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A member of 1 Int Bn, conducting an interview in East Timor.
Photos
and images provided by Capt Troy Ramage, 1 Int Bn
A young Solomon Islander holding
a 1 Int Bn product produced during Op Anode, encouraging
people to hand back weapons during an amnesty.
A member of 1 Int Bn carrying a loudspeaker on patrol in
East Timor.
The S2 and ISE Int cells at Bagram, Afghanistan during Op
Slipper.
Armour played an important psyops role in East Timor, with
speakers mounted on ASLAVS.
A member of 1 Int Bn on patrol in a market of a village
in East Timor.
An example of psyops material produced during Interfet to
convince East Timor militia it was safe to return from West
Timor
Nius Bilong Peace was a special psyops newsletter produced
during Operation Bel Isi by members of the battalion.
The
battalion motto, "Periculum aliis arcete," meaning
"keep others from danger," underpins the battalion's
ethos and commitment to its ultimate goal of providing both
operational and domestic security.
The
key tasks
The
role of the Int Bn is to provide Specialist Intelligence
Operations (ISO) support to the ADF and Security Intelligence
Support (SIS) to the Army.
The
tasks are:
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Conduct
field intelligence, exploitation, counter-intelligence,
psychological operations, and field security in support
of ADF operations
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Provide
SIS to Army
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Manage
the Civil Reporting
Network (CRN) in the Northern Command AO
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Conduct
collective specialist intelligence training for Army
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Develop
specialist intelligence training for Army
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Eyes
and ears
Cpl
Damian Shovell reports on the role of 1 Int Bn
Intelligence
is the most important work, because the entire force relies on it
for every move. It is the essence of strategy. - Sun Tzu
Without
it, a commander is blind and unable to direct his soldiers. Intelligence
is the X factor which determines the tide of campaign and the outcome
of battles.
Gen Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps, had to sit down
and was heard to have murmured, "They have plucked out my eyes
and ears," when, during the Middle East campaign of WW2, the
2/24 Aust Inf Bn captured the German 621 Sig Coy.
The
true significance of this capture came when at the pivotal battles
of El Alamein, the intelligence exploited from the captured personnel,
documentation and equipment, handed the Allies the deciding edge.
Intelligence
has turned the tide of battle and dictated the outcome of campaigns
throughout history, a lesson well learnt, as 1 Int Bn's fixed inclusion
on recent operations has shown.
Headquartered
in Sydney, with sub-units throughout Australia, the battalion now
controls a large part of Aust Int corps's assets, and, since it's
inception in January 2000, has participated in 16 overseas and domestic
operations.
CO
1 Int Bn Lt-Col Darren Kerr invited Army to explore some of the
battalion's role and operational capabilities, and to give potential
soldiers a heads-up on the career prospects and job opportunities
within the unit.
"Aust
Int corps only accepts soldiers into its ranks after they have served
a minimum of two years in a combat or combat support corps (or suitable
corresponding service) and are med class one," he said.
"Applicants
undergo thorough psychological, aptitude and security testing before
attempting the IET course. If successful, they move on to further
extensive training in a variety of corps specific trades.
"Unlike
an infantry battalion, 1 Int Bn isn't founded on companies, but
capabilities. Once we've identified the operational requirement,
we structure an Intelligence Operations Element to provide a capability
brick with the right balance of our assets to suit the task.
"We
deploy Field Intelligence (FI) teams from the very onset of an operation
to provide commanders with an accurate assessment of the situation,
and the stability within an AO.
FI
operators need excellent interpersonal skills, and are comprehensively
trained in local customs, language, questioning and interpreting
body language.
"Human,
equipment and document intelligence are sourced through our exploitation
teams.
"Human
exploitation, also known as interrogation, is conducted under strict
adherence to the rules laid down by the Geneva Convention, and incorporates
MP, legal, medical, psych, logistic and administrative support personnel."
Equipment
and documentation exploitation also play critical roles in providing
information, and the battalion has structured its SOPs to expediently
exploit and disseminate the time-sensitive information gained to
maximise its effectiveness.
"At
the same time our counter intelligence operators are targeting the
enemy's intelligence collection capabilities."
"They're
working to identify, assess and counteract the threats to security
posed by hostile intelligence activities, organisations or individuals
engaged in covert activities such as espionage, sabotage, subversion
or terrorism."
Although
regarded as one of man's oldest weapons of war, psychological operations
have gained greater notability since WW2, with all modern armies
now lending greater importance to its effectiveness as a force multiplier
to achieve objectives and minimise destruction.
"Psychological
operations are one of our best non-lethal methods of shaping the
battle-space and ensuring force protection," Lt-Col Kerr said.
The
objective of psyops is to convey information to audiences in an
effort to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning
and ultimately the behaviour of organisational groups and individuals,
by using the primary tools of sight and sound.
The
teams incorporate RAE Illustrator Reprographic sappers (Multi Media
Technicians (MMTs) who design the posters, pamphlets, leaflets and
instruction cards, such as the recent gun amnesty posters in the
Solomon Islands or the how to surrender leaflets used in East Timor
during Interfet.
"The
Psyops team we sent to the Middle East produced over 8 million leaflets
in support of Australian and Coalition operations," he said.
These
products were disseminated by hand and by airdrops from US Hercules.
The effectiveness and quality of their product was highly regarded
by our Allies, and Australian leaflets were disseminated over Baghdad
immediately before its capture.
Aside
from print media, psyops also broadcast their message using loudspeakers,
which can either be man-pack or vehicle mounted.
"Field
Security (FS) detachments on operations provide a similar capability
to the domestically based security sections located around Australia."
When
deployed, they provide specialist security advice to planners, produce
security intelligence, provide force protection, and ultimately
provide timely advice to deployed forces and their commanders.
"We
recently vetted more than 100 locally employed civilians in the
Solomon Islands to provide force protection for the deployed personnel
there."
One
of the tools used by FS to do this was a Biometric Analytical Tool
(BAT), which 1 Int Bn are field-testing in conjunction with the
US Army.
"This
allows us to positively identify an individual based on difficult
to change traits like fingerprints."
The
BAT was created following US experiences in the Balkans, where an
LEC who may have been found to be a security risk at one base, could
simply travel to the next to seek employment because of the ease
in which identity documents were forged.
The
CO 1 Int Bn also holds the appointment of Army Security Authority,
and along with 3 Int Coy and its regionally based security sections,
works directly to DCA Maj-Gen Frank Roberts in ensuring the security
of Army at all times.
"The
security sections are available at all times for units to call and
seek advice or request an investigation be conducted".
"In
the north of Australia, 4 Int Coy headquartered in Darwin, manages
the Civil Reporting Network. Its platoons are collocated with the
Regional Force Surveillance Units, and rely heavily on committed
part-time members, who are led by an ARA platoon commander and sergeant."
The
Int Coy regularly sends three-man patrols across the length and
breadth of the Pilbara, NT and far north Queensland regions, and
as its name suggests, they interact closely with the people who
live and work in these remote regions.
Defence
Intelligence Liaison Officers (DILOs), Aust Int WO2s, also part
of 4 Int Coy, work with the RFSUs and to NORCOM by providing regular
interaction with state and federal agencies like the police, customs,
and fisheries.
When
asked what he foresaw as the operational outlook for the battalion,
Lt-Col Kerr replied, " Considering the contribution the battalion
has made, I would be surprised if the capabilities that 1 Int Bn
offers Army were not considered for employment in future ADF operations."
The
average acceptance rate for a soldier attempting to transfer is
about one in four, however, successful applicants can expect their
role within the battalion to take them outside of the usual spectrum
of soldiering, and land them at the forefront of Army's decision-making
process.
The
battalion seeks lateral thinking soldiers, comfortable with interacting
with all ranks, who aren't looking for an office or administrative
job, but who wish to continue in an active field-type role.
They
can expect the information provided from the ground up within the
intelligence corps to be relied upon by commanders to shape and
plan the battle-space.
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