Side by Side

In mid-2023, the tents and trailers at the Australian Defence Force’s Townsville Field Training Area in northeast Queensland became temporary homes to troops from around the world — a place to train, learn, and share skills and experiences, while reinforcing the commitment of Allies and Partners to regional security and stability. Talisman Sabre, the biennial Australia-United States exercise first held in 2005, drew nearly 35,000 personnel from more than a dozen nations for two weeks of drills at sites across Australia, including the vast Townsville complex. 

Among the new friendships forged in mess halls, meeting rooms and out in the bush was that of two officers from nations 8,000 kilometers apart but linked by shared values and goals. Tongan Armed Forces Lt. Col. Tau Aholelei led the Pacific nation’s 40-member contingent in Australia, which represented about 7% of its military personnel. Thirty light infantry Soldiers along with military police, and logistics and weapons specialists embedded with Australian Army units for Tonga’s first participation in Talisman Sabre.

Among the 110-strong contingent from Indonesia, meanwhile, Army Lt. Col. Arief Widyanto led a paratroop raid during an amphibious assault drill as part of the Southeast Asian nation’s inaugural deployment to the exercise. “We already learned so much from the beginning of the exercise, even from the planning of the exercise we learned so much about how to manage such a big exercise,” Arief said.

Aholelei and Arief sat down with FORUM at Townsville Field to discuss their experiences at Talisman Sabre, the importance of interaction with partner militaries and how they plan to incorporate the lessons into their respective forces. The interview has been edited to fit FORUM’s format.

FORUM: Tell us about the benefits of participating in Talisman Sabre.

Arief: It is a great experience for our Armed Forces who can join a multinational joint exercise. We learn so much from [the command posts], which is the new thing for us — how they spread out the command posts into three sections, which never happened before. We also contribute troops on the ground. We just joined land forces operations and then airborne operations and also amphibious operations. So, this is kind of new for us because we also brought our C-130 from Indonesia so they can exercise transport/airlifting operations and how to conduct airborne operations together with other allied nations, and then how to support a big-sized operation like Talisman Sabre.

It brings much benefit for us, not only for the staff who work side by side with other staff so they can build good relationships, but also for the troops on the ground to be able to know the capabilities of the allied forces and to learn so much more about them.

Aholelei: For the Kingdom of Tonga, His Majesty’s Armed Forces needs to be participating in this exercise [because we are] part of the regional security arrangements. But, most importantly, we all have our various respective security interests. At the same time, we also have common security interests. As a developing island nation — and, I think, one of the smallest participants — we also want to show our security partners that we can contribute, and not only contribute, but contribute so we add value to operations, we add value to the partnership, and that we are a reliable and trustworthy partner when it comes to security operations. It’s also part of us giving back to our region; we also receive a lot of assistance and support. So, for
His Majesty’s Armed Forces participating in Talisman Sabre, we are able to project that we can play our role in the big picture.

FORUM: How much of a commitment to regional security does Tonga’s presence at Talisman Sabre represent?

Aholelei: We are a small island [nation] but scattered, and we have a very big maritime space. We can maintain security to a certain extent, but we need support in order to manage our security environment. It’s also important for us because we rely a lot on imports, and the way those goods are shipped from Australia, the U.S., Hawaii, from all over the world, we need our maritime zones and international waters to be secure so that we are able to move forward with the resources we need. So, it’s actually essential that we do participate because strategically, and also technically, those arrangements are important because we are able to contribute and also maintain the partnership in doing so.

FORUM: How might Indonesia’s participation influence future iterations of its own multinational exercise, Garuda Shield, which also has expanded in recent years?

Arief: Being participants here, we can learn a lot so we can improve the things we want to provide at Garuda Shield. Our Armed Forces headquarters also contributed to see how the scenario of Talisman Sabre could improve Garuda Shield. There are a lot of good things that we [didn’t have] in Garuda Shield before. For example, the spread of the command posts to avoid the ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] from the enemy … and the other things such as the integrated comms from different units, different capabilities of communications, that we can improve in exercise Garuda Shield.

FORUM: Does the terrain at Talisman Sabre differ significantly from the terrain back home?

Aholelei: No, it’s quite similar in parts. We get closed country, jungle, we also get a bit of open country. But I think what participating in these big, multinational exercises [brings] is how to use that space, be it closed country or open country, but also understanding technical-level arrangements and also the operational level. We not only exercise out in the field; we discuss concepts about what the future looks like, especially in organizing each respective military, looking at various areas we can help each other in. So, it’s not only about exercising, it’s about partnership and fostering those relations. It’s one thing sitting in a conference room being formal and saying the right things, but person to person there’s a natural connection and from there, that’s where trust and respect builds.

Arief: The terrain is similar back home in my country, but the weather is quite different. We come from a tropical country and we’re right on the equator, so there’s humidity. Right now, it’s winter season [in Australia] even though it’s not really that cold, but there’s still a big difference, especially for the troops on the ground. I believe this is a very good experience for them to figure out how to survive and how to still be able to reach their requirement or hit the objective right on time with all the conditions that will affect the movement of troops on the ground.

FORUM: What are some lessons from Talisman Sabre that you would like to incorporate into your forces?

Arief: We already learned so much from the beginning of the exercise; even from the planning of the exercise we learned so much about how to manage such a big exercise. And when the troops joined the exercise in the field, they also learned so much from the allied nations that move along together to accomplish the missions.

Aholelei: What we’ve learned … is that technology has enhanced the operational space. And speaking for a small military force, we aspire to have that technology but it’s quite expensive. So, for us, we try and understand how to use it but, at the same time, we also see how it’s critical for us to enhance what we are very good at, what we can do: working in small groups, refining the finer details and the basics, and doing that well. And then, understanding the capability of technology and using it to our advantage in training and moving forward. Sometimes, in my view, I think the technology is good, but it takes out the human dimension in how to approach operations or thinking.

I think what I’ll take back … is the attention to detail and also illustrating key points in the training and in the exercise itself. The detail that sometimes we overlook because we generalize it, but we don’t go deeper. For example, I talk to my Soldiers about being good, but we don’t go deeper into, “What does good look like?” You need to understand that detail and how you’re able to manage that for that individual to perform better and to really have a purpose in what he or she does. That’s something very key, which I picked up from just thinking about the technology and how it just breaks down everything to the second, to the centimeter, to the millimeter.

Arief: We’re also looking forward to learning more about the technologies. We already upgraded the technology to support our training back home … but we still have to learn so much from the educators in the field, like how they control their team. Here in Talisman Sabre, of course, we see the educators from Australia and America, and we also learn how they try to direct the troops, not only directing them to the scenario but directing them on the right way based on their mindset.

FORUM: What has been your favorite part of Talisman Sabre?

Aholelei: It’s meeting so many different individuals [from] different countries, different cultures and also different cultures within … nationalities. There’s a lot of stereotyping, but when you meet them on the ground, you know, we’re all human, and it brings a very good understanding and a humane connection. The business that we are in is actually about managing violence, so it’s not something that should be taken lightly. We are very aware of the risks … but that is the risk we are willing to take because of our profession as Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. So, meeting everyone, talking — different parts of society, levels — it’s actually growing as individuals and as nations that I think is the best part of Talisman Sabre.

Our view is that we’re here to learn and foster those relationships. As I said before, it’s about building that trust and about giving back and adding value to the operational space. I think it was a U.S. general who said, “It’s not the size of the dog but the fight in the dog.” We always think of trying to punch above our weight and to do what we can do very well, and then we’ll build on the other things that we’d like to have.

Arief: Meeting up with a lot of new partners, building up new relationships and then sharing problem-solving is the most interesting part for me in this exercise because I can have another experience that’s based on their stories. By hearing their stories, hearing their experience, it’s so many lessons learned for me and, hopefully, I can improve myself and my unit by those things.