Defence

Defence Support Group

Environmental management during operation PAKISTAN ASSIST

A total of 10 awards were presented in 2006 under the Chief of the Defence Force/Secretary Environment and Heritage Award scheme to recognise and promote excellence in environmental management in Defence. One such award was presented to two Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers for their assistance in Operation PAKISTAN ASSIST. Susan Elekessy and Chris Yulman explain.

An Australian flag high in the mountains of Pakistan during Operation PAKISTAN ASSIST.
Photo provided by DSG

The massive earthquake that destroyed parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir in October 2005 killed over 80,000 people, displaced millions and launched a world-wide relief effort into a forbiddingly difficult environment.

Australia quickly offered assistance in the form of Operation PAKISTAN ASSIST and, when Joint Task Force 632 (JTF 623) arrived, as part of this operation, they encountered appalling devastation and, sadly, many man-made environmental disasters. Air pollution shrouded the operation area, sewerage treatment plants were inoperable and there were few proper waste landfills.

Despite many other critical issues to work through, Task Force Commander, Colonel (COL) Andrew Sims, decided that JTF 623 would not add to the disaster by neglecting proper environmental protection. He and the Task Force’s Environment Health Officer, Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) Tim Strickland, established a series of initiatives for the effective, safe and efficient disposal of waste, and the rehabilitation of ADF sites.

Developing ways to limit the environmental footprint of the task force’s waste stream was a difficult problem to solve. At a clinic on a cornfield at Dhani, in the upper reaches of Neelum Valley, SQNLDR Strickland managed the construction of field incinerators efficient enough to properly burn medical and human waste. The system was constructed and adapted through trial and error and in appalling weather conditions, but it worked very effectively. Consequently, the area was handed back to the Pakistan Military Forces in excellent condition.

Strict procedures were also set in place for waste disposal and site remediation, including returning waste materials to their source (backloading) and prohibiting inefficient and environmentally unfriendly burn pits.

COL Sims and SQNLDR Strickland maintained high standards of environmental stewardship despite the isolation of the camp, adverse circumstances and limited resupply. Their work sets an outstanding example of what can be achieved, even in the most trying conditions.

On winning the award, COL Sims said that, “It was SQNLDR Strickland who really shaped me on the issue…and executed his responsibilities with a truly infectious enthusiasm and energy, that I just had to implement what he suggested – he certainly knows his stuff!”

Susan Elekessy works at Climate Change and Communications, DSG, and Chris Yulman is a Defence Contractor.

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