An Australian police officer looks on as amphibious assault ship USS Essex, with embarked Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, pulls pierside for a scheduled port visit in advance of Exercise Talisman Saber 2007. Talisman Saber is designed to maintain a high level of interoperability between U.S. and Australian military forces, demonstrating the U.S. and Australian commitment to military alliance and regional security in wining the Global War on Terrorism. Essex is forward deployed from Sasebo, Japan, and is under the operational control of Commander, Task Force 76, headquartered in White Beach, Okinawa, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.