Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Northern Command Captain Mitchell Livingstone says Exercise Crocodile Response aims to enhance interoperability between Australia, the US and Indonesia

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Northern Command Captain Mitchell Livingstone says Exercise Crocodile Response aims to enhance interoperability between Australia, the US and Indonesia · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As I mentioned just a little while ago, we know
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: that the ADF, the Marine rotation in the Northern Territory
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: and Indonesian National Armed Forces they've been taking part in
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a trilateral humanitarian and disaster relief activities in the top end.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: It's all part of Exercise Crocodile Response. It's staged at
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the Rabbits, the Roberts and Barracks, I should say, the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Mount Bundy training area, and the exercise is aiming to
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: enhance well, our relationship I guess, and the way that
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: we work between Australia and the United States and Indonesia.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: And joining me on the line to tell us a
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: little bit more about exactly what is going on, and
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: it is the commander of Headquarters Northern Command, Captain Mitchell Livingstone.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Kevin.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: How are you? Yeah, really well, thank you so much
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Now, can you talk us
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: through the exercises. What exactly is happening is part of
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Exercise Crocodile Response.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks very much. A multilateral exercise between the ADF,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: the US Marine Corps that's currently on rotation in Darwen,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: and the National Armed Forces of Indonesia supported by our
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: government agencies, from government agencies from all those countries that
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: would play a role when we have to go down
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: the path of a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. We
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: did a week in Bogue, or Indonesia, hosted by the
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Indonesian military and our government agencies over there about academics
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: phase where we share our experiences, our resources and how
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: we might tackle a problem which is fascinating. We learned
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: a lot from the Indonesian experience as they unfortunately had
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: to deal with this fairly regularly. Then we had a
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: week in Robertson Barracks where a civil Military Ops center
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: was formed and they had to address the prickly problem
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: of a humanitarian mission of a fictitious nation that was
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: hit by a cyclone. This week at Mount Dundy, we've
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: got about three hundred people from all from the three
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: nations involved and the civil agencies doing some discrete vignettes.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Things like a mass casualty exercise will occur today. They've
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: had to work out the establishment of an internally displaced
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: person's camp and things like mass water purification. So that's
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: having at Mount Dungee as we speak this morning.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: So that's actually happening this morning. Now, does it mean
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: that everybody's going to be better equipped really to respond
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: to disaster situations should they arise?
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, if we can do this in peace time, at
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: our own speed and pause and learn from what we're
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: going through at the moment, If we do have to
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: do it for a real humanitarian mission where time is critical,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: it is always complex, they are always unique. We're just
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: all three of us are much better prepared for regional disasters.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: And how exactly does it sort of enhance as well
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: the operability between the three countries.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: The opportunity to work side by side dealing with complex
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: problems at our pace of choice, gives us time to
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: build the relationships, understand the resources and the assets, and
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: how different people look at the problem is just absolutely priceless.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: If we do have to do it at speed or
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: at a crisis or in conflict, because we've got those
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: established relationships, that interoperability, it just makes the whole process
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: far more efficient. And this leads to the whole attempt
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: to try and bring peace and security instability to the
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Indo Pacific region that all three nations have a key
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: role and a key interest in.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: It sounds like a massive exercise. How many I mean
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: how many people are taking part.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Today at Mount Bundi. We've got approximately three hundred from
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: the three countries involved, and all sorts of assets from army,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: from the Marines and from the Indonesia Armed Forces. The
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: civil agencies down there include DEFAT and os AID and
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: the similar agencies from the other nations dealing with a
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: really realistic problem. Down there. We've got role players acting
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: as distressed villages, so it'll be quite a challenging day
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: for them.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: It sounds like it will be. Tell me a bit
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  Speaker 1: more about those assets as well, and is there any
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: way that territorians can sort of see any of what's
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: going on?
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: The exercise isn't open to the public, but will certainly
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: put out as much as many photos and media as
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: we can because we're quite happy to share this with
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  Speaker 2: the local public. Darwen is a fantastic area to stage
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: these missions from, and certainly Darwen has its own experience
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  Speaker 2: with disasters as well, so not only can we do
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  Speaker 2: disasters north of our region, but we can also use
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: all these nations and all these assets to help domestic problems.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: So how long is it going for?
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: It'll wrap up this week so that's a conclusion of
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: three weeks. Again Indonesia Robertson barracks in Mountain Bundy, and
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: then the nations will will pack up all the kit
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: they've brought, desalination plants, tonnage of trucks, you know, first aid,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: we've got a role to hospital the Marines have established
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: out at Mount Bundy, which is capable of trauma surgery
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: mainly penetrating wounds from impact injuries. And they will go
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: to their separate ways Friday afternoon.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Goodness mate, it sounds like a pretty phenomenal exercise. I
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: know that you know that you guys sort of get
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: involved in things like this fairly regularly, I'm assuming, but
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: you know, do we do exercises like this, particularly with
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: other countries very often?
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Yes, we do. Yeah, history dictates that. Certainly Australia. We've
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: done recently Vanua to assist Optolera assist op FIGI assist,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: which is all humanitarian missions in our region. We've shared
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: those with our nations who can bring assets or are
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: closer to the problem. Indonesia has a similar history of
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: quite traumatic tsunamis and cyclones and earthquakes as does the US,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: and so doing these exercises regularly make sure that we're
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: ready for when and it will happen again. It also
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: helps those relationships if we need to go and face
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: a more complex problem.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Well, Commander of the Northern Command, Captain I should say,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Mitchell Livingstone, I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: so very much for having a chat with us about
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: exercise Crocodile Response.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Katy, thank you.