Townsville City Council and the Port of Townsville welcome the arrival of over 1000 military personnel from the Australian Defence Force and from the United States Department of Defense to the City as they dock at Townsville after completing the Talisman Sabre exercise.
The visitors from USS Ashland and HMAS Canberra will disembark at the Port of Townsville and spend time in the city over the coming days.
Acting Mayor Les Walker said it is always a pleasure to host service men and women who are visit town.
"Townsville is a garrison city and we are proud to have visitors from all over Australia and the globe converge on our beautiful city," Cr Walker said.
"It's a great time to be up here with NAFA underway, Townsville Eats and a range of exciting events to enjoy.
"The weather at the moment is spectacular and I encourage all of our visitors to go out and see what Townsville has to offer."
Port of Townsville CEO Ranee Crosby said it is pleasing for Townsville to be able to showcase North Queensland to the wider military community.
"We are delighted to welcome the Australian and US defence forces to the Port of Townsville as part of the joint-military exercise, Talisman Sabre and hope the personnel enjoy the remarkable experiences our wonderful city has to offer during their stay," CEO Ranee Crosby said.
Cr Walker said the extra visitors also provide a huge boost to the local economy.
"It's always great to see visitors eating in our restaurants, staying in our hotels and shopping at our local stores because it supports our small businesses and creates local jobs."
The visiting troops can take advantage of free entertainment at Queens Gardens on Friday and Saturday nights and visit The Strand for Strand Ephemera that starts on Saturday.
