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| Future Canberra class LHD |
Max Blenkin
In 1945, Australian soldiers charged up the beaches in a series of amphibious operations on Japanese-occupied Borneo.
That was Australia's last amphibious assault and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is now working to recreate that ability to land troops and equipment from the sea as it prepares to take delivery of two new landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships.
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| Canberra's hull ready for trip to Aus |
The first of the LHDs, to be named Canberra, is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne next month.
And on the Hawaiian Islands, 120 soldiers of the Townsville-based 1st Battalion (1RAR) have been practising amphibious operations alongside troops from seven other nations and under the guidance of the US Marine Corps as part of the biannual RIMPAC (rim of the Pacific) exercises.
"This is another step in what is a very co-ordinated approach to making us amphibious ready," said Commodore Stuart Mayer, commander of the Australian forces taking part in RIMPAC.
The RIMPAC exercises hosted by the US Pacific Fleet are held every two years in Hawaii.
It's the world's largest multilateral livefire exercise and RIMPAC 2012, which finishes on August 3, involved ships, aircraft and personnel from 22 nations.
Read the full story at the Herald Sun