Exercise Sea Lion 2013 has entered a critical phase with the go ahead being given for the Amphibious Task Force to rehearse evacuation of Australian citizens and foreign nationals from the troubled Tropicana Enclave.
For the sake of the exercise, the country of “Tropicana”, located on the northern coast of Queensland, is experiencing extreme civil unrest with criminal groups in the Tropicana Enclave running amok and intimidating the local population.
The Government of Tropicana has requested assistance from the Australian Government, which deployed an Amphibious Task Group to the area, operating from HMAS Choules .
In order to conduct a safe evacuation, a number of objectives must first be achieved. This includes identifying appropriate evacuation centres and working with exercise Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff to coordinate the process.
It also means a number of soldiers from 2RAR (who form the bulk of the task force) are required to be inserted into the area of operation to ensure the evacuation process runs smoothly and as it should.
Once all Australian and approved foreign nationals are evacuated, the exercise will kick into its next phase.
[mappress] Press Release, June 21, 2013; Image: Australian Navy