DEFENCE OFFICIAL:       Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our update on ADF operations in the Middle East.  Today's briefing will be conducted by Brigadier Mike Hannan, who I will introduce to you now.

BRIGADIER MIKE HANNAN:  Good morning and welcome to our update on operations in the Middle East.
        By now you will be aware that yesterday the government announced details regarding Operation Catalyst which is the name given to the ADF's contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq.

        Now this morning, as part of the brief, I will be providing you with more information regarding Operation Catalyst.  Now I should note that Operation Catalyst is yet to begin, and that all of the troops currently deployed are part of Operation Falconer - of which you're well aware.

        Now the transition to Catalyst will be dictated by the situation on the ground and that decision will be made at some stage in the future.

        Firstly, and most importantly however, I'd like to assure you that all of our people are safe and that for the most part we have at this stage completed defensive operations.

        Not surprisingly they are all looking forward to a quick return to Australia.  For some this will mean reuniting with families or simply putting their feet up for a little while at home before getting back to work, and for the sailors of course it'll mean getting a shower for longer than one or two minutes.

        With the situation in Baghdad becoming less volatile by the day, the ADF has deployed a small headquarters element from the main headquarters in Qatar forward to Baghdad.

        Now this headquarters element will coordinate Australian Operation Catalyst activities.  For now, however, the national headquarters and the commander will remain in Qatar, although it may move forward to Baghdad at an appropriate time in the near future.

        Since the Minister's release yesterday, there has been some degree of speculation about, regarding the size of the force that will be remaining in Iraq.  To clear up any confusions, I'll briefly go through the detail of the returning forces.

        Firstly, home by the end of this month, will be Her Majesty's Australian ships HMAS Darwin and Anzac, with 400 of our sailors on board.

        The FA-18 squadron and support crew of about 250 air force personnel will all be home.  As will the navy clearance diving team of about 25.

        The 500 members of the special forces task group - including the CH47 Chinook helicopter detachment - will all be coming home now.

        And of course some members of the combat service support group will also return.
        The following month, in June, we expect HMAS Kanimbla to return home with her crew of 350 sailors.
        Turning now to the operations - I'll start with maritime operations as usual.  Having spent six months on operations in the Middle East, the guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin has commenced the journey back to Australia.  HMAS Darwin departed Australia on the 28th of October last year, along with HMAS Anzac, and it was part of Australia's commitment to the coalition against terrorism.  HMAS Darwin will arrive back in Australia later this month, closely followed by her sister ship HMAS Anzac.

        Meanwhile HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Sydney have been continuing their patrols in the area, as well as conducting training drills to ensure our navy personnel stay focussed and remain on top of their skill sets.

        In land operations - in preparation for Operation Catalyst, and in addition to elements that are remaining in theatre, the army will be providing a security detachment of approximately 75 personnel.  Now the detachment will consist of a platoon of 35 personnel and they will come from the 2nd Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment, and that's located in Townsville.

        Now 2RAR will have the role of providing defensive security for our personnel in Iraq.  And there's some photographs here of 2RAR on operations in Timor, where they were the first battalion to serve.

        This regiment has extensive experience in both participation in operations and in working with the other defence force elements from other countries, and particularly in these kinds of difficult operations that take place in the transition from war to peace.  In recent years the regiment has seen considerable service in Timor, and has excelled in that area.

        There will also be three Australian light armoured vehicles - or ASLAVs - with 15 crew members, and they will be from the Darwin-based second cavalry regiment.

        Now there's a little, couple of photos here of the ASLAV on operations.  It's a relatively new vehicle in the Australian fleet.  It's a high mobility amphibious eight-wheeled armoured vehicle, and it's ideally suited to providing support to our people.  It has the ability to move around Baghdad and the surrounding areas very quickly and very safely. 

        The eight-wheel configuration of the ASLAVs allows the choice of either four or eight driving wheels, and it's designed so that it can still run with eight tyres all flat.  There's a range of about 600 kilometres and a top speed of around 100 kilometres an hour.

        Of course being amphibious it's able to operate in the waterways as well as on land, and it's certainly an excellent vehicle.

        Now the ASLAVs left Darwin yesterday, and they'll be followed shortly by their crew.  There will be some pool vision of the ASLAVs being loaded, which will come out of Channel 8 in Darwin later this morning.  And in addition to that there's some file vision of the ASLAVs at work in northern Australia which we'll hand out at the end of this.

        Now there'll also be a small accompanying support element of the logistics and communications specialists that we need, as well as a handful of military police, as part of this detachment.

        In line with the return of many of our force elements to Australia, our CH47 helicopters have also become, or started preparing for the return journey to Australia.

        Now you may recall, that when we deployed these aircraft to the Middle East, it was a fairly complex operation.  The CH47s needed to be partly dismantled so they could be fitted into the large C5 transport aircraft.

        Now that process will have to take place in reverse for the return home.  So we'll have to dismantle the aircraft, transport them back by air, and then reassemble them back in Australia.

        The special forces task group that recently captured the Al Isad* air base, is now handing over - or has completed its hand over - to the third US armoured cavalry regiment, and has now departed from the area of operations.

        Turning now to air operations.  As you're aware the Minister has previously announced that the air force will be providing 60 air traffic control personnel - all of whom have arrived in Baghdad International Airport today.

        In addition two P3 Orion aircraft and crews will not only support Operation Catalyst in the future, but will also continue to support the war against terrorism by providing comprehensive maritime surveillance across the Persian Gulf for the coalition assets continuing to operate there.

        We'll also be leaving the two Hercules aircraft with their crew and support crews to continue the outstanding work that they've been doing.

        To help you understand just how capable these aircraft and people have been, I thought I'd take this opportunity just to go over a few of their achievements to date.  And their milestones include, of course, being the first fixed-wing aero medical evacuation from Baghdad, and of course we've already reported that although they form only 3% of the C-130s, in theatre they have consistently been able to lift more than 10% of the C-130 cargo moved during this operation.  And that has continued to today.

        Our Hercules have flown in excess of 130 missions, carried three million pounds of cargo and 1500 troops.  Their missions have included air drop resupply to Australian troops, aero medical evacuations, night and day operations into Iraqi air fields, and the air lift of humanitarian aid into Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

        These air lift operations have been conducted around the clock, and across at least 20 locations throughout the Middle East, including of course, Baghdad and other Iraqi air fields.

        In addition to the commencement of operations that will lead to Operation Catalyst, I'm able to inform you that the FA-18s have ceased defensive operations, and later today will complete their last flying day of their deployment to the Middle East.

        From today they will be preparing for their return to Australia, and with this in mind I'll just run through a few of their achievements.

        Operation Falconer, as you know, was the first Australian deployment of fighter aircraft on operations in a war zone since the Korean war some 50 years ago.  The FA-18s were also the first Australian aircraft to drop bombs in a war zone since the RAAF's Canberra bombers were in action in Vietnam more than 30 years ago.

        During Operation Bastille and Falconer our fighter pilots flew over 670 sorties, with more than 2,300 hours of mission time.  Over 350 combat sorties were flown, and this involved more than 1800 hours of sortie time.

        Now all weapons dropped during Operation Falconer were precision guided weapons. 
        Now the types of mission flown included attacking fixed targets - such as military installations - the provision of close air support to ground forces - including attacking stationary targets such as artillery pieces as well as moving targets like armoured personnel carriers and tanks. 

        Targets were located throughout Iraq, and these included targets in the vicinity of Al-Kut, Baghdad, Al-Amarah, Tikrit, Abinaria Dam, Al-Isad* air field, al-Rasheed air field, and many targets spread between these areas.

        Of course none of these happens without first class support, in this case provided by the air force's combat support group.  And this provides logistics, administration, personnel communications, health and of course chaplain support to the air force contingent - overall a great performance by this good team.

        Before we take questions this morning, there's a little vision to show you, including the CH47s in one of their recent missions, and one of the last missions flown by our FA-18s in country.

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Now, those plans are part of the aircraft's self-defence system. 
[Tape played]
BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Those aircraft coming back fully bombed still from these late missions. 
[Tape played]
BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Ladies and gentlemen, are there any questions?

QUESTION:       Mark Phillips from News Limited.  Just beginning with the F18s, has there been any assessment of what would be the most significant target that they did bomb or most significant target they engaged during all of their flights?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       I'm not sure that there's been any assessment like that made.  And I guess the comment I'd make is that the significance of quite a small and apparently insignificant target might be considered very differently from a different perspectives.  If they were supporting a unit on the ground that was being hard-pressed in battle by a particular tank, then I think that would be considered highly significant by the troops being supported.

QUESTION:       Melissa Stevens from The West Australian newspaper.  With the HMAS Anzac and Darwin, can you give us specific dates when they're returning?  Are they going straight back to HMAS Stirling?  And are there any preparations underway for a public welcome home?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       They'll come home about the middle of the month and we'll give you the exact dates a little closer to the date.  They'll be coming into Fleet Base West and there will be a proper welcoming home ceremony organised in Fleet Base West.

QUESTION:       Brigadier, John Kerrin, The Australian.  I was just wondering if you'd give any more detail on the sort of policing action that our forces are now involved in in Baghdad and the incident on Sunday too, if there's any more detail on that action as well?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Okay.  Well, firstly we're not involved in a policing action there.  The forces that we have there are for the protection of the Australian interests there.  The wider task of securing Baghdad and making Baghdad safe is a job that's been allocated to other coalition forces.

        So our forces are being deployed there to protect the Australian military and civilian support for Operation Catalyst.

        In relation to the contact last Sunday, that was a group that was conducting some survey and reconnaissance tasks related to possible sites for future Australian activities where we might be located to do various jobs in the future.  And it got involved in a small skirmish with what appeared to be a couple of lawless individuals.  

        As I said, their job is not to police up the streets of Baghdad, so having defended themselves appropriate, they withdrew from the area and went about their business.

QUESTION:       Was it the SAS or Commandos?  Can you say which group it was?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       No, it wasn't the SAS, it was - in fact I'm not sure that it was the Commandos either.  It was another part of that Special Forces group that were involved in that task.  I'm not precisely sure which group, but it wasn't the SAS, though.

QUESTION:       Don Woolford from AAP, Brigadier.  Can you - I take it the idea of the 75 is to make Australia sort of give it, Australia, an independent security capability.

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Yes.

QUESTION:       And you couldn't, in any sense, call them peacekeepers in the...

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       That's right.  I mean I think the government's been very clear about this.  We're not taking on a peacekeeping role.  Certainly the Australian forces undertake peace operations but we're not going there to do that.  These folks are there to defend Australian interests, to protect Australian interests and that includes any future mission that might be open by DFAT.  Of course Australian Mission and of course there will be other civilian based support for the rebuilding of Iraq that may also require some assistance from the ADF from time to time.

QUESTION:       Like for example the agriculture experts?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Yeah, yeah, exactly.

QUESTION:       What about Australian NGOs?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, they don't come directly under the protection of this group, but we're assuming that there'll be some coordination of their activities made through the appropriate DFAT channels.  And the ADF would be involved where it was appropriate.

QUESTION:       And if, for example, the ag blokes wanted to go 100 kilometres out of Baghdad they could call on this group to provide an escort?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, it depends very much on the situation.  I think it's far too early to speculate about how they might conduct those kinds of operations and how they might go about the business of doing those tasks.  I think we're a long way short of actually knowing that at the moment.

        People will be conducting reconnaissance and looking at the size and nature of the work to be done and of course there'll be a constant assessment of the security arrangements from day to day as they improve and change.  So I think it'd be highly speculative to talk about what specific tasks they might do beyond the ones that I've already mentioned of protecting...

QUESTION:       Do you have any sense about the total number of official Australians that are likely to be there for the - in the foreseeable future who may need their services?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, I don't in the sense that government is still considering the options for support to this rebuilding phase of Iraq.  But it's pretty clear that from an ADF point of view our support will be limited to the numbers of specialists capabilities that have already been announced by government.

QUESTION:       And at the moment this is an open-ended commitment for Australia.  There's a time limit on it?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       I think government's been fairly clear that the country will make a contribution to the rebuilding of Iraq to the extent that it's necessary.  That is they'll be there until the job is done.

QUESTION:       Cosimo Marrick* from The Sydney Morning Herald.  I'm just doing my maths here.  I'm assuming, based on all the numbers you've given troops coming home, there's leaving about 475 from the Operation Falconer 2000, then adding in., you know, the weapons specialists, the 75 from yesterday, the 60 air traffic controllers, I'm up to

about 640 who will actually be.  Is that right?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       At the moment those are the figures in that vicinity, yes.

QUESTION:       Yeah, okay.  And then is there going to be any more contribution from the ADF that'll be announced down the track?  Or is this a line in the sand that's al that's going to be there from us in the future?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       I don't think the government's ever said that.  I think the minister has been quite clear that government is considering what other niche capabilities might be appropriate and that should there be opportunity for us to provide suitable capability, that'll be given consideration by government and the ADF would, of course, respond appropriately.

QUESTION:       With the Kanimbla coming back in June, we're only going to have one ship in the Gulf.  Prior to the war we've been maintaining two for quite some time.  Is there an intention to send a second ship?  And does the Navy actually have the capability to do that at the moment?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, at this stage there's no ship allocated for future operations there whatsoever.  The belief is that this is an appropriate level of contribution for the arrangements or the situation that will exist there following the war.

        As for other ships, although there might only be one ship there, there might be other tasks from time to time.  Sea lift tasks that might require us to go and pick up equipment or drop equipment off to support the troops.  But those ships wouldn't be allocated to that operation.  They'd just be on a logistics task.

QUESTION:       What, you mean sending in a second ship to do [inaudible]?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Yeah, we might want to pick up some equipment and bring it back rather than fly it back for instance.

QUESTION:       Brigadier, just on the [indistinct], I was just wondering how they were getting from Darwin to the theatre.

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       They're flying out on a charter transport aircraft.  And they should be halfway there by now.

QUESTION:       Okay.  And just on another matter, there's continuing debate over the treatment of POWs.  Is there anything further that you can add on that in Australia's position?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Yeah, look I think the thing about this is that before we started these operations there was always the realisation or the belief, the very strong belief, that there would be a lot of PWs.  It was strongly felt by the coalition that the speed and nature of operations would cause the capitulation of substantial portions of the Iraqi forces.

        So right from the earliest planning for this operation, PWs were an important consideration.  Because the Coalition essentially of the US, the UK and Australia had differing legal obligations in terms of the conventions that they'd signed, this was a matter of negotiation between the three countries.  And agreement was reached between the three countries that the handling of PWs would be in accordance with the obligations of the countries with the strictest responsibilities, and that was of course the UK and Australia.

        So when the operation was put together, specialist troops were designated for the purpose of managing PWs, and those troops were properly prepared and trained to deal with the PWs in accordance with the regulations.

        For Australia's part, of course, we handle and treat all prisoners of war and all detainees in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, and we have every expectation that in accordance with the agreements we've made the other coalition partners would also abide by those regulations rigidly.

QUESTION:       Our troops are not holding any - I mean we're not holding any POWs at the moment over there or involved in that directly I guess at this stage?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       No, as I said there were special troops allocated to that task who were appropriate trained and equipped to carry out the task.  As you know, we sent specialist niche capabilities, and those capabilities clearly weren't the appropriate people to be handling PWs.  Having said that, Australia has various legal obligations to detainees, and we will fulfil those in accordance with the regulations.

QUESTION:       I just wanted to ask a couple of questions about the transition to Operation Catalyst.  Firstly, President Bush has declared or is declaring today that the war is over from an Americans perspective.  Does there have to be a separate declaration from Australia?  Or as it was a US-led operation, is that it for Australia?

        And, secondly, you just mentioned the transition depends on other issues on the ground in Iraq.  Can you just outline a bit more about what other things have to happen before we officially hand over to Operation Catalyst?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Yeah.  In terms of the American announcements, I couldn't comment on those .  As far as I'm aware they haven't been made, or they may be being made about now and we need to wait and see what's contained in those.

        In relation to the operation, there's a lot of things that turn upon the commencement and ending of an operation, and that includes its status in relation to the type of operation it is.  War or warlike service or some other form of service.  In relation to the conditions of service that ascribe to it, and in relation to the way we manage it from the point of view of conducting the operation.

        So the issue of when the operation - when one operation begins and another finishes, is a matter that requires consideration of a whole range of issues.  But those are all matters of judgment that are based on the situation on the ground.  So the commanders will be looking at the security situation and at the actual circumstances that confront our troops on the ground before making that decision.

        It's all well and good to make announcements that hostilities have commenced, but if you were a soldier on the ground still being fired at then it's a rather moot announcement.

        And the important matter is the security situation and the way operations are taking place on the ground, and that's what will guide the announcements from our point of view.

QUESTION:       So Operation Catalyst is an entirely Australian thing to decide when it happens?

QUESTION:       Sorry, just with that American declaration, is it your understanding, though, that Australia has to self declare individually as another country involved that it's, from its perspective, it's also its combat or war is over?  Or is there - does it just basically as soon as the Americans say that it's over, that's it for us?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, I'm not sure that the Americans are going to make that declaration.  We'll have to wait and see what declaration is made.  In terms of what declarations we make, we'll be transiting from one operation to another when we think the time is right.

QUESTION:       And, sorry, just picking up on just like you just said about Operation Catalyst.  When that transition is made, does that mean that because it's no longer considered a combat operation, that the special conditions that existed under Operation Falconer, in terms of payment and things like that for the troops on the ground, they won't apply to Operation Catalyst?

BRIGADIER HANNAN:       Well, for each operation there's a separate consideration of matters associated with status and conditions of service and so on.  And those considerations are taking place now in relation to Catalyst, and they would be separately announced when the operation was announced.

        But to restate the main point, each operation has its own consideration and the conditions that we apply are those that are appropriate to the conditions on the ground.

OFFICIAL:       Ladies and gentlemen, one more question.   Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

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