4 August 2021
Royal Australian Air Force personnel stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their US counterparts at RAAF Base Scherger to enhance bare base interoperability during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021 (TS21).
Fourteen USAF personnel deployed to Far North Queensland to work alongside RAAF members to stand up the bare base to project air power during the biennial multi-national exercise.
No. 382 Contingency Response Group operations officer Flight Lieutenant Lee Green said the multinational collaboration paid dividends.
“We had USAF electricians, security force members, firefighters and air load team members partnered up with their Australian Air Force counterparts to work on tactics, training and procedures,” Flight Lieutenant Green said
“At the end of each activity, we sat down and completed hot wash-ups, during which we look at lessons learnt from Australian and USAF perspectives.
“We are always working towards innovation to challenge both Australian and USAF personnel to leverage off each other to improve on existing practices.”
He said working within a bare base environment presented a number of unique joint learning opportunities for both countries.
“Working alongside the Americans has been fantastic. We get to learn off each other and look at ways of improving our techniques and processes.” Flight Lieutenant Green said.
“It’s been a great learning opportunity for both Australian and USAF members to come to RAAF Base Scherger as most of us have not worked from a bare base before.
“Working from a bare base environment means we can work with the unique challenges and call on the experience and expertise of each other to rise to the occasion.”
USAF Security Force Senior Airman Kelsey Inostroza deployed to RAAF Base Scherger from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to participate in TS21.
She said working with Air Force security forces was an “amazing learning experience”.
“We held security on the flightline. We were protecting the hangars and their contents, and we patrolled the flightline when it was being used,” Senior Airman Inostroza said.
“Working with the RAAF security forces was invaluable.
“It’s always good to compare and contrast the different approaches and processes we have in place and learn from each other.
“I’ve learnt a lot, and in turn I hope I have been able to pass on some of my knowledge as well.”
For more photos of Exercise Talisman Sabre, see the Defence Image gallery.
