IRR celebrates first year

Deputy Commander Special Operations Command, Brig Michael Hindmarsh, inspecting IRR's birthday parade with Commander Land Command Engineers, Col William Sowry, and CO IRR, Lt-Col Craig Petrie. Photo by Bill Cunneen, Service newspapers

By Pte John Wellfare

SPECIAL operations soldiers from the newly-formed IRR celebrated the unit’s first birthday recently with a parade and luncheon at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney.

Guests at the parade included Commander Land Command Engineers, Col William Sowry, and Deputy Commander Special Operations Command, Brig Michael Hindmarsh, with AAB-Sydney in support.

Speaking at the parade, Brig Hindmarsh said the first birthday indicated a significant event in the unit’s history.

“It represents a key milestone, it also offers a vantage point from which you can reflect as to what you’ve achieved in your first year,” he said.

“But it also enables you to consider the challenges that lay ahead, which in your case are not inconsiderable.

“The IRR not only has been extremely active operationally in the past 12 months, but [is] now a fully fledged member of the special operations community.”

He said members of the unit had served with distinction in the Middle East and in Australia, working alongside other special operations soldiers from SASR and 4 RAR (Cdo).

“[The IRR] brings to special operations command and the ADF as a whole a unique capability.

“It’s a capability that we’re all very excited about; it’s potential is virtually limitless.”

On August 1, 2002, IRR was raised incorporating three distinct sub-units: The Emergency Response Sqn, the Chemical, Biological, Radiological Response Sqn and the Incident Response Unit.

About 300 Army and DSTO personnel make up the IRR, which became a special operations unit on May 1 this year.

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