Team without a corps

All important aim: Cpl Nathan Heckel fires his sighting shots on the range in Iraq. Photos by Cpl Robert Nyffenegger

Watching from above: Pte David Eastgate, 6RAR, covers a window while going through building clearance drills in Baghdad.

Pistols at the ready: Range practice with a hand gun.

Patrolling the streets: Secdet performing a routine patrol at Taji.

Day in the sun: Cpl Nathan Heckel and Pte Stewart Alpert, 6RAR sniper cell, wait for their turn on the range in the early morning light.

Waiting on the line: Waiting for the next packet at range practice.

The Secdet has a major role in providing security for Australian diplomats in Iraq and took Cpl Cameron Jamieson on a task to see it in operation.

The air is hot and dry as it drifts around the exposed concrete skeleton of a destroyed building in the heart of Baghdad.

The familiar sound of a pair of US Black Hawks hugging the rooftops can be heard in the distance but suddenly a different, angrier growl reaches the ears. Down the road a tight pack of ASLAVs move into sight with their weapons sweeping the streets for signs of a threat. Quickly they decelerate and come to a halt near the building, dropping their ramps on to the rubble and grime.

Infantrymen spill from the vehicles and start to clear a path to the remains of the stairway. Among them can be seen the pair of snipers the infantrymen will escort to a pre-determined vantage point on the roof of the decaying structure. After a few moments the snipers commence their commentary via the team’s radio net – ensuring all callsigns have situational awareness.

In the distance can be heard the growl of the Australian diplomatic staff’s convoy. All eyes focus outwards, ready for any signs of unwanted visitors as the ASLAVs bear down on the position.

Secdet 7 is a team without a corps. Eight weeks of mission rehearsal exercises have removed any barriers between the soldiers, predominately from the cavalry, infantry and military police. Now they are mobility, security and protection specialists banded together with the combat support personnel to form a single combined arms team.

To see them work is like watching an opera; their seemingly choreographed moves the result of the countless drill rehearsals. For Secdet 7 CSM WO1 Ken Bullman it is point of pride because it means all their hard training has paid off.

“The pre-deployment training was an intense period with little time off,” he says. “It started with individual training and then built up to combined arms training. We spent many hours on the firing range and moving around both Enoggera and the Brisbane CBD, learning how to operate in a complex urban environment. We also spent a great deal of time researching and studying the various threat groups to ensure we understood their techniques, tactics and procedures so we could then mount our operations as safely as possible.”

Secdet 7 has its headquarters and main element located at Coalition Operating Base Union III in Baghdad’s International Zone (IZ), with a detachment at the Australian Embassy. Another detachment was based further north at Taji supporting AATT-I (3) before the training team returned home.

While still mainly tasked with providing protection, security and mobility for the Australian Embassy staff in Baghdad, its role has been modified since the embassy and the Secdet main base were relocated into the IZ.

The IZ is like a walled city with tightly controlled access and, as such, the dangers are much lower than outside in the Red Zone – so called because it is shaded red on Baghdad security maps.

Many of the Iraqi offices that need to be visited by Australian Embassy staff are located within the IZ – and so the move into the IZ has reduced the need for ASLAV-escorted tasks.

Nevertheless there are still official visits and sustainment runs that need to be conducted through the Red Zone and with it goes the same detailed operational planning that marks the tasks conducted by Secdet.

OC Secdet 7 Maj Paul O’Donnell says his team’s approach to its mission is continually evolving because of the changing threat from the anti-Iraqi forces.

“Essentially, though, we still conduct combined-arms operations that can involve cavalry elements, dismounted infantry, snipers in overwatch positions and MPs conducting close personal protection duties,” he says. “Many of our tasks are complex operations with many moving parts that involve detailed, deliberate planning.”

Maj O’Donnell says a great deal of his time is spent in liaising with other units and agencies.

“We have to ensure we have a good understanding of the [anti-Iraqi forces],” he says. “That way we have the correct techniques, tactics and procedures whenever we enter the Red Zone and that we de-conflict our operations with other coalition activities.”

At the embassy a team of security soldiers maintains a watch over the site.

OC security element Lt Don Baker says basic infantry planning is the bedrock of the embassy’s defence. “We use a combination of observation, static and fallback positions,” he says. “Essentially it’s the same as defending any other piece of ground. We use the same considerations for defence and apply them to the embassy.”

The soldiers have a very good relationship with the embassy staff, which has worked well for soldiers and civilians alike. “They’re very happy for us to be here and thankful for our efforts,” Lt Baker says. “We in turn are grateful for their attempts to improve our accommodation and facilities here.”

Back at the ruined building the protection element has ushered the Australian diplomat from the ASLAV into a waiting armoured vehicle to take him the short distance to his meeting. The protection element is comprised of military policemen trained in the demanding art of close personal protection.

Cpl Peter O’Brien is one of the protection specialists guarding the Ambassador.

“You have to be on your toes all the time,” he says.

“You have to be aware of the person you’re protecting, you’re team mates and the outer cordon. You need to be listening and watching to maintain the security of the area you’re in.

“Your mind is going at a thousand miles an hour. You constantly think of worst-case scenarios to determine where you would go and what you would do should it happen. You’re always asking yourself ‘where’s the best cover?’, ‘where would you take the VIP to in an emergency?’ We are always thinking about the VIP because you must protect them to complete the mission.”

High above them the snipers maintain their vigil. Suddenly there is a sound of a pistol shot a few hundred metres away but the reassuring voice of the No.2 Sniper tells the team that it is just an Iraqi policeman using gunfire to clear traffic.

“That’s common now,” Sniper Team Leader Cpl Nathan Heckel says. “The people in Baghdad have become blasé about traffic management so the Iraqis have found a new way to clear the roads.”

Providing an overwatch of the surrounding terrain is a crucial part of the snipers’ job. “We provide a live commentary to let them know what we’re seeing so they can get an eye-in-the-sky idea of the situation,” Cpl Heckel says. “My number two, who acts as my spotter, and I are an integrated team. We constantly bounce ideas off each other and we both provide the commentary.”

The snipers also provide a counter-sniper capability so the pressure is constantly on them to keep a sharp lookout and Cpl Heckel wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I see sniping as the premier job for an infantryman,” he says.

“To do urban operations in Iraq is definitely a career highlight. I don’t think anything else compares to working here in Iraq in the over-watch and counter-sniping role.”

Down on the ground LCpl Chris Holz remains at his station within the commander’s cupola of his ASLAV personnel carrier. “The ASLAV is ideally suited because of its mobility and firepower,” he says.

“The situation is also enhanced by our pre-mission briefings. The crews need to know about any obstacles and any particular threats, such as stolen cars, that may come our way. We also need to be on top of our navigation as you can get into a lot of trouble if you get lost.”

Nearby, Sgt Mick Hunter is in the turret of his ASLAV gun car. “A lot of things go through your mind as you move through the Red Zone,” he says.

“You’re constantly thinking about the threat, civilians, coalition forces, traffic conditions and how we are managing the convoy. There are a few worries in the back of your mind but you shut them out – you have a job to do and so you get on and do it.”

The diplomat’s meeting is over and the protection team escorts him back to his waiting ASLAV. Soon the decrepit building that acted as the Secdet team’s firm base is empty again.

The entire operation lasted about an hour; slightly shorter than the time it takes to brief all members about the operation. But good planning is the basis for a successful operation and that’s why nothing is left to chance. Secdet’s operations are well planned and well executed. None of the combined team’s members would have it any other way.