Australia lauded for setting example
Military forces in the Pacific region were looking to nations such as Australia as a model to organise, train and equip their formations in the face of evolving modern warfare, a top United States Army general said.
CAPTION: Commanding General of America’s First Corps Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane speaks in Thailand during the multinational Exercise Cobra Gold. Story and photo by Captain Charles Miranda.
Commanding General of America’s First Corps, Lieutenant-General Matthew McFarlane, said the testing and integration, notably of the space and cyber warfare domains, by Australia and the US were also being regionally viewed by allies and partners as benchmark critical skills to adopt to modernise their armed forces.
Speaking during the multinational Exercise Cobra Gold 26, Lieutenant-General McFarlane – whose First Corps has oversight of US army units in the Asia-Pacific said the push was seeing an increased demand for bilateral and multilateral exercises and Australia’s expertise.
“Some of that is because there is more interest and opportunities to work with partner nations as they are modernising their forces,” Lieutenant-General McFarlane said.
“Everyone is interested in doing things together to learn how best organise, train and equip their formations, and we are an example for other nations as they bring in multi-domain capabilities and effects.
“I tell you, with your 10th Brigade and your 1st Australian Division and our multi-domain task forces are working on building those [space and cyber] capabilities and ensuring we can interoperate together as we move through multiple exercises this year forward to Talisman Sabre 2027.
“As we integrate with new technology, experiment with it, take it to the hardest environment we train in and maintain effectiveness in the efficacy of whatever the system is, that is really what we are focused on as we transform.
Getting it out, using it until it breaks to make sure it doesn’t break when we need it in a crisis or a critical time.”
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