More Defence news: 01 December 2008 - 07 December 2008
| Governor-General welcomes new Navy officers | Hawk incident at RAAF Base Williamtown | 27 November IED attack – update | Two Iraqi men injured in ASLAV smoke canister accident | DNA Test Results – The Unknown Sailor | Air Warfare Destroyer Sailing Ahead | New Navy uniform unveiled in Darwin | Force Level Logistic Asset Baghdad gear up for Christmas | Increased wallaby management activities at RAAF Tindal | Australian Soldier Farewelled from Afghanistan | Australian soldier wounded in roadside bomb attack | |
Governor-General welcomes new Navy officers
05 December 2008 – The Governor-General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, was the guest of honour as 59 new junior officers joined the ranks of the Royal Australian Navy. The ceremony marked the completion of five months in the New Entry Officer Course. Among the graduates, ranging in age from 18 to 42, were two from the Illawarra region, two former teachers and a Chinese immigrant. During the five month course each graduate has trained in areas such as weapons, leadership, seamanship, naval history, physical fitness and spent several weeks at sea on a Navy warship. After graduating, the new officers will move on to the next stage of training in specialist skills for their professions including pilots, engineers, and navigators. More: Image Gallery |
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Hawk incident at RAAF Base Williamtown |
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27 November IED attack – update 03 December - A third Special Operations Task Group Soldier involved in the IED attack in which Lieutenant Michael Fussell was killed has reported to ADF medical staff with minor wounds sustained in the incident. The additional wounded soldier’s family has been notified of the incident. The three wounded soldiers have received medical treatment and are continuing with their operational duties. More: Media release |
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Two Iraqi men injured in ASLAV smoke canister accident 03 December - Defence is conducting an investigation into the cause of the accidental discharge of smoke canisters from an Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) operating in Baghdad on Sunday 23 November 2008. The ADF has been advised that four Iraqi civilian vehicles were damaged and two Iraqi men received superficial burns to their hands when they reportedly attempted to remove hot debris from their cars. Initial assessment is that the debris is likely to have come from four smoke canisters that were accidently discharged from an ASLAV. The Iraqi men were treated at the scene by Coalition Forces with burn cream after being assessed as receiving only minor burns to their hands. Defence has concluded an initial assessment and found that it is highly likely that the accidental firing of the smoke grenades was caused by the close confines of the operating environment within the ASLAV and unintentional body contact. A formal investigation is now underway and will seek to determine the facts of the situation and whether any other damage or injury resulted from the accidental discharge. More: Media release |
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| DNA Test Results – The Unknown Sailor 02 December - Recent DNA testing of samples taken from a number of relatives of the crew of HMAS Sydney II has failed to identify the remains of the unknown sailor. The sailor's remains were exhumed from Christmas Island in October 2006. Although the remains have not as yet been identified, they are believed to be those of a crew member of HMAS Sydney II, which was sunk off the West Australian Coast on 19 November 1941 following enemy action. All 645 crew from HMAS Sydney II perished. While an official reinterment and memorial service for the Unknown Sailor was held in Geraldton on 19 November 2008, the case is by no means closed More: Media release |
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Air Warfare Destroyer Sailing Ahead 02 December - The Hon. Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, welcomed the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance signing of a further three contracts for elements of the ships’ combat system. The AWD Alliance has signed contracts for the three ships’ Infra Red Search and Track capability, anti-ship missile and torpedo countermeasures, and Navigation Radar. The AWD Alliance is also currently assessing bids to build the ship modules or ‘blocks’ with a decision expected early in the new year, and has recently signed the contracts for the building of its new headquarters at Osborne in South Australia. The AWD Alliance is made up of the Defence Materiel Organisation, ASC and Raytheon Australia. The first of the AWDs is scheduled for delivery in late 2014. More: Media release |
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New Navy uniform unveiled in Darwin
02 December – Today, a new and improved operational uniform for Navy personnel was introduced into service and distributed for the first time in Darwin. Officers and sailors in Patrol Boats protecting Australia’s northern waters on Operation RESOLUTE have been the first to be issued the Disruptive Pattern Navy Uniform (DPNU), which will now be rolled out to all 16,000 Royal Australian Navy (RAN) personnel nationwide. More: Media release | Image gallery |
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Force Level Logistic Asset Baghdad gear up for Christmas
02 December - The team of Force Level Logistic Asset based in Baghdad is gearing up for the Christmas rush. The team is working overtime to ensure that Christmas gifts get to and from loved ones back home, on top of their day-to-day duties. More: Image gallery |
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Increased wallaby management activities at RAAF Tindal 02 December – Today, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly AM MP, today announced that Defence is increasing its wallaby management activities at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory. Large numbers of wallabies are currently preventing fixed-wing civilian aeromedical services from using the airstrip at dawn and dusk. Defence will engage with representatives from Pearl Aviation this week to discuss the increased management activities that are aimed at facilitating Pearl Aviation’s return to Tindal. There have been two wallaby strikes and one near-miss involving military aircraft at Tindal in the past few weeks. An escalation in management activities is urgently required to immediately reduce the risk to aviation safety. Defence’s wallaby management plan for RAAF Tindal has a number of components including habitat alteration, trapping, translocation and culling. More: Media Release |
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Australian Soldier Farewelled from Afghanistan
01 December - Fellow Australian Defence Force personnel, members of the Afghan National Army and Dutch Forces have solemnly farewelled their comrade Lieutenant Michael Fussell, who was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Afghanistan on Thursday 27 November. Lieutenant Fussell, 25, was a member of the Sydney-based 4th Battalion (Commando) and was conducting a dismounted patrol when he and his team were struck by the IED. His return to Australia began on Sunday with a memorial service and ramp ceremony at Camp Holland, the Australian and Dutch military base in Tarin Kowt, Southern Afghanistan. The service was held in the Australian Special Operations Task Group compound where an outdoor chapel was set up to accommodate the large gathering of Lieutenant Fussell’s comrades from Australia’s Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force One (MRTF – 1), the Afghan National Army, and Dutch Forces. More: Operation Slipper | Media release | Image Gallery |
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Australian soldier wounded in roadside bomb attack 01 December – In the early hours of Saturday morning, an Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV) serving with the Mentoring Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) was struck by a road-side bomb in Oruzgan. The blast wounded one Australian soldier and a civilian employed by the ADF who was travelling in the same vehicle. The soldier and civilian received immediate first aid and were evacuated by helicopter to the military hospital located nearby at Tarin Kowt. Both men sustained non life threatening injuries to their limbs and their condition is assessed as serious. The soldier’s immediate family have been advised and planning has commenced to return him to Australia for additional specialist medical treatment. More: Media release |
