Swifter than eagles
Major 3 Bde Exercise gets off to flying start

3RAR jump into Mourilyan Harbour as part of Exercise Swift Eagle. Photo by Cpl Jamie Osborne, 1JPAU

WO2 Jeff Cattana, 3RAR, lies prone after being inserted by Blackhawk for a battalion attack on a terrorist training camp in Capronesia. Photo by Cpl Cameron Jamieson, Army newspaper

By Cpl Cameron Jamieson

HUNDREDS of civilians owe a debt of gratitude to the ADF following the evacuation of Australians and other nominated foreign nationals from the volatile island of Capronesia.

But don’t go looking for Capronesia on any map of the southwest Pacific – it only exists in the minds of the planners for Exercise Swift Eagle 2004.

The exercise involved a joint services taskforce of about 2500 personnel, conducting simultaneous air and sea lodgement into the island for evacuation and security operations.

At the heart of the operation was the amphibious transport HMAS Kanimbla, which provided strategic sealift for Army units to the sea point of disembarkation.

Kanimbla stayed on station to provide the joint force headquarters platform and also acted as a key taskforce sustainment node.

THREE Landing Craft Heavy vessels also represented the Navy, while the Air Force contributed Hercules and Caribou transports, supported by airfield defence guards and air traffic controllers.

The taskforce muscle was provided by 3 Bde, with 3RAR conducting a parachute insertion into Innisfail while 1RAR went over the beach to secure the second entry point.

The spirit of Anzac was also alive and well with Whisky Coy 1RNZIR joining 3RAR for the exercise.

Using the Far North Queensland area from Atherton to Tully as the landmass of Capronesia, the exercise provided many challenges to the participants, as it was run in real-time, without the assistance of any “magic moves” of equipment, personnel or supplies.

The exercise controllers made sure the taskforce had a rough time as the scenarios increased in tempo and threat level.

The exercise culminated in a request from the Capronesian government for the taskforce to destroy a terrorist training camp in the jungle of Tully.

This task was allocated to the 3RAR Anzac battalion, supported by the guns of A Bty, 4 Fd Regt.

After inserting by Chinook, Black Hawk and Caribou aircraft, the infantry advanced into the hills of Tully.

They moved to within a few kilometres of the camp and began battle preparation before the total blackness of a night in the jungle descended upon them.

The next morning they edged their way into the suspected location of the terrorists and by midday the battle had begun, with the New Zealanders in the thick of the fighting as they launched into the centre of the camp.

The majority of the terrorists fought to the bitter end, and it was only through the determined efforts of the assaulting Anzacs that the camp was neutralised.

Ex Swift Eagle 2004 clearly demonstrated the recent advances made in the ADF’s expeditionary force capability.

The ability of amphibious assets to move and sustain the force, combined with the strategic airlift capability provided by the Air Force, have shown how the ADF can realistically conduct regional evacuation and security operations within Australia’s region.