Army constructs AACAP stone of community spirit
With AACAP 2004 construction well under way, Lt Delizia

Costa, 1JPAU, reports from far North Queensland on what the project entails.

LCpl Mark Appleton, plant operator and supervisor with Plant Troop, 21 Const Sqn with his Caterpiller 12H Grader at the Injinoo AACAP site.

Photo by Sgt William Guthrie, 1JPAU

Spr Scott Lardner, 21 Const Sqn, guides John Mark, one of the locals undertaking an apprentice ship with AACAP.

Photo by Sgt William Guthrie, 1JPAU

Spr Michael Collaros, a plumber with 1 Tp, 21 Const Sqn, digs a trench to connect water mains to one of the AACAP 04 building sites at Injinoo.

Photo by Sgt William Guthrie, 1JPAU

AACAP is the ATSIC Army Community Assistance Program, a cooperative program between Army, ATSIC (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) and the Department of Health and Ageing.

The initiative was announced by the Government in 1996, and is still going strong.

The purpose of AACAP is to form a partnership to assist in the delivery of housing and infrastructure, as well as health services and training to remote Aboriginal Communities.

AACAP 04 is working in the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York, Far North Queensland, providing capital works – including a new subdivision, building houses, house pads and a regional waste facility – and services to the Aboriginal Communities of Injinoo, Umagico and New Mapoon, such as water fluoridation, renovation and electrical upgrades.

The Army has sent 19 CE Works from Sydney to undertake project management of AACAP 04, and 21 Const Sqn as the self-sufficient engineer group to deliver the ADF component of contribution. Both civilian and military contractors will undertake construction.

There are 173 personnel in total, 133 personnel from the squadron and 40 from other units, including eight Air Force tradesmen and 10 tradesmen from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, who are all working directly for 21 Const Sqn.

19 CE Works has been the engine room coordinating the liaison with the aboriginal communities before to and during AACAP.

The engineers continued rapport with the communities ensures that informed, collaborated decisions are made.

The advance party of the 21 Const Sqn arrived in the Northern Peninsula Area on May 10, with the operational phase between May and October this year.

In consultation with the communities and working under the National Indigenous Building Code, the construction sites were quickly established and work began.

It was important for liaison to occur with the communities so that the Indigenous Land Use Agreement, signed by all the traditional owners of the Northern Peninsula Area, could be implemented.

This agreement grants the use of particular sites especially for the construction of subdivisions.

The squadron compound is located at Injinoo, and is less than 50km south of the northern most point of mainland Australia.

The NPA boasts a very hot and dry heat during the day with the temperature varying from 14-32 degrees Celsius.

It is currently the dry season on Cape York. Close to one of the construction sites, thick tropical vegetation indicates the tropical climate.

To preserve the natural rainforest of the area – with its varied flora and fauna – all sites must observe a strict buffer zone. The bauxite in the soil gives the ground a distinct red colour and you cannot avoid covering your khaki boots in the red dust.

The first AACAP project was completed in 1997 and is a high priority in domestic directed activity.

The conditions are as a long-term deployment, and a substantial five-month period is spent away from home, in a remote locality living in field conditions.

19 CE Works personnel will be onsite for an extra seven months project managing the civilian contractors.

While there are telephones for the troops to call home frequently, the long distance from home is still apparent.

21 Const Sqn work six days a week with Sunday as a rest day. The troops are staying in tents, on duckboards, and eating field fresh rations.

The cooks put on a great feed and work tirelessly as always, even making meringues as special treat.

21 Const Sqn has equipped the compound to a comfortable standard; there is no doubt that comfort is important in the maintenance of morale, and it was plain to see that morale was high with the troops.

While 21 Const Sqn’s core role is as an engineer squadron, it is not limited to a strict engineering capability.

The squadron incorporates project management, and is providing education and training to members of the local communities.

Members of the NPA Communities of Injinoo, Umagico and New Mapoon are undertaking certified pre-apprenticeship training provided by the ADF as part of AACAP 04.

Army trainers are giving the initial formal lessons at Bamaga School, in subjects ranging from numeracy to workplace communication skills and first aid training.

Health support from the squadron comes in the form of first aid training and as the dedicated dentist, Capt Wayne Chow, 3CSSB, is never short of clients.

Capt Chow is attached to the squadron and said his role was important.

“I will conduct a pre-fluoridation base line study on all school children – about 640 children in total,” he said.

“And I have the scope to provide limited treatment when time permits.” AACAP is an opportunity for 21 Const Sqn to showcase the varied range of capabilities it has in supporting and working with remote Communities.

The quality of 21 Const Sqn’s capability lies in its ability to be a mobile unit, able to bolster a community’s infrastructure, and foster long term self-sufficiency.

AACAP is both a training opportunity for 21 Const Sqn and local community members, as well as the chance to provide assistance to making the community self-sufficient in basic construction and environmental health.

What many people do not know is that the Northern Peninsula Area played a major part in Army and Air Force operations in WW2.

There are many WW2 relics that remain in the area, one of them, a 7 Sqn, A9 – 130 Beaufort Aircraft wreck resides near the Injinoo Airport.

AACAP is an initiative that combines both Defence and government in assisting and working with Aboriginal Communities.

It benefits the Communities while providing training for 21 Const Sqn.

The success of AACAP can be seen in the locals’ enthusiasm to learn new skills, knowing that they are ultimately learning to be self-sufficient by continuing their training and improving their communities.

The men and women from the ADF get a sense of job satisfaction in furthering their training and in knowing that they are making a difference in the lives of their fellow Australians on the Cape York Peninsula.

Cpl Scott McMillan, 1 Tp Construction Foreman, said of the way, in which AACAP is a great boost for the community.

“AACAP helps the community by building houses and providing infrastructure in the community, because they’re isolated and in a remote location,” he said.

“It helps when Army interacts and gets to know the culture within the community, so we can also provide good training.”

The men and women of 21 Const Sqn and its attachments will return home from AACAP in late October this year, while those deployed from 19 CE Works will redeploy in December.