A soldier from HMAS Kanimbla’s Ship's Army Department struggles against the wind beside his covered RBS70 missile launcher during a wild storm in the Persian Gulf. Photo by Sgt W. Guthrie, 1JPAU(P)

Frontline ops at sea

From Capt Phil Pyke
in the Middle East

With the first round of Tomahawk missiles launched from US ships in the Persian Gulf, members of the 16 AD Regt were standing to by their RBS-70 missiles, ready to protect HMAS Kanimbla against any air or surface threat.

This is not a job to be taken lightly as HMAS Kanimbla patrols the northern Persian Gulf, along with HMAS Anzac and Darwin and prepares to head into the Khawr Abd Allah waterway to assist with humanitarian aid into the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr.

Capt Sandy, who heads A Tp 111 AD Bty, said they had been attached to the ship since early January.

“The good work done by the last two rotations had set us up well for Landing Platform Amphibious (LPA) operations,” he said.

“The Navy has been really receptive and it has been a seamless integration into the ship’s company. It has been an excellent example that joint operations can work.”

Before the launching of operations, there were sightings of Iraqi patrol boats, covering their territorial waters out from the KAA, plus dozens of cargo and fishing dhows that may potentially be a threat to Australian ships at any time.

During recent patrols, RAN boarding parties discovered many sea mines hidden on a tug and in the hull of a barge – all ready for deploying into the sea and becoming a major threat to Australian and Coalition ships.

Members of the Ship’s Army Department (SAD) have assisted their Kanimbla counterparts in the boarding of more than 200 compliant and non-compliant vessels.

SAD OIC Maj Neil said SAD members are working 24-hour rotational shifts, unloading or retrieving Coalition rigid hard inflatable boats (RHIBS) on board HMAS Kanimbla.

“This is the first time the SAD has worked with this many Coalition forces, and aside from the RHIB insertions, the SAD also manufactured a number of cradles to allow the additional RHIBS to be carried on KANIMBLA’s deck” he said.

Maj Neil supervises the attached A Tp, as well as two LCM8s from 10FSB.

The LCM8s recently transfered Iraqi prisoners to the holding ship, USS Dubuque.

In addition to stores resupplies and security patrols, the LCM8s also provide a launch and relief platform for boarding parties operating in the Persian Gulf and around the Khawr Abd Allah.

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