Op Anode deters criminal element
Supports police in election countdown

Vigilant: The infantry section, members of 42RQR and 31RQR, conduct a patrol outside Rove Prison. Photo by Michael Brooke

By Michael Brooke

SUPPORT for police security operations against armed criminals who threaten to undermine the peace and stability established by the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) continues to drive the operational focus and tempo of Australian troops on Op Anode.

Commander Combined Task Force (CTF) 635 Maj Jon Heap said the Australian-led coalition task force would maintain an operational focus in support of the Participating Police Force (PPF) in the countdown to national elections in 2006.

“The military presence here has been an important factor in the success of the RAMSI mission, because it makes a significant contribution to preventing the re-emergence of a militant threat, reassures the local population that the current secure environment is an enduring one and provides an additional level of security that is necessary to ensure ongoing RAMSI capacity development programs within government and police departments can continue uninterrupted by security concerns,” Maj Heap said.

CTF 635’s role in support of PPF operations was highlighted in October when prisoners staged a protest at Rove Prison, which houses a large number of people who have been arrested since RAMSI arrived in mid-2003.

Maj Heap said providing military security support to the PPF through the provision of external security in the Rove Prison precinct was a key task for the CTF during the disturbance.

To deter attacks from anyone seeking to exploit the incident at Rove prison, a nine-man section of soldiers from 11 Bde stepped up the frequency of their foot and vehicle patrols.

Another Australian infantry section also conducted vehicle patrols near the prison, with a platoon of Tongan soldiers conducting overt patrols of Honiara. This CTF 635 reaction to the prison disturbance was employed as the planned military third tier response to incidents at Rove prison.

Maj Heap said the task force had also undertaken cordon and search operations and long-range patrols in the provinces to support PPF operations in the pursuit of several high-profile militants and murder suspects and to deter the re-emergence of any future threat.

He said the reservists deployed on Op Anode had demonstrated a high degree of professionalism and proficiency in providing support to PPF security operations.

“The success of CTF 635 to date could be largely attributed to the coalition environment that has soldiers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Tonga and New Zealand working side by side as partners in this regional peace and security operation,” he said.