Photo By Staff Sgt. Salvador Moreno | Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division,...... read more read more
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TONGA -- Exercise Tafakula 2011 launched with an opening ceremony at Taliai Military Camp, Kingdom of Tonga, Aug. 11.
Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, soldiers with the Tonga Defense Services and French Armed Forces, New Caledonia were in formation for the commencement.
The multilateral exercise between the three forces will increase joint operations and improve U.S. military-to-military relations with foreign services.
Brig. Gen. Tau’aika ‘Uta’atu, commander of Tonga Defense Services at Camp Taliai, addressed the militaries at the ceremony.
“This year’s exercise brings us together once again to learn and share experiences on how to plan to deal with some of the security challenges that we may face in the Pacific region or our respective countries,” ‘Uta’atu said.
This year marks the 26th anniversary of the exercise and the second time both the U.S. Marines and FAFNC participated here in Tonga.
“It enhances our interoperability as well as our ability to work with foreign forces in areas like Afghanistan where you see security forces from many other smaller nations,” said 2nd Lt. Joel Steele, rifle platoon commander for 3/5. “It continues the goodwill between our forces because we have the same values and military goals. It allows us to get the training we would get back in the U.S., but we can’t really mimic a jungle environment like this or forces that speak other languages.
The three militaries will conduct field-training exercises, live fire ranges and other small unit training. The exercise is scheduled to conclude Aug. 29.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2011 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 75425 |
| Location: | TO |
| Web Views: | 444 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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