Features
Remote patrol
Deep in the southern Iraqi desert, Australian troops patrol to forts on the Saudi Arabian border to help combat smugglers. Capt Sarah Hawke reports.

Volume 11, No. 60, February 22, 2007
 
Listen in: LCpl Kevin Stephens, Maj Richard Bushby and members of Iraq’s Department of Border Enforcement.
 
Visiting flock: Sheep wander past Australian soldiers visiting an Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement fort.
 
Purple haze: Sunset during an operation in the Ad Bibdibah Desert.
 
Smashing: A Bushmaster drives past a graveyard of Iraqi military vehicles destroyed during the first Gulf War.
 
Barren: Overwatch Battle Goup (West) 2 members look out over the vast Ad Bibdibah Desert at sunset during the four-day patrol that took them to the border of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
 
Flying the flag: An ASLAV at a Forward Operating Base in the Ad Bibdibah Desert flies the flag near the Saudi Arabian border.
Photos by Sgt John Carroll
TROOPS serving with Overwatch Battle Group (West) 2 have conducted their largest operation to date during a desert patrol.

Most of the battle group’s 500 troops, who arrived in Iraq last November, deployed on the operation from January 8-11 and established a Forward Operating Base in the Ad Bibdibah Desert in the Al Muthanna province.

The operation enhanced members’ understanding of the region and patterns of life near the Saudi Arabian border. A key focus was meeting officials from Iraq’s Department of Border Enforcement who held the lead role in preventing smuggling activities between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Smuggling has been a long-running issue on Iraq’s borders, particularly when UN sanctions were in place under the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

The extent of the problem near the Saudi Arabian border remains unclear, but it is understood smuggling operations still occur and cover anything from white goods to weapons.

While the battle group’s headquarters and supporting elements remained or operated from Ad Bibdibah, two Combat Teams – Tiger and Eagle – visited remote border forts in the Ad Bibdibah and Al Hitjara Deserts.

OC Combat Team Tiger Maj Richard Bushby met with officials at the Al Qadisyaa and Hussan forts in the Ad Bibdibah Desert.

“The Department of Border Enforcement seems very proactive. They face a big task because it is a big border, but they are certainly very, very keen to engage with the coalition,” Maj Bushby said.

During their discussions, the Australians also collected information about the department’s resources to determine if the battle group could provide any assistance.

Maj Bushby said one of the biggest challenges facing the department was the impact of the rough terrain on vehicles and the distances required to travel to get supplies.

“They need mechanical support and fuel. We believe that helping the Iraqi security forces help themselves, specifically the Department of Border Enforcement in this case, is where we can be of most assistance,” he said.

This approach reflected one of the aims of the battle group, which was to mentor the Iraqi security forces so they can continue to strengthen their hold on the security situation in Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar. These provinces are currently the only regions in Iraq where the Iraqi security forces have primacy for security.

Maj Bushby said the battle group didn’t encountered any smuggling activity during the operation.
“The area that we were in was very quiet and it demonstrates that the department has been quite successful in controlling smuggling operations on that part of the border,” he said.

The operation was also a chance for the battle group to test its procedures in a remote area a great distance from the Australian base at Camp Terendak in the neighbouring province of Dhi Qar.

From an historical perspective, the operation allowed the battle group to get a sense of what the Iraqi Army faced when the coalition, including the 1st UK Armoured Div, advanced through the area during the first Gulf War.

The deserts are littered with wreckages of Iraqi Army vehicles, including T-54, T-55 and T-72 tanks along with armoured BTR-70s and BMP infantry fighting vehicles.

Bombed-out vehicles are not the only evidence remaining from the war. Locals took Combat Team Tiger to a site containing unexploded ordnance near Adin in Al Muthanna province.

Ammunition technician WO2 Leon Pennington destroyed six artillery rounds.

“They were 130mm high explosive rounds and there were also two rocket motors. Looking at their condition we believe they are from the first Gulf War,” WO2 Pennington said.

The battle group also played host to two high level visitors, CA Lt-Gen Peter Leahy and the British Army’s Maj-Gen Richard Shirreff, who was finishing his tour as the General Officer Commanding Multi-National Division (South East).

Overall the operation was successful in giving the battle group greater understanding of the area so it can effectively carry out its mission of assisting the Iraqis to maintain a secure environment in Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar.