MORE than 1000 men and women from the armed forces are at Bowen's Kings Beach for the next two weeks as part of the largest military amphibious exercise of the year.

Dubbed Operation Sea Explorer, the exercise involving the army, navy, air force and overseas allies will bring together a cohesive force capable of delivering amphibious capabilities across the spectrum.

These capabilities range from humanitarian assistance, disaster recovery and evacuation missions through to high-end warfare training.

Amphibious Task Force commander Captain Paul O'Grady said Monday marked the culmination of 12months' dedication and hard work to bring it all together.

"This exercise is a preparation of readiness exercise to ensure that we are current, we are competent and we are ready to be called out should the government require,” Capt O'Grady said.

The beach will be closed for two weeks to make way for the large-scale exercise.

During this time, the taskforce will use land, sea and air mobile assets to conduct air lifts, surface lifts and ground manoeuvres.

Capt O'Grady said the Bowen landscape offered a fantastic training opportunity.

"It gives us a beautiful beach as well as the ability to operate helicopters, but also the support and welcome from the community has made it all possible to do a range of things,” he said.

Senior members of the taskforce were welcomed to the region by council representatives and native landholders on Monday.

The event included a cultural smoking ceremony to offer protection for the officers while they conduct exercises on land and at sea.