Cpl Graham McLeay of C Coy 5/7RAR leads his infantry section during a live-fire assault with Leopards from 1 Armd Regt during Ex Predator's Gallop 2003. Photo by LCpl Neil Ruskin

Steel predators
Croc ‘03 rolls into action

 

By Capt Mark Doggett
The Army’s heavy-weight firepower from Darwin-based 1 Bde thundered into Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) on Exercise Predator’s Gallop recently for 17 days of live-fire involving leopard tanks, medium artillery, APCs and ASLAVS, followed by a massive brigade advance.

1 Bde units fired more than 120 tonnes of ammunition, from 5.56 mm Steyr rounds to 155mm shells for the howitzers of 8/12 Medium Regiment.

The brigade organised and re-organised into combined arms teams of artillery, ASLAVs, Leopards and combat engineers in support of infantry from C Coy, 5/7RAR.

After the live-fire phase, 1 Bde conducted a formation advance-to-contact over more than 50km in SWBTA.

Hundreds of the brigade’s armoured and B-vehicles and nearly two thousand brigade personnel advanced through the training area.

The advance-to-contact prepared 1 Bde for its role in Ex Crocodile 03, when the majority of the brigade will execute a decisive action to defeat the 1000-strong enemy force opposing it’s advance.

 

Exercise plans realised

By Leut-Cmdr Tony Underwood
Troops, aircraft and ships recently began converging on the Shoalwater Bay Training Area for Ex Crocodile 03.

The balance of numbers for this year’s joint exercise – around 7000 Australian and 3000 US personnel – reflected the demands of operations in world troublespots.

Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre and exercise Director, Air-Cdre Dennis Green said while some members of the ADF may not associate the exercise activities with the skills required for current operations in the Solomons, Iraq and East Timor, events in the past three years demonstrated just how quickly the strategic picture could change.

“The aim of the exercise is to practice and evaluate a combined Australian and United States task force in the planning and conduct of operations,” he said.

“The exercise will develop the high level warfighting skills that haven’t been used in recent operations.”

The Exercise Director also said the deployment stage of Ex Crocodile 03 involved gradual skill building.

“We aim to crawl, walk and then run so we can safely rebuild the skills required to conduct high-level war-fighting.

“But, by the end of the exercise, we will have combined task groups and multiple ships and submarines participating in events involving surface, sub-surface and air attacks.”

Great emphasis has been placed on safety at all levels in the knowledge that, with 10,000 people deployed for some weeks with Defence hardware, some casualties would be possible.

The Combined Task Force Commander for the exercise is Maj-Gen Mark Evans.