The VOEA Neiafu on its final voyage from Tonga, arrived safely in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia on 14 September, and will be handed over to the Australian Authorities for disposal.
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Results for Defence
Tuesday 15 September 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
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Monday 6 July 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s first Joint Maritime Coordination Centre was launched on July 3 at the Masefield Navy Headquarters, with equipment worth $75,000 pa'anga, funded under Australia's Defence Cooperation Program.
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Friday 26 June 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Joint Operations Room at His Majesty’s Armed Forces was refurbished with $25,000 pa’anga by the Australian Defence Cooperation Program.
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Monday 27 April 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan Navy bid farewell to the VOEA Pangai navy patrol boat on 23 April after almost 30 years of service, operating within Tonga and internationally.
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Thursday 14 November 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Three Royal Australian Navy ships and more than 600 Australian Defence Force personnel will arrive on a five-days visit to Tonga, later in the week.
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Wednesday 16 October 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
HM King Tupou VI commissioned the Tongan Navy's new headquarters and VOEA Ngahau Koula patrol boat on October 16 at the Naval Masefield Base, Touliki. Australia's Rear Admiral Colin Lawrence said the arrival of the patrol boat marked a first step in a new era for Tonga’s maritime security.
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Wednesday 16 October 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
His Majesty's Armed Forces - Royal Corps of Musicians will take part in the largest ever Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to be held from 17-19 October, at the ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park in Australia.
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Monday 12 August 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Multi-national militaries have come together for the 2019 Tafakula Exercise held on Tongatapu from August 12-24, focusing on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training scenarios.
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Monday 1 July 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
HRH Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala attended the handing over ceremony of a new Guardian Class Patrol Boat, the VOEA Ngahau Koula for His Majesty’s Arm Forces (HMAF) by the Australian Assistant Defence Minister Hon. Alex Hawke MP at the Austral Shipyards in Henderson, Perth, Western Australia on June 21, 2019.
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Thursday 25 April 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
“Lest we forget” ANZAC Day commemorations today, remember the day when ANZAC forces consisting of Australian and New Zealand forces (including Tongan soldiers) landed at Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War One in 1915.
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Thursday 18 April 2019
Hawthorne, Nevada, USA
Four Tongan Marines competed in the Nevada National Guard international military contest with Pvt. Sione Lonitenisi finishing in second place, last month in Hawthorne, Nevada, USA. The Tongan Marines competed alongside eight Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers for the title of "Best Warrior".
Tuesday 16 April 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The VOEA Savea departed Masefield Navy Base for the last time on Saturday, April 13, sailing past the Nuku’alofa waterfront and Royal Palace on its way to Australia. It will be replaced by a new patrol boat named VOEA Ngahau Koula (Golden Arrow).
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Tuesday 5 March 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new patrol boat named Ngahau Koula (Golden Arrow), currently being built in Australia, is expected be handed over to His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) in June.
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Wednesday 4 July 2018
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Honolulu, Hawaii
Thirty-eight Tongan soldiers from His Majesty’s Armed Forces are currently participating in the world's largest international maritime exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2018).
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Wednesday 25 April 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
King Tupou VI laid a wreath at the Cenotaph, Pangai Lahi, in Nuku'alofa, this morning, for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service. The ceremony marked the 103rd anniversary of the landing of the Australia New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April 1915, and remembered the 460 Pacific Islander soldiers who served in those armies in 1914-18.
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Monday 23 April 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The 103rd anniversary of the landing of ANZAC forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey during World War One will be marked with a Dawn Service at the Cenotaph, Pangai Lahi on Wednesday, April 25.
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Sunday 6 August 2017
Vava'u, Tonga
Twisted ankles, severe dehydration, and even a bite from a gigantic Golden Orb Weaver spider were just a few of the maladies a medical team from the Nevada Air Guard treated in Vava'u, during Exercise Tafakula, a biennial, multi-national military exercise hosted by the Kingdom of Tonga in late July. The medics were requested by Tonga to also evaluate medical readiness of HMAF.
Sunday 30 July 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
His Majesty’s Armed Forces are currently conducting a two-week military training exercise called “Exercise Tafakula”. The joint exercise involves the participation of soldiers from the United States Marine Corp and Navy, the French Military and the New Zealand Defense Force. An opening ceremony for the exercise took place on July 17.
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Tuesday 30 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A soldier trainer who injured a recruit by burning him with an iron has been court-martialed and kicked out of the Tongan army.
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Friday 26 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The first combined training for Tonga's army, prisons and fire services recruits was completed today with a prize giving ceremony at Taliai Military Camp in Fua'amotu, where Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala reviewed the parade and presented awards. Photos by Linny Folau and Caroline Manu Moli
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Tonga weather forecast from yr.no, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the NRK. See also Fua'amotu Weather Forecasting Center, Tonga, for latest local weather bulletin.