Sphinx smiles in Solomons
Volume 11, No. 55, November 02, 2006
By Cpl Andrew Hetherington

Situation: Lt James Casey briefs Bdr Nathan Swindell, Bdr James Wilson and Pte Nathan Howes, part of the QRF.

COMBAT Team Sphinx (CTS) has settled into a routine in the Solomon Islands in its crucial role in working as a member of the RAMSI taskforce.

CTS deployed to Honiara on September 24, replacing Combat Team Thor (CTT) predominately made up of soldiers from 101 Mdm Bty. It consists predominately of soldiers from 103 Mdm Bty, and also includes members of 1 Armd Regt and 1CSSB.

8/12 Mdm Regt CO Lt-Col Graeme Finney said CTS’s main role was to support the RAMSI police force in maintaining law and order.

“They are involved in active urban and provincial patrolling. At the moment they are also providing a presence at the Rove prison in Honiara,” he said.

“They are based in three main locations in Honiara and their living conditions are quite austere. They are living under canvas, eating hotbox meals, and it is quite hot and intense.

“As force protection measures they are wearing Kevlar and body armour, which makes it a challenging environment for them to work in.”

CTS have been maintaining the work tempo set by CTT since arriving in Honiara over a month ago and Lt-Col Finney said the team had conducted a significant number of patrols already.

“The guys are actively out on the streets working at all hours of the day and night,” he said.

“They have in place an active patrolling and engagement program, working closely with the police.”

Before deploying, CTS had eight weeks of intensive training at Robertson Barracks, and Lt-Col Finney said this was essential to enable the battery to re-role as an infantry combat team.

“This included basic infantry skills, helicopter underwater escape training, riot training, incorporating the use of capsicum spray, batons and shields,” he said.

“The training culminated with a one-week MRE and certification exercise, conducted at RAAF Base Tindal. This involved a significant number of role players and tested them at a tempo above what was expected in the Solomon Islands.”

Lt-Col Finney said CTS had a good handover and takeover period with 101 Mdm Bty.

“The deployment of 101 Mdm Bty was at relatively short notice. They were gearing up at the time to deploy to Butterworth and they were diverted across to the Solomon Islands,” he said.

“It was a great measure of the soldiers and their force preparation that they were able to switch between those tasks, and they demonstrated a great deal of flexibility.”

He said during the deployment, 101 Mdm Bty soldiers conducted provincial patrols through mountainous terrain lasting two weeks, travelling distances of up to 96km.

“The deployment also provided great training for a bunch of junior leaders in the type of complex warfighting tasks that the Australian Army is now engaged in,” Lt-Col Finney said.

“We recognise as gunners that while we focus on our gunnery skills, we are also combat soldiers first and we need to be widely employable.”

8/12 Mdm Regt is currently conducting force preparation and training for a Tongan force that would soon deploy to the Solomon Islands.

“The training is being conducted by 101 Mdm Bty and we are using the subject matter expertise they have just gained to train the Tongans,” Lt-Col Finney said.

“The Tongans will be with us for a few weeks and will be going through a deliberate force preparation regime, with both individual and collective training.”