The relationship between Australia and the United States is undergoing an evolution today, but it is an alliance rooted in more than 100 years of history, said Australian Foreign Minister Robert Carr. The alliance goes back to President Teddy Roosevelt’s desire to have the Great White Fleet visit Australia on its worldwide tour, said Carr during an April 25 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. As the Japanese marched across the Pacific during World War II, and the British presence at Singapore faltered, Australia looked to the United States to help secure its territory and interests, he stated. Today, support for this alliance comes from a partnership codified in the 1951 ANZUS pact, he said. “Only earlier this month, we saw the evolution of this alliance,” said Carr, noting the arrival of the first company of US marines in Darwin, Australia, to begin training. That exchange will aid Australian forces’ ability to operate amphibiously and respond to natural disasters, he said.
A KC-46 touched down at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., on July 1 after a record 45-hour nonstop flight around the world. The mission, called Project Magellan, saw the two crews aboard test their limits as they refueled Air Force jets around the planet.