Quake mission
Op Pakistan Assist under way

By Cpl Cameron Jamieson

ARMY has taken the lead in the ADF’s latest humanitarian support mission, which will see 140 personnel deployed with JTF632 on Operation Pakistan Assist.

The task force will include a command element, a medical detachment, an aviation detachment with four Black Hawks from 5 Avn Regt, as well as logistics and communication personnel. The Commander of JTF632 is LSF CoS Col Andrew Sims, who has previously held key operational logistic staff positions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and East Timor.

Task force spokesman and Commander LSF Brig Mick Kehoe said JTF632 was part of Australia’s response to the Pakistan Government’s request to the world for assistance.

“Pakistan has formally invited us to deploy, and we are going in as a ‘light footprint’,” Brig Kehoe said. “Our task is to provide level-one healthcare support, and we will supply primary healthcare teams who will deal with general illnesses, immunisation and basic obstetrics and paediatrics. As a result our equipment is largely man-portable, including med kits and tentage that will allow us to treat people under cover in remote locations.

“Our 140-strong team has been tasked to deploy for up to 90 days, and we will establish our main operating base at Dhanni, located about 20km north east of Muzaffarabad. Under the guidance of the Pakistanis we will use a hub and spoke system that will allow us to send out up to three mobile clinics on an as-required basis. About 75 personnel will be based forward at Dhanni, mostly medical personnel supported by a small command element led by Colonel Sims. There will also be a small communications and logistics element.”

2IC 5 Avn Regt Maj Roger Woods said his soldiers were trained, ready and excited to be able to help the Pakistanis.

“The Black Hawks will be integrated with the multinational fleet that is being staged out of Islamabad,” he said. “They will be used for transporting medical personnel and supplies within the Dhanni region, as well as moving sustainment supplies to the forward element’s main operating base. The helicopters will be a vital resource.”

RAAF B707 and C-130 aircraft were used to move the bulk of personnel and stores to Dhanni, while the task force’s Black Hawks will be moved by C17 or charter aircraft to Islamabad.

The ADF team will not be armed and security will be provided by the Pakistan Defence Force because it is considered a humanitarian mission similar to the assistance provided in Sumatra.

The majority of the health and support personnel will be drawn from the Randwick Barracks-based LSF, supplemented by a RAAF primary health care team from RAAF Richmond. Other personnel have been drawn from a range of units across Australia, and reserve personnel, including an Army doctor and nurse.