Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard Myers announced that the US was likely to use the joint military training facility it is seeking to establish in northern Australia to preposition equipment and materiel. The joint-use facility could also ensure that US and Australian forces get the opportunity to train together prior to any future crisis. However, there was no proposal to station US troops permanently in Australia. 

In a global reassessment of its force deployment the US has developed a "places, not bases" doctrine, under which it stores large amounts of equipment (tanks, aircraft, fuel and ammunition). This allows for the rapid deployment of troops around the world, no matter where the next theater of war develops. 

Myers is wrapping up a nine-day trip to the region aimed at improving military ties with Japan, China, Mongolia and Australia. - Adam Geibel