International News

AO up for AUSBATT By Cpl Jonathan Garland IN THE midst of Australian involvement in Afghanistan and the Middle East, ADF members continue to provide significant support to the people of East Timor through UNMISET. Cpl Jason Stagg, CO 5/7RAR Lt-Col Michael Lean, Pte Jason Colqhoun and Maj James Brownlie at the 5/7RAR Bn HQ. Photo by LS Ollie Garside, 1JPAU(P) CO 5/7RAR Bn Gp Lt-Col Michael Lean said the battalion had taken responsibility for two additional districts “The districts of Emera and Liquica are now part of AO Matilda, which is an increase of about 189 per cent,” he said. “That’s a significant increase but the implications haven’t been too severe – we’ve had to do some road and bridge work in the Mira district but we’ve successfully adopted the way the battalion operates to cover that extra territory.” The battalion has had an active tour and in February reacted to an incursion by an armed group from West Timor. “Three were captured or shot and we passed the names of the rest of the group to the Indonesian military, who gave us terrific assistance in rounding up the remnants of that gang. “But our major role remains patrolling, searching and working with the local people, which is our great strength – they provide us with a lot of information in an attempt to find any other groups operating in the area.” Lt-Col Lean said the experience in East Timor had been invaluable for all members of the AUSBATT team. “The drivers, for example – the driving they do in six months here would be comparable to two years experience back in Australia. “Our engineers have faced challenges of every possible nature. In one case, they had to rebuild a portion of a Bailey bridge and they luckily had a sergeant with experience in that type of bridge.” In addition to gaining valuable experience, the battalion has been able to train some of its soldiers in the field. “We’ve maintained a training cell during our tour and soldiers have been fortunate enough to be able to do their Section Infantry course – the Subject 2, as it was known. “We’ve also seen drivers qualify on Mack trucks and the 20-tonne trailers.” Lt-Col Lean said the 5/7RAR Bn Gp had performed exceedingly well. “We’ve had a number of security challenges in the time we’ve been here and the soldiers have handled themselves professionally and competently in all cases. “We’ve managed to ensure the success of a Government initiative by bringing on to operational service an Army Reserve company, Alpha Coy, which has been a great experience for all of us.”