Tim Tuatini: Lieutenant Colonel discusses Australia-hosted 19 country military exercise

One of the world’s largest military exercises is underway in Australia. 

Operation Talisman Sabre involves 35,000 military personnel from 19 different countries including NZ, the US and the UK. 

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Tuatini says a large exercise with Australia is an important operation for the NZ military to take part in.  

He told Heather duPlessis-Allan that this exercise, ‘finishes off our training and allows us to exercise our combat readiness.’  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the world's largest military exercises is underway in Australia.
It's called Operation Talisman Saber. It involves thirty five thousand
personnel from nineteen countries, including the US, UK and of
course ourselves. Lieutenant Colonel Tim TUATTENI is over in Australian
is with US morning Tim more than a heather. I imagine
the Chinese are watching this closely. What do you think.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm not too sure they can see me at the moment,
to be.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Fair or not. Our conversation, it was meaning the operation.
They're going to be out there having a look at it,
aren't they?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Oh? Look, you know, really we're here and I'm sure
there's an interest, But there's an interest right across in
the Pacific, and that's why we're here. I mean, as
you said in your introduction, there's nineteen nations here. It's
a large exercise, and you know, Talisman Saber is essentially
a bilateral between Australia and US. Australia in our closest

(00:58):
ally also also includes a number of nations and it's
across I suppose we call it a multi domain operation exercise.
But to put it into sort of simple terms, it's
an exercise that focuses on enhancing interoperability and combat readiness
across what we call the domains, which is air, land, maritime,

(01:22):
cyber and space.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Okay, so what have you guys taken over? You've taken
a vessel? Have you just taken the one drone?

Speaker 2 (01:29):
No? Look, we've we've got a number of capabilities over here.
There are a number of that. There are the ships here.
We have our rotor wing, our pates, and we've also
a number of our our ground forces, our labs, our
land combat capability. Some of them have actually been here
for a month already in a number of leading exercises

(01:51):
diamonds stripe we call it, and they've been here for
a month and they now transition into the talisman saber.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah. Now, tim, do you guys sort of and reflect
on the chances that you may have to go to
warn If you do, how do you rate them?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Look? I think this is our ability to be part
of these large certainly this exercise. I mean historically we've
always sort of stood shoulder shoulder with our ausimates and
then you know, way back to talk about the ANZACs,
but certainly through contemporary operations and even today we're serving

(02:27):
side by side in modern operations around the globe, and
the ability for us, even though we're a small part
of this very large exercise, it's our people and we're
very high quality people. A chance to integrate small teams,
individuals and even sub units and be part of a
large exercise like this which very much pushes off our

(02:49):
training and allows us to exercise our combat readiness.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Tim, good luck, Thank you very much for your time.
Tim to a teeny senior national officer, Lieutenant colonel at
the nz DEF and speaking of the chances of going
to war. Albanesi Anthony Alberzi has been asked if Australia
would follow the US into war over Taiwan if it
ever came to that. He is declining to answer that question.
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(03:16):
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