Speaking to the ABC on HMAS Canberra, Colonel Douglas Pashley said the Australian Defence Force troops were "really excited to be here".
"The priority is to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief assistance to support the people of Vanuatu," he said.
"Most of these men and women behind me, they were in the field a week ago doing an exercise in Australia, [so] we pulled them out of the field, brought them to Sydney [and] loaded them on.
"We have a sizeable and very capable force here.
