143rd ESC Soldiers Exposed to International Contracts at Talisman Sabre

QUEENSLAND, Australia – U.S. Soldiers in the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) are getting their first experience with international contracts during Talisman Sabre 25.

Talisman Sabre is the largest bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States, advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening relationships and interoperability among key allies and partners, while enhancing our collective capabilities to respond to a wide array of potential security concerns.

Talisman Sabre is held biennially and Talisman Sabre 25 is taking place across Australia from July 13 to Aug. 4.

The 143rd ESC is a U.S. Army Reserve unit based out of Orlando, Florida, and approximately 170 of the unit’s soldiers participated in Talisman Sabre 25.

Success in Talisman Sabre was highly dependent on effective combined contracting and financial management between the Australian and U.S. Soldiers.

Soldiers in the 143rd ESC finance section worked with Soldiers assigned to the 8th Theater Sustainment Command and service members assigned to the Australian Defence Force, processing contracts for a variety of required services.

“A large portion of the mission support and life support for the exercise relies on contracts and the processing of the contracts has been a combined effort between Australian Defence Forces and U.S. soldiers,” said Staff Sgt. Dorkas Hernandez, 143rd ESC senior maintenance noncommissioned officer and contracting support NCO. “This was my first exposure to international contracts and I learned all the steps required to process and close out an international contract.”

Talisman Sabre 25 is the largest iteration of the exercise with over 40,000 personnel from 19 nations, requiring complex logistical planning and a large number of contracts to provide various forms of transportation, life support needs, fresh water, waste management, and fuel supplies to service members and civilians involved in the exercise.

1st Lt. Delia Myers, 143rd ESC finance officer, said the exercise is also her first exposure to international contracts. Over 250 contracts have been processed with a total dollar amount of over $13 million Australian to ensure all aspects of the exercise function smoothly, Myers said.

The contracting support team for 143rd ESC learned which parts of the contracting process are vital to ensure contracts are processed.

“Obtaining the proper signatures for each contract to approve the disbursement of funds is the most important part of the process,” said Sgt. 1st Class Arthur Gardner, 143rd ESC finance NCO.