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A Joint Task Force (JTF) has been set up by the Australian Defence Force, in response to a request from the Northern Territory government, to offer further assistance in recovery efforts to the cyclone affected communities of Darwin and Palmerston.
The JTF is the whole-of-Defence emergency response to support the clean-up following Tropical Cyclone Marcus on 17 March.
The JTF consists of more than 400 locally based Navy, Army and Air Force personnel and will be under the command of 1st Brigade’s Brigadier Matt Pearse.
Approximately 50 US Marines, already in Darwin preparing for the arrival of the 2018 Marine rotation, have joined their ADF counterparts to assist with the post-cyclone clean-up.
The additional assistance expands on the immediate response undertaken by 1st Brigade and the US Marines following the category 2 cyclone.
BRIG Pearse said the JTF would provide additional muscle to the NT government’s clean-up efforts.
"The soldiers, sailors and airmen and women are very much part of the Top End community," BRIG Pearse said.
"We are proud to be doing our bit, alongside the outstanding teams from the Northern Territory government, and city councils of Darwin and Palmerston, to help our communities clean-up after Cyclone Marcus. With the formation of Tropical Cyclone Nora in the Timor Sea, ADF personnel and US Marines are working with council staff to assist the clean-up around schools and roads, to reduce the risk of fallen trees becoming missiles should another cyclone hit the Darwin area."
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