Close Encounters: Ingham Locals Help Train Personnel

from Wet Tropic Times, 2023, August 10, Newspaper Edition

by wettropictimes

FISHING NEWS with Tony Mossop

SARI RUSSO | MEDIA EXTRACT - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

TALISMAN Sabre 2023 brought real-life close encounters to the Australian Armed Forces and US Military personnel in Ingham.

Throughout the last fortnight, visitors and residents of the Hinchinbrook community may have come into Ingham to go shopping and encountered Battle Group Waratah conducting a patrol. They may have gone to buy fuel and been confronted by Battle Group Waratah conducting a patrol. They could be at home, and just outside their Ingham residence, there may have been mock combat training underway.

Over the last two weeks, Ingham residents were on high alert, waiting for their next encounter as they provided a realistic training ground for the Australian Army and US Armed Forces to improve their skills in communicating with the public during military operations.

Over the last few months, Ingham residents have enjoyed being an active training ground for 3 Brigade’s Exercise Brolga Run, Exercise DIAMOND STRIKE 23 and most recently, Talisman Sabre 2023, where there were over 200 members of the Army Reserve, mainly from New South Wales, were in the Herbert River town, practising protection operations.

During Talisman Sabre two soldiers from the Australian Army Reserve and three from the US Army Reserve were being tested in Civil-Military Cooperation with various role-playing actors and local politicians, creating exercise-based dilemmas for them to handle.

US Army Captain Karen Fong from the 448th Civil Affairs Battalion, based in Washington state, was impressed with the realism confronting Battle Group Waratah.

“For us this is top notch training, we don’t get some of that experience back in the US, the role players that we have are always members of the US Armed Forces,” CAPT Fong said.

“For us to have this kind of training, its immeasurable.”

Army Reserve Captain David Tobin from the 2nd (Australian) Division based in Sydney says. At the same time, US Army Civil Affairs and Australian CivilMilitary Cooperation (CIMIC) are slightly different; they are working towards the same goal.

“We are trying to reduce the impact of military operations on civilians, remove those friction points with the local community and also enhance interoperability with the US civil affairs team,” CAPT Tobin said.

“It’s been a great learning experience for us and vice versa for them as well, to see how we work together and the different mechanisms about how we work.”

A host of role-playing civilians put the Australian and US CIMIC team through a range of scenarios familiar to recent operations.

The town of Ingham warmly received the temporary residents during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.

The Deputy Mayor of Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Councillor Andrew Cripps, gave his time to role-play as himself in the exercise scenario.

CAPT Tobin says the realistic training in Ingham significantly enhances the capability of CIMIC.

“It’s been a great opportunity for us to apply what we are trained to do with some real time people, the role players,” he said.

“This exercise also made us think outside the box and I think exercise control has done a really good job at creating a sense of realism in the scenario.”

“We interacted with the role players, many of whom come from the local community who have also embraced this activity.”

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