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and ears |
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of
the |
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Always
on watch while patroling
By
Cpl Belinda Mepham
WHEN you’re stuck on a sandbar and the tide has left you
stranded, six men in a 4.4m tinnie need to have survival and protection
on their minds.
Picture
a remote estuary entrance, a day’s travel from anywhere civilised,
the tide is deceptive as it rushes in and out of the gulf, shifting
the sands into deep spots every day.
While
the patrol commander and a patrolmen move forward to take images
and survey the entrance for any suspicious activity, the boat
crew nervously watch the shallow waters for hungry salt water
crocodiles.
According
to Lt Dan Healy, a patrol commander in D Coy, Mt Isa, this has
happened more than a couple times while on patrol in the Gulf
of Carpentaria.
“Our
AO is remote and arduous – over a two-week task we can complete
one or two operational tasks,” he said.
“We
conduct initial battle preparation including rehearsals then we
insert into the AO, move to our target and conduct the tasks –
this might be a nine-day marathon to cover such a large area.
“At
anytime we can be more than a day’s travel from our chain
of command or civil communities, which means the patrol has to
be highly independent.”
The
patrol is lightly armed when conducting reconnaissance. A small
amount of small arms ammunition is carried for protection.
“Our
biggest threat and the reason we go out armed is because of wild
animal threat. Be it dogs, pigs, crocs, snakes or occasionally
a nasty shark and we are too far away from help to risk attacks
from them,” he said.
Lt
Healy is a GRes member who works as a chemist in the Mt Isa mines.
“I
test and analyse soil samples for minerals and other elements
for the companies.”
