More than 33,000 U.S. and Australian personnel will participate in the biennial military training exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 in Australia July 4-19.

Talisman Sabre, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and Australian Defence Force Headquarters Joint Operations Command, will incorporate U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force as well as other government agencies from each country.

Featuring 21 ships, including the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and more than 200 aircraft and three submarines, this sixth iteration of the exercise will focus on joint training of a combined task force of U.S. and Australian forces in a mid-intensity, high-end operation, incorporating inter-agency participation. U.S. Pacific Command units and Australian forces will conduct land, sea, and air training throughout multiple training areas in and around Australia.

The exercise will be conducted from multiple locations in the U.S. to include Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, San Diego, Joint Base Lewis McCord, Norfolk and Suffolk, Virginia, and on the island of Guam; and multiple locations in Australia to include Darwin, Rockhampton, Amberley, Canberra, Enoggera, Fog Bay, the maritime areas of the Coral Sea; and Australian ranges to include the Bradshaw, Shoalwater and Townsville Field Training Areas.

Along with the opportunity to hone military skills, significant involvement from international, Australian and United States government agencies make this a truly collaborative whole-of-government effort. Active participation by international organizations includes the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Australian government entities include the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Australian Department of Agriculture, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service the Australian Civilian Corps, the Australian Federal Police, and the Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence.

U.S. participating agencies include the U.S. Departments of State (DoS), Justice (DoJ) and Agriculture (USDA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Red Cross.

Talisman Sabre provides an invaluable opportunity to conduct operations in a combined, joint and inter-agency environment that will increase both countries' ability to plan and execute contingency responses, from combat missions to humanitarian assistance efforts.

U.S. and Australian military forces train and work together in a variety of exercises and missions throughout the year, including Pacific Partnership which is the largest humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Pacific Partnership began in May and will conclude in late September.

Talisman Sabre is a realistic and challenging exercise that brings service members closer and improves both nations' ability to work bilaterally, and prepares them to be poised to provide security regionally and globally. This exercise is a major undertaking and illustrates the closeness of the Australian and U.S. alliance and the strength of the military-to-military relationship.