German sailors cross Langham Beach during an amphibious assault near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. The training alongside U.S. Marines was part of the Talisman Sabre exercise. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
SHOALWATER BAY TRAINING AREA, Australia — Members of the German navy’s Sea Battalion got their first taste of amphibious operations alongside U.S. Marines this week on Australia’s eastern coast.
The 210 German troops’ presence in large-scale Talisman Sabre drills, involving mostly U.S. and Australian service members over the past two weeks, comes as European militaries turn their attention to the Indo-Pacific.
During Wednesday’s amphibious operation, about 20 German sailors launched on U.S. Navy hovercraft from the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans, landed on Langham Beach, and maneuvered into the training area with U.S. Marines from Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Sea Battalion platoon leader Capt. Jonas Linke, working with the Marines for the first time, said the amphibious troops have much in common.
“We are part of the navy with the same task as the Marines,” he said.
U.S. and German troops chat during Talisman Sabre training near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The motorized company of about 80 Marines, equipped with half a dozen trucks, had orders to secure the beachhead, its commander, Capt. Kyle Thompson, told Stars and Stripes after coming ashore.
“We are securing a big hill with an enemy headquarters and mortars on it,” he said of a mission planned for the next day.
Lt. Gen. Alfons Mais, chief of the German army, was in Australia ahead of the drills and visited the Townsville Field Training Area in Queensland, the Australian Defence Force said in a July 24 statement.
“This exercise is very exciting for our personnel and, as well as testing our preparedness and procedures, I want our personnel to gain experience of the country and build relationships,” he said. “We share a lot in common with Australia and the region and we want to portray ourselves as a reliable partner.”
The German troops have been getting to grips with local wildlife such as kangaroos and spiders, Linke said.
“We are missing the German summer, but we love the beer, and we love the nights in Brisbane,” he said of liberty the troops took ahead of the drills in Queensland’s largest city. “It’s the most welcoming for us.”
Germany’s government has recently placed more emphasis on engagement with the Indo-Pacific, Linke said.
“Each year it is either the army, the navy or the air force going there,” he said. “They just declared the Pacific as an area to be focused on.”
Staff Sgt. Jakob Tedsen, a German sailor, poses during a Talisman Sabre drill near Stanage Bay, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
It’s the first time most of the German sailors have trained with U.S. Marines, who have only a small presence in Germany.
Another German sailor, bushy bearded Staff Sgt. Jakob Tedsen, waited with his comrades to move inland. German sailors can grow beards if their whiskers are tidy and don’t interfere with a gas mask, he said.
The tall Tedsen — a fan of NBA star Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets — said he will take a couple of weeks off at home before heading to Estonia for Northern Coasts, another exercise with U.S. Marines.
