• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Essex Stops in Townsville

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070704-04
Release Date: 7/4/2007 5:13:00 PM

From USS Essex Public Affairs

TOWNSVILLE, Australia (NNS) -- USS Essex (LHD 2), commanded by Capt. Brian T. Donegan, arrived in Townsville, July 4 for a liberty port visit after the successful completion of Talisman Saber 2007.

Talisman Saber is a biennial U.S.-and Australian-led joint task force exercise designed to prepare both nations for crisis action planning and the execution of contingency operations. The exercise maintains a high level of interoperability between U.S. and Australian forces, demonstrating commitment to regional security and the U.S. and Australian alliance. The exercise also supports increased flexibility and readiness, which are force multipliers in winning the global war on terrorism.

“Talisman Saber was a fantastic readiness and team building experience," said Donegan. "Australian and U.S. forces integrated seamlessly at every level from the highest command echelon to the deckplate and in every area of maritime operations."

More than 20,000 U.S. and 12,000 Australian personnel participated in the exercise and each branch of the military trained together to enhance their combined and joint warfighting skills.

While in Townsville, Essex Sailors will continue building bonds between the United States and Australia by performing community relation projects at the Townsville Foodbank and North Queensland Military Museum.

”One of the ways we can express our friendship with the Australian people is by going out into the local community and volunteering some of our free time to lend a hand. It’s what friends do,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Sweeney, Essex chaplain. “The Sailors and Marines really wanted to participate in these projects, so much so that we had to turn people away because we had more volunteers than we could handle.”

Sailors are scheduled to assist with packing and distributing food to various agencies and will have the opportunity to meet and interact with the organizations, volunteers and Foodbank clients.

Essex Sailors will assist the North Queensland Military Museum with the restoration and conservation of the museum by making frames for the museum's photographs.

The Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) team on board Essex offered tour tickets prior to the ship’s arrival, including a whitewater rafting trip and a trip to the Billabong Sanctuary. Sailors are also planning to attend a professional rugby game while visiting Townsville.

The port visit will provide Essex Sailors an opportunity to enjoy liberty in a unique city that is a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

Essex is the only forward-deployed amphibious assault ship and serves Task Force 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.