He's on his first official visit to the United States as PM, spending the two days focusing on security, trade and the global economy.
Visiting the Arlington War Cemetery in Washington DC, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull paid tribute to America's fallen troops as a 19-gun salute boomed out over thousands of white stone war graves.
Fresh from his weekend visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, he's focused largely on the military efforts needed in the battle against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIL or Daesh.
In a keynote speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Mr Turnbull spoke of the need for ground forces in Iraq in order to defeat I-S.
"The destruction of ISIL requires military action including boots on the ground but they must be the right boots on the right ground."
He cited the recent operation retaking the city of Ramadi, conducted under Iraqi army leadership assisted by the coalition, as an example of "the right boots on the right ground."
'Led by the Iraqis themselves, assisted by the Coalition's respective air and special forces, it was not just a blow to ISIL but an example of the right combination."
Mr Turnbull expressed his concern over IS's capacity to use technology to spread its propaganda.
He highlighted the need for improvement in the way in which we respond to the strategies used by IS to recruit fighters on social media.
"ISIL may have an archaic and barbaric ideology but its use of technology and social media in particular is very sophisticated and agile. ISIL claims must be mocked and disproved as soon as they are made. The cyber-sphere demands reactions as rapid as the kinetic battlefield."
With the Jakarta terror attacks still fresh in his mind, Mr Turnbull turned his focus towards the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, praising him as a powerful advocate for moderate and tolerant Islam.
He said he'd like to see President Widodo become a global figure in promoting a counter-narrative of Islam.
It's a move he says could help in the fight against ISIS.
"He condemns the extremists, not just for their violence, most of which after all is directed against other Muslims, but for the way they defame Islam, his faith."
But the Prime Minister warned against any blanket condemnation associating all Muslims with the acts of terrorist groups.
"We should not be so delicate as to say ISIL and its ilk have got nothing to do with Islam. But neither should we tag all Muslims or their religion with responsibility for the crimes of a tiny terrorist minority. That is precisely what the extremists want us to do."
