Quick to respond to crisis

Volume 11, No. 41, April 20, 2006
By Capt Al Green

Plenty of room: Soldiers from D Coy, 1RAR, packed into a Herc on the flight to Honiara. Photo by Cpl Rachel Ingram.

On patrol: Pte Lawrence Brown, 1RAR, in the ruins of Chinatown. Photo by Sgt Katrina Johnson.

THE first signs of trouble appeared on the evening news and, though shocking, the imagery of the Solomon Islands riots still seemed remote to 1RAR’s Ready Coy Gp.

Most were on well-deserved stand-down, chilling out with a vid or by the pool – the thought of operations barely registering. Yet within hours the troops were bombed-up and boarding C-130s headed for the Solomons.

Packs in the deployment cages hadn’t needed much work – in 3 Bde being ready to go is a part of life.

There had been barely time for a quick goodbye to loved ones. 1RAR’s Asistant Adjt, Lt Dave Seers, would soon contact families to offer reassurance and invite them to an information session. Such support mechanisms cannot be underestimated.

CO Lt-Col Andrew Gallaway called the first planning conference at 2200hr – one hour after being warned out for a possible deployment. It was the first of a series – the last, a final confirmation just before sunrise that all was in order.

The lights also burned bright at 3 Bde as the supporting facilitators went to work, led by Commander 3 Bde Brig Mick Slater and a team of dedicated officers and soldiers.

Intelligence briefs, load-lists, readiness checks and ops planning continued at a frenetic pace through the night – the wheels were spinning and rapidly gaining traction. Concentrated faces revealed mission-focused minds that had earlier done the cognitive equivalent of zero to 100 in a matter of seconds when the callout came.

The rain was still tumbling down post-Cyclone Larry and many of the soldiers fronting up to D Coy were fresh back from the devastated area. There were veterans from other operations and new march-ins.

All drew weapons, comms gear, NVGs, ballistics vests and gas masks – soon they would be carrying live ammo and watching each other’s backs. Competence, teamwork and sound judgment would be the important attributes on this operation.
By 0730hr vehicles had been loaded and weighed, body armour and gas masks issued.

With the ROE and PR briefs complete, the thumbs up went to the Brig – the RCG was good to go. Brimming packs, seemingly weighing a ton, were pushed aboard the Unimogs. As the trucks rolled through Townsville locals waved from their high-set houses – news was spreading fast.

C-130s taxied in as the commander farewelled the troops, the padre said a prayer and the media snapped away. Then with packs weighed down more with frontline ammunition, troops staggered on board the Herc for one of the most uncomfortable flights of their life. Squashed in, packs on their knees in the dimming light of the Pacific and with no room to move and stretch, the soldiers simply gritted their teeth and dealt with it.

Struggling off the aircraft, numb-legged, the soldiers were met by the Commander CTF635, Maj Todd Everett, and NZ troops on the ground providing security. The local knowledge and infrastructure maintained by the small coalition of Australia, NZ and Pacific island states that made-up CTF635 would prove invaluable.

The CO’s intent was to make an immediate impression on the situation – choke points, key points, and the most dangerous trouble areas were patrolled and locked down in support of the Participating Police Forces. The curfew held – a good sign.
Sunrise found troops assisting police as they conducted high-profile patrols through town. The locals had stopped picking up rocks.

Friendly troops in body armour and helmets were a reassuring sight to the residents who just wanted the violence to stop. Markets opened, people smiled and everybody began to breathe normally again. The surreal whirlwind of chaos had at last subsided.