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TAG team: Defence Minister Brendan Nelson chats with members of TAG-East. He spent some time with the Commandos – including participating in training – after farewelling their Afghanistan-bound colleagues.
Photos by Cpl Rachel Ingram |
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| God speed: Prime Minister Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd talk with SOTG members at a farewell ceremony in Sydney. |
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MEMBERS of the Special Operations Task Group deploying to Afghanistan were reminded of the dangers of their mission at two official farewells in May at Perth’s Campbell Barracks and at Holsworthy in Sydney.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson and Shadow Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon wished Perth-based troops every success as they prepared for their deployment.
Three days earlier, Sydney-based members joining the same task group were farwelled by Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd at Holsworthy Barracks.
Mr Howard told the soldiers and their families in Sydney that it wasn’t easy, in a time of general peace and prosperity, to say their country would like them to go to a very difficult and a potentially dangerous theatre of operations.
“Afghanistan is a dangerous place and I would be less than honest with you, as the person ultimately responsible for committing Australian forces to that country, if I didn’t say so,” Mr Howard said.
“I greatly admire your bravery and dedication and you will go with our best wishes and prayers for a successful mission and safe return.”
He said the situation in Afghanistan was again difficult with renewed Taliban activity in the country.
“To say otherwise would be to delude you,” he said.
“On the other hand, of course, you go superbly trained, you join a task group providing valuable support for our reconstruction team and you go to an area where there is very close cooperation with our allies.
“This is a very important mission. We have a clear national interest in helping to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a safe haven for terrorists.”
Australia’s special forces have developed a wealth of experience and useful local knowledge for this task.
Dr Nelson said military operations of this nature were dangerous and the highly trained soldiers within the SOTG were likely to face some significant challenges in the conduct of their duties.
“Our special forces have performed exceptionally during their previous deployments into Afghanistan, achieving effects well out of proportion to the size of their group,” he said.
About 300 personnel, drawn from the SASR, 4RAR (Cdo), the IRR and support elements, will deploy to Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan.
They will join about 400 ADF members who are working closely with Dutch forces to deliver reconstruction and community-based projects.
The SOTG will deploy for at least two years and will operate in direct support of the International Security Assistance Force in Oruzgan, to enhance provincial security by disrupting Taliban command and control capabilities and supply routes.
Australia’s troop commitment in Afghanistan will peak at about 1100 personnel next year.
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