Defence

Marshalling Point

ACM Angus Houston
Chief of the Defence Force

Demanding times

Death of Private Jacob Kovco

Sadly this month we lost Private Jacob (Jake) Kovco, who died tragically on 21 April while serving in Iraq as a member of our security detachment (SECDET). Private Kovco was from 3 Royal Australian Regiment and had been serving in Iraq since March. During his time there he demonstrated a high level of professionalism and devotion to duty. He was an extremely valued member of the SECDET team, and I know he will be sorely missed by his mates and comrades in arms.

It is with immense sorrow and regret that I note the tragic and unfortunate error in bringing Jake's body home. This has been a very distressing situation for everyone involved, but most especially Jake's family. I have apologised on behalf of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to Jake's wife Shelley, and the rest of the Kovco family.

I am firmly committed to determining the circumstances surrounding Jake's death and this unacceptable repatriation error. A number of investigations have been initiated. Firstly, a Board of Inquiry has been established to find out exactly how Jake died. Group Captain Warren Cook (Retd), Colonel Michael Charles and Mr Jim O'Sullivan have been appointed to perform this task. I have great confidence in this team because they are highly experienced in legal, investigatory and military affairs. Most recently they conducted the Board of Inquiry into the death of Warrant Officer Nary. Secondly, I have appointed Brigadier Elizabeth (Liz) Cosson, to lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the repatriation of Jake's body. She will be assisted by Professor Donald Sheldon, an independent medical specialist. Thirdly, Defence will also be conducting a thorough review of the procedures we use to repatriate service personnel killed while serving overseas.

I want to reaffirm that nothing is more important to me as Chief of the Defence Force than the men and women of the ADF. To not only lose one of our own, but then to have an event of this nature occur, is deeply distressing. My thoughts and prayers remain with Private Kovco's family, friends and colleagues.

Increased contribution to RAMSI

Due to the recent deterioration of the security situation in the Solomon Islands, we have temporarily increased our contribution to Operation Anode, the ADF's commitment to the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

Following the recent election and the riots that followed, the Australian Government announced an increase to our commitment from 20 to 380 personnel. This strengthened presence has sturdily bolstered our efforts in enforcing law and order.

It is not clear when our contribution may be scaled back, but we will, of course, be closely monitoring the situation. We aim to bring our additional servicemen and women home as soon as their presence is no longer required.

I am very pleased with the speed of our response, the performance of our troops once deployed, and the way in which the ADF was able to smoothly integrate with other agencies and military forces. (See photo gallery).

CDF visit to the Northern Territory

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the men and women that I met during my recent visit to the Northern Territory for Exercise Pacific Protector 06 and Operation Breakwater.

Pacific Protector 06 was an air–ground interdiction exercise organised under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative. The activity rehearsed how Australian authorities would respond in a coordinated way to a proliferation incident. A large number of Defence personnel were involved in the planning and successful conduct of this exercise, and I congratulate them all on a job well done.

I particularly want to mention the personnel I met at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Bases Darwin and Tindal, as well as Robertson Barracks and NORFORCE. The professionalism of these men and women was a wonderful sight to see. I was especially pleased with the demonstration of capability of the soldiers at NORFORCE and the Command Post Exercise of 1 Brigade. I was proud to see how RAAF Base Tindal was helping the community in the wake of the recent floods at Katherine.

I was also very happy with the way in which the ADF members deployed on Operation Breakwater conducted themselves. Operation Breakwater targeted border incursions by foreign fishing boats off Australia's northern coastline. The operation was led by the Joint Offshore Protection Command and was commanded by Commander Northern Command. The operational coordination was conducted at Headquarters Northern Command (HQNORCOM), with the other government agencies integrated within HQNORCOM. This operation netted 23 suspected illegal fishing vessels and 197 suspected illegal fishers.

I had a searide with the men and women aboard our Navy Patrol Boats, HMAS Launceston and Bathurst. Each boat had a close-knit and very effective team who displayed great capacity and commitment to the task at hand. The highlight was participating in a mock boarding of a foreign fishing boat in Darwin Harbour. This activity demonstrated the difficult duties our sailors commonly undertake.

My thanks go to all ADF personnel involved in Operation Breakwater, as well as to all our men and women involved in our ongoing surveillance and border protection operations, Relex II and Cranberry. I look forward as time allows to visiting more ADF personnel around Australia as they do magnificent work for our country. (See Strategy Group article).

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