Force Headquarters News

The headquarters of the EU’s anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia will be moved from the UK to Spain next year as EU leaders revealed the latest consequence of Brexit."EU NAVFOR confirms that following the decision from the Council of the European Union the mandate of Operation ATALANTA will continue until 31 December 2020," said a press release. EU NAVFOR Somalia, also known as Operation Atalanta, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first undertaken by the European Union Naval Force.The mandate extension signals the EU’s commitment to continuing counter-piracy operations off the Somali coast.

Staff from Brisbane-based 1st Division/Deployable Joint Force Headquarters joined other Defence representatives for an amphibious force staff exercise in Townsville in October. Conducted by the Amphibious Task Group, the exercise provided an opportunity for personnel representing the key enablers of Australia’s amphibious capability to discuss the future. Joining in were personnel from HMA Ships Canberra, Adelaide and Choules, Army's Forces Command and 3rd Brigade, Director General – Land, Maritime Operations, 5th Aviation Regiment and Combat Training Centre. Colonel Terence Dunne, United States Marine Corps, who is posted to the Joint Force Headquarters and in charge of amphibious capability and development…

Australia’s newest military capability, the Amphibious Ready Element, has demonstrated its capacity in waters off the North Queensland coast during the Sea Series of exercises. Conducted by the Brisbane-based Deployable Joint Force Headquarters, under command of Major General Stuart Smith, the Sea Series of exercises enabled the amphibious force to achieve an interim operational capability. The Sea Series of exercises involved about 1100 embarked forces and crew on board HMAS Canberra with medium lift helicopters, landing craft and small boats, trucks, troop carriers and other vehicles. The embarked force included major elements from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and 5th Aviation Regiment supported by HMAS Stuart, Air Force assets as well as other government agencies.

The Australian Defence Force is testing its newest amphibious capability ahead of the upcoming cyclone season. Exercise SEA RAIDER in Far North Queensland involves some 1400 troops embarked in HMAS Canberra with medium lift helicopters, landing craft and small boats, trucks, troop carriers and other vehicles. Conducted by the Brisbane based Deployable Joint Force Headquarters, under command of Major General Stuart Smith, Exercise SEA RAIDER is supported by HMAS Stuart, Air Force assets and Commando forces as well as other Government agencies. The ADF works closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the lead agency for Australian Government responses to overseas emergencies.

Australia’s newest military capability, the Amphibious Ready Element, is preparing to demonstrate its capacity in waters off the North Queensland coast. Townsville-based 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment with MRH-90 helicopters from the 16th Aviation Brigade will combine with the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Canberra and Air Force assets to conduct a series of amphibious training activities from August through to October. Conducted by the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters under the command of Major General Stuart Smith, the 'Sea Series' of exercises will enable the amphibious force to achieve an interim operational capability.

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.

Traveling to both Brisbane and the Australian capital Canberra, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus met with U.S. and Australian government and military officials to reinforce the alliance between the two countries. Mabus' visit represents a continuation of the Department of the Navy's focus on building partnerships designed to help distribute the burden of securing the global maritime domain based on alliances, shared values and mutual trust. "The United States and Australia have an historic and extensive relationship…

'HMAS Tobruk' has arrived to commence recovery support operations in the Ormoc region of Leyte Island to assist the Philippines government repair the damage caused by Typhoon Haiyan. The warship sailed from Townsville with a Recovery Support Force onboard, and is now disembarking Army personnel from Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment by landing craft. The engineers will commence a range of tasks including road clearing and quick impact tasks such as debris clean-up in public areas.

On April 14, in a ceremony held at the Commercial Port of Djibouti, Portuguese Commodore Alberto Correia took over the command of Task Force 465 (TF 465) as the new European Union Naval Force Headquarters – Operation ATALANTA Force Commander. Commodore Correia takes over the duty from his predecessor, Spanish Rear Admiral Juan Rodriguez. During the handover, presided over by EU NAVFOR Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Guido Rando, Commodore Correia congratulated Rear Admiral Rodriguez for the results achieved during his command and thanked him for his outstanding efforts. He emphasized that ”The mission priorities given to TF 465 are absolutely clear to me.

At a ceremony in Djibouti on board the EU NAVFOR Swedish warship, HSwMS Carlkrona, Force Commander Rear Admiral (LH) Jan Thörnqvist who has been the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR Operation ATALANTA for the last four months, handed over to Rear Admiral Philippe Coindreau of France. He will lead the multinational Force Headquarters onboard the EU NAVFOR French warship De Grasse for the next four months. On Saturday 14 August the hand over took place on board HSwMS Carlskrona and the Commanders exchanged information regarding Operation ATALANTA.

EU NAVFOR HNLMS Johan de Witt has effectively blocked known pirate camp on the Somali coast from access to the open sea. As an amphibious ship, HNLMS Johan de Witt is able, from a dock within the ship, to launch a number of smaller vessels, LCVPs (Landing craft for vehicle and personnel transport), that can provide a blockading role on selected known pirate areas of the Somali coast. Under orders from the Swedish EU NAVFOR Force Headquarters Ship Carlskrona, the warship Johan…

At 1200 GMT, Wednesday April 14, the Italian Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero relinquished command of Task Force 465, the EU Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta. The Swedish Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist took over command and the multinational Force Headquarters will now operate from the EU NAVFOR HSwMS Carlskrona. "Operation Atalanta is, and will continue to be, a very important operation, foremost from a humanitarian perspective. Our military effort will therefore contribute to generate relief for those who suffer in Somalia and security for seafarers sailing the waters off Somalia," admiral Thörnqvist said.

On October 10 two French fishing vessels in position approximately 160 nm North of Seychelles reported being under attack by pirate skiffs. The attacks were unsuccessful. EU NAVFOR reacted immediately and launched the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft stationed at the Seychelles to investigate the area of the incident. The EU NAVFOR Force Headquarters onboard EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship EVERTSEN contacted the Seychelles Coastguard, who had a patrol vessel operating 50nm from the incident. The EU NAVFOR Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) located the pirate skiffs, two fast attack skiffs and one mother skiff, close to the position of the earlier attack on the French fishing vessels. The MPA directed the Seychelles Coastguard to the scene.

At a ceremony in the Red Sea onboard the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship Numancia Force Commander Captain (N) Juan Garat Caramé, handed over Command of the FHQ to Commodore Pieter Bindt of the Netherlands. Commodore Bindt will lead the multinational FHQ from the EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship HNLMS Evertsen for the next four months. The EU NAVFOR warships Numancia and Evertsen met north of the narrow straight Bab al Mandeb, in the southern Red Sea. The hand over took place onboard Numancia and the Commanders exchanged information relating to Operation Atalanta and the challenges ahead.