Decades of partnership building by Redstone Arsenal’s Security Assistance Command was on full display when 30,000 troops from the U.S. and 12 other countries converged July 22 to Aug. 4 in Australia during Talisman Sabre 23, the tenth and largest iteration since its 2005 inception.
The two-week exercise used to focus on U.S. and Australia but continues to grow in scope, providing realistic training for partner nations testing out how their militaries will work together if needed in the future.
“The cornerstone of America's defense is still deterrence,” said USASAC’s Col. Eric Christiansen, the director of Regional Operations INDOPACOM/SOUTHCOM/ NORTHCOM. “And in addition to having the best weapons systems and the latest technologies that make adversaries think twice, having as many capable allies and partners as possible is critical.”
Christiansen, whose directorate implemented over $3 billion in foreign military sales last fiscal year, emphasized the importance of deepening U.S. interoperability with partner forces in the region and called Talisman Sabre a key platform for that mission.
“A gathering on this scale of capable allies and partners with like-minded goals—in this case a free and open Indo-Pacific where nations abide by the rule of law—sends an unmistakable message of resolve and deterrence,” said Christiansen.
While support to Ukraine continues to be vital to regional security, the DOD has made the Indo-Pacific a No. 1 priority and has a laser focus on countering China's growing influence in the region.
"We're focusing the entire department on continuing to outpace the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the President's National Security Strategy notes," said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee in May. “The PRC is our only competitor, with both the intent and increasingly the capacity to reshape the international system to suit its autocratic preferences."
As part of the DOD-wide effort to outpace China, Austin said the United States depends on a vast network of allies and partners.
"The whole administration is working to deepen ties with our network of alliances," Austin said. "We're working with our friends around the Indo-Pacific and the world through security cooperation and assistance, and through combined operations and exercises. We're also working to develop innovative new capabilities and deepen integrated deterrence."
Talisman Sabre 23 training took place on the ground, in the air and at sea in several locations in Australia. Countries that participated include Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand attended as observers.
USASAC strengthens U.S. global partnerships by developing and managing security assistance programs and foreign military sales for the Army Materiel Command. USASAC currently manages over 6,500 Foreign Military Sales cases, worth more than $217 billion, for more than 137countries.
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