Trilateral seminar commences in Townsville

The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, DSC, AM has today welcomed senior representatives from the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, US Army, US Marine Corps and US Special Operations to Townsville for the commencement of the annual Trilateral Senior Leaders Seminar.

General Kiyofumi Iwata, Chief of Staff, Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, General Vincent Brooks Commanding General, US Army Pacific, Lieutenant General John Toolan, Commanding General US Marine Corps Forces Pacific and Rear Admiral Colin Kilrain, Commanding General US Special Operations in the Pacific attended a welcome to country ceremony at the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade.

Lieutenant General Campbell said the trilateral seminar was an opportunity for the Australian Army to build regional partnerships with the Japanese Self Defense Force and the US Army, Marine Corps and Special Operations.

“I am pleased to welcome my counterparts to Townsville for the first trilateral seminar to be held in Australia. This is an occasion that I am confident will generate meaningful discussions between allies and friends,” Lieutenant General Campbell said.

“The seminar is important for regional engagement and interoperability, as well as the continued development of new initiatives to enhance our Army-to-Army relationships.

“Working with our regional and coalition partners is essential to understanding how different militaries operate. Our armies have just concluded a training exercise, Southern Jackaroo, where we demonstrated this collaboration in the field,” Lieutenant General Campbell said.

“Like Exercise Southern Jackaroo, this seminar reflects the shared commitments of Australia, Japan and the US to strengthening defence cooperation between our three nations in the Pacific.”

The seminar will run for two days and is expected to include presentations from the Japanese and American militaries, a familiarisation tour of the 3rd Brigade including various units, the Multi Role Helicopter 90 (MRH90) and the Combat Training Centre.

Elders from Aboriginal peoples in the Townsville area, the Bindal People and the Wulgurukaba People, welcomed the seminar participants to country. The welcome was followed by performance of the Sarpeye Dancers, an Indigenous dance group of Torres Strait Islanders, who are also soldiers from the 51st Far North Queensland Regiment. The event included a traditional Indigenous dance as well as a Steyr dance.

Media note:
Imagery of the welcome to country ceremony will be available from Monday, 22 June 2015 at: http://images.defence.gov.au/S20151684

Imagery from Exercise Southern Jackaroo is available at: http://images.defence.gov.au/S20151702

Media contact:
Defence Media Operations (02) 6127 1999