MELBOURNE'S ORE For Gulf
May 3, 1999
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HMAS MELBOURNE's Seahawk conducts
fast rope insertion onto Iron Prince.
Picture: LEUT Muller |
The skills honed by the drills will now be used for real as CMDR Peter Jones takes his 4,100 tonne guided missile frigate, the O5, to the Gulf for three months.
The warship was farewelled from her home port Fleet Base East and will refuel at Fleet Base West before crossing the Indian Ocean.
During the protracted exercises off Jervis Bay and Wollongong, the ship was visited by the Minister for Defence, Mr John Moore and the Maritime Commander, RADM Chris Ritchie.
The pair and their aides were flown by Seahawk helicopter from HMAS ALBATROSS to the ship, then standing 10 nautical miles off Jervis Bay. The VIPs watched as a boarding party fast roped from a Seahawk into the cargo well of a landing craft.
Earlier in their workup, sailors had scrambled from RHIBs aboard other vessels.
The boarding drills and other evolutions by the ship and her complement were aimed at bringing MELBOURNE up to the RAN's maximum operational readiness status - ORE (operational readiness evaluation.) ORE is a prerequisite for all Australian warships deploying into an area of operations.
MELBOURNE will join the United Nation's multi-nation Maritime Interception Force (MIF) in the Gulf this month.
On board MELBOURNE, the Minister congratulated CMDR Jones and his 220 strong ship's company on their high level of professionalism and preparedness.
"All Australians can be very proud of the MELBOURNE and its company," Mr Moore said.
"They will be making a significant contribution to the United Nation's efforts in the Gulf, and at times, they will be performing their duty under difficult circumstances.
"The purpose of their mission is to conduct maritime interception patrols and boarding operations to enforce sanctions imposed on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait.
"This is being done in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions on Iraq," Mr Moore said. The Minister added: "MELBOURNE's role in enforcing those sanctions is an important element in ensuring that Saddam Hussein is not able to threaten regional and international security." The RAN has contributed ships to the MIF on eight occasions between 1990 and 1996.
MELBOURNE did a stint in the Gulf in mid-1996.
By Graham Davis