1 SAS Sqn in the western desert of Iraq during Op Falconer ... the squadron has won the ADF's first Unit Citation for Gallantry. Photo provided by SOCOMD A member of 1 SAS Sqn in the turret of his LRPV during the major combat phase of Op Falconer. The unit did not lose a single member to enemy fire. Photo provided by SOCOMD Maj Peter Tinley, SASR

Absolute commitment

By Pte John Wellfare
ABSOLUTE commitment to training and professionalism is the key to the SASR's success according to a soon-to-depart member, decorated for service during Op Falconer.

Maj Peter Tinley, who served as the Deputy Commander for the Special Forces Task Group in Iraq, has been made a Member of the Order of Australia, for his role in the planning and coordination of the operation.

Maj Tinley said 1SAS Sqn's entry into Iraq was a significant culmination of the planning that had occurred.

"We got a very good feel for it because we were on the radio with them at the time," he said.

"There was an approaching Iraqi vehicle convoy off the right flank of our guys. They were lights out, at night, clearly identified through night vision equipment that it was Iraqi military vehicles.

"There was that pregnant pause between that recognition and the fact that this is time to engage the enemy and that was the thing that snapped them into what they needed to be focused on."

Maj Tinley spent three months involved in planning in the US before deploying to the Middle East.

"The Government hadn't committed us at that stage ... but you can't just arrive at those things and expect a place at the last moment.

"That planning was tying up all the possibilities, all the credible options for the deployment and our operations in western Iraq.

"It was the right fit for us. It was a strategically important mission that we were given to ensure that these Scuds weren't launched, because if one had got away, it potentially could have fractured what ... support there was."

Maj Tinley said the campaign had also demonstrated that the squadron had proven the unit's approach to training and individual skills.

"The quality of the individuals and the junior leadership that was shown by the NCOs and the young officers really came to the fore and validated the fact that our training methods are right."

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