Worst-case scenario

From left, Pte Matthew Gava, Cpl Chris O’Sullivan and Pte Stephan Wasson take cover and assess the situation in the aftermath of a bomb blast. Photo by WO2 Graham McBean, 7 Bde

Lt Daniel Wake assesses the situation during an insurgent attack. Photo by Pte Daniel Barnett, 6RAR

Soldiers bustle the ambassador away from fighting in the Australian zone during Exercise Tigris Prelude.Photo by WO2 Graham McBean, 7 Bde

Australian soldiers headed for Iraq know exactly what they’ll do if things go wrong – they’ve already done it. WO2 Graham McBean joins 7 Bde soldiers as they prepare for the Army’s toughest operational deployment.

More than 100 soldiers from 7 Bde are ready to deploy on Operation Catalyst in Iraq, having completed their last major pre-deployment shakeout on Exercise Tigris Prelude.

6RAR and supporting arms, including 2 Cav Regt with the 2/14LHR (QMI) armoured element, have completed more than two months of pre-deployment training and will deploy as Secdet 6 early next year.

The Townsville-based Combat Training Centre transformed military facilities at Oakey and the surrounding civilian areas into the Iraqi theatre in Baghdad for a mission rehearsal exercise based on accumulated experiences from operations in Iraq.

While soldiers from 7 Bde have deployed to Iraq, notably to the Australian Army Training Team Iraq, it is the first effort for the South Queensland brigade to provide the close security detachment for Australian interests.

Commander 7 Bde Brig Dave Chalmers said he was confident the training conducted was the best possible precursor to Op Catalyst and that Secdet 6 was now ready for its task.

“The lead up through two months of individual training, building to collective training, has brought them together as a combined arms team,” he said.

“6RAR conducted very effective training in the Wide Bay Training Area and then CTC provided the mission rehearsal exercise with a high degree of realism.”

Brig Chalmers said the mission-specific training had been quite testing, with cultural and language nuances and new tasks, such as providing security for diplomats, compelling soldiers to successfully rise to the challenge.

“If nothing else, we have learnt that our TTPs are very good and our equipment is providing us with a level of protection and a level of ability to operate in a very dangerous environment.”
Scenarios are used to ensure training objectives are met, but the exercise was still largely “free play” – the reactions of the roleplayers and the outcomes of each scenario were directly driven by the actions and reactions of the exercising troops.

A recent visit to Iraq by the Combined Arms Battle Wing (CABW) to validate training objectives had impacted directly on the main events list of the mission rehearsal exercise.

WSM at CABW WO1 Dave Hatton said it was important soldiers deploying as part of Secdet should be prepared for any eventuality.

“If it’s going to happen to them [in Iraq] they should be exposed to it, or something like it, here at Oakey,” he said.

The Secdet members, many of whom had returned from East Timor with the last battalion group in April, welcomed the operational intensity of the lead-up training.

Pte Gerrad Bingham, 6RAR, said deploying overseas as a digger and using training in an operational environment was the goal of all professional soldiers.

“When you do something like that, like with Timor as well, you feel good about our job and feel good about what you are doing, especially when you do it successfully.”