The Armed Forces of New Caledonia (FANC) are hosting Australian and New Zealand detachments for a joint training exercise. The operation has been named: “Tagata’toa”.
The operation involves 450 personnel, about 100 vehicles, two military boats, two aircraft and a helicopter. They are deployed in southern Caledonia by Australian, New Zealand and New Caledonian forces. The idea is that two fictitious states are fighting each other on Grande Terre (the reds against the greens).
Getting the military used to working together
Speaking to the Caledonia TV channel, General Putz, commander of the French forces in Caledonia, said that it was necessary to “get the sections used to working together, exchanging orders, exchanging reports, working in the field, implementing procedures and tactics that are not completely different, but are not exactly the same, and all this requires work”.
The aim is to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of the South Pacific, but also to prepare for Operation Southern Cross, which is a multinational military training exercise that takes place every two years in the region.
