On the afternoon of Tuesday 27th May the Royal United Services Institute (New South Wales) convened an extraordinary seminar on Amphibious Operations. Several Australian speakers were joined by speakers from UK and USA presenting recent experiences of amphibious operations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific together with current planning and preparation for the enhanced Australian Defence Force amphibious capability with the advent of the Canberra class LHD ships.
Speakers and their topics:
Brigadier David LEECE PSM RFD ED (Ret’d) AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS: An Introduction
Colonel Jim HUTTON OBE Royal Marines The British military intervention in the Sierra Leone civil war in 2000 – case study
Colonel John MAYER United States Marine Corps 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, United States Marine Corps, in the Pacific – case study
Major John COLLINS Royal Marines Application of Amphibious Force – case study
Captain Jay BANNISTER RAN, Commander Australian Amphibious Task Group Amphibious logistics operations
Rear Admiral Mark CAMPBELL CSC RAN, Head of Navy Capability Australia’s developing amphibious capability
There followed a lively panel discussion, concluding with a helpful summary by Vice Admiral RITCHIE AO RANR, National President of RUSI, who also described the genesis of the new Australian Amphibious Capability in 2003.
