OnMyWay Posted October 11, 2017 Posted October 11, 2017 I had to run a quick errand at Harbor Point mall at 8:30 pm, and the mall was filled with U.S. Marines. More than I have ever seen before. So on the way home I swung by the dock to see what was there, and there was a big ship and all I saw in the dark was L 01. Seems to be this Australian ship: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Adelaide_(L01) Maybe the U.S. Marines are in an exercise with it or there are other ships I did not see at night. As I drove around, I saw marines everywhere. Great for business here. I'll check for ships in the morning when I drop my daughter at school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettGC Posted October 11, 2017 Posted October 11, 2017 Hey mate, Ever since the US Marines established a permanent presence in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and the Canberra and Adelaide commissioned it's a regular thing for them to deploy with a detachment of around 180 of 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force - Darwin on board whenever the ships deploy to deploy to SE Asia. Australia doesn't have a Marine Corps as such but has an Australian Army Amphibious assault group that does deploy as well so it's an invaluable opportunity to fine tune interoperability and learn from each other. Back in the day it used to occur occasionally with the Royal Navy and British Marines but since they no longer have a permanent presence in the region the US became the obvious choice. Not exactly a hardship posting for the Jar Heads involved I wouldn't think 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffH Posted October 11, 2017 Posted October 11, 2017 (edited) 6 hours ago, OnMyWay said: I haI'll check for ships in the morning when I drop my daughter at school. The HMAS Darwin F04 (an Adelaide class frigate) is currently visiting the Philippines with the HMAS Adelaide L01 (Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock) as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017. So you might be able to sight the Darwin. Edited October 11, 2017 by Geoff Hansford 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted October 11, 2017 Posted October 11, 2017 6 hours ago, OnMyWay said: I had to run a quick errand at Harbor Point mall at 8:30 pm, and the mall was filled with U.S. Marines. More than I have ever seen before. Maybe the U.S. Marines are in an exercise with it or there are other ships I did not see at night. As I drove around, I saw marines everywhere. Get out your binoculars and check offshore for the ships as maybe they stormed the beaches! 😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogo51 Posted October 12, 2017 Posted October 12, 2017 A couple of Australian Frigates there also I saw in news. It might not just be a leisurely time much longer, the way things are panning out. But I hope not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyWay Posted October 12, 2017 Author Posted October 12, 2017 13 hours ago, Geoff Hansford said: The HMAS Darwin F04 (an Adelaide class frigate) is currently visiting the Philippines with the HMAS Adelaide L01 (Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock) as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017. So you might be able to sight the Darwin. You were correct. The Darwin was docked behind the Adelaide today. I'm not sure if it was there last night. Again today there were a lot of guys walking around Subic, but I think they were Aussie sailors. U.S. Marines are mostly all in great shape with short hair and no facial hair. Of the guys I saw today, several had beards and some were in "not so great" shape. Just reporting what I saw! The Adelaide is huge. The beam is 32 meters and it is quite tall. My camera could not get a full shot of the length from my vantage point in the car. Adelaide Darwin 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not so old china hand Posted October 12, 2017 Posted October 12, 2017 9 minutes ago, OnMyWay said: The Adelaide is huge. The beam is 32 meters and it is quite tall. My camera could not get a full shot of the length from my vantage point in the car. It seems they have been handing out souvenirs. Or is this a hint as to which nation is most favoured today? (Image from BBC website) 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffH Posted October 12, 2017 Posted October 12, 2017 10 minutes ago, OnMyWay said: Of the guys I saw today, several had beards and some were in "not so great" shape. Just reporting what I saw! If they were wearing Australian uniforms and they had beards then they were navy, the other services don't allow beards As for the 'not so great shape'... they say people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones so I'll let someone else take that comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyWay Posted October 12, 2017 Author Posted October 12, 2017 2 minutes ago, Geoff Hansford said: If they were wearing Australian uniforms and they had beards then they were navy, the other services don't allow beards As for the 'not so great shape'... they say people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones so I'll let someone else take that comment No uniforms on the guys walking around but most likely they were crew from the ships. Yes, I agree with the glass houses comment. I was strictly making a scientific observation! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyWay Posted October 13, 2017 Author Posted October 13, 2017 Here are some shots of the Adelaide and the Darwin from across the bay. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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