NORFOLK ISLAND TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN EXERCISE TALISMAN SABRE

Norfolk Island will host part of Australia’s largest military exercise this year, helping defence personnel hone their skills with international allies and partners.

Australian Defence Force and United States military personnel will land on the island as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre next month, conducting training to improve interoperability and support a much larger multinational force operating across the north of Australia and down the east coast.

This is the first time part of the exercise will be conducted on Norfolk Island, helping personnel develop their skills in managing logistics across large distances.

More than 30,000 military personnel from 12 nations will participate across northern Australia and as far south as New South Wales from 22 July to 4 August, with a small contingent deploying to Norfolk Island during the exercise.

Talisman Sabre Exercise Director, Brigadier Damian Hill, said the support of the people of Norfolk Island was vital to Defence achieving key training objectives with the United States.

“Norfolk Island is an important training area for us during Talisman Sabre 2023 because it challenges our people to deploy and sustain a small force over a long distance,” Brigadier Hill said.

“One of the main areas we are seeking to develop during this iteration of Talisman Sabre is how we conduct our multinational military training over vast distances and Norfolk Island is well placed to give us that geographic problem to solve.”

“Residents may see Australian and United States military personnel conducting training. While there won’t be a formal opportunity for the Norfolk Island community to observe the exercise, our people will be visible in the community, so feel free to say hello.”

“We recognise the special natural environment, significant heritage and unique culture of Norfolk Island and we have engaged with the Norfolk Island Regional Council to design training activities in line with local interests. I thank the people of Norfolk Island for hosting this important training, and for their patience and support.”

In addition to Australia and the United States, Talisman Sabre 2023 will also include participants from Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will attend as observer nations.

Media note

Media can access imagery and vision of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021.

Media Contact

Defence Media: media@defence.gov.au

Issued by Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT