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New watchkeepers
By Capt Michael Brooke
Edition 1169, June 28, 2007 |
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| Spirit of cooperation: Members of the Battle Group meet with the local sheikh, mayor and other officials at the Al Khamiseah village in Iraq. |
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| Handovers: Lt-Col Tony Rawlins, at right, hands over command of the Overwatch Battle Group to Lt-Col Jake Ellwood as Sgt Colin Stott raises OBG(W)3’s colours. |
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Meanwhile, Lt-Col Jeremy Hanson, receives an Australian flag from his predecessor, Lt-Col Peter Power.
Photos by LS Phillip Cullinan |
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OVERWATCH Battle Group (West) 3 and the Australian Army Team Iraq 8 have officially taken up duties in Iraq.
OBG(W)2 CO Lt-Col Tony Rawlins handed over command to Battle Group Tiger CO Lt-Col Jake Ellwood on June 7 during a ceremony at Camp Terendak on the Ali Air Base at Tallil in Dhi Qar.
Since taking over, Lt-Col Ellwood and his staff have conducted a number of meetings with local sheiks as well as government and Iraqi Security Forces’ (ISF) leaders in southern Iraq.
“Consultation with local leaders has been, and continues to be, a key element in ensuring security and progress in Dhi Qar and Al Muthanna,” he said.
He said his soldiers looked forward to the task of supporting the Iraqis maintain security in the two provinces, which are both under Provincial Iraqi Control.
More than 20 Iraqi and coalition representatives, including Brig Sa’ad Ali Aaty Al-Harley, 3rd Brigade commander, and Col Chris Claydon, 1 UK Mech/Forward Brigade commander, attended the handover ceremony.
At the ceremony, Lt-Col Rawlins praised the efforts of his soldiers during their six-month deployment.
“While they faced great risk, the patrols achieved excellent levels of success on every mission and our well trained and well equipped forces drew praise from coalition and Iraqi partners,” he said.
Meanwhile, AATTI-7 CO Lt-Col Peter Power handed over the training responsibilities to AATTI-8 CO Lt-Col Jeremy Hanson at a ceremony at Camp Terendak on June 2.
In an increased training presence, AATTI-8 features 100 personal drawn from both the Army and Air Force. In February the Australian Government announced that the new training effort would comprise a dedicated logistics team and additional Army training instructors.
“The expanded training team will help develop a broad range of military capabilities for the Iraqi Army, such as combat operations and logistics,” Lt-Col Hanson said.
The AATTI HQ is being relocated from Camp Terendak, some 300km south of Baghdad, to the coalition base at Taji, north of the Iraqi capital.
AATTI-7’s last task before returning to Australia was to name their accommodation lines at Camp Terendak after the late Brig Ted Serong, a pre-eminent practitioner of Australian counter-insurgency operations who commanded the first Australian training team in Vietnam in the early 1960s. Ted Serong was one of the most original and influential of the Army’s planners after World War II. |
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