs to fight it will most likely be with US Forces, so we need a high level of interoperability with our major ally,” he said.

Although some of the participating US forces will have served in Iraq, most of those involved in CR03 were drawn from US Pacific Command and had not had recent experience working with the ADF.

CMDR Garner said that it was significant that Australia would be responsible for command and control of the combined Australian and US forces.

“CR03 will let us conduct a range of activities that require a war fighting joint/combined force exercise environment beyond the scale available in smaller exercises,” he said.

To be held in August and September, CR03 will be in North Queensland, the Coral Sea, the Townsville region, Gladstone and the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

The exercise includes live firing of weapons by many force elements.

Exercise director and commandant of the ADF Warfare Centre Air Commodore Dennis Green said CR03 was very important for the ADF, describing it as “one of the most significant training activities the ADF conducts”.

“It gives us the opportunity to conduct comprehensive training with our major ally from the most tactical elements through to the strategic level,” he said.

Exercise activities had been assessed for potential environmental impacts and the activities were fully in accordance with Australian national legislation and ADF policy.

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