By LCDR Andrew Stackpool

LSBM Rohan “Doc” Halliday at the helm of HMAS Kanimbla’s Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) as the ship departs Townsville for Croc 03.

SMNCIS Joel Todd communicates between HMA Ships Kanimbla and Tobruk using visual signaling enroute to Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

Officer of the Watch LEUT Kylie Beumer communicates with the ship’s Operations Room from the bridge of HMAS Kanimbla enroute to Croc 03.

Sixteen ships of the RAN have joined a force of about 10,000 Australian and United States troops for the final phase of Exercise Crocodile 2003 (CROC 03), the most significant ADF activity for the year outside of operational commitments.

Some 7,000 ADF and 3,000 US personnel are participating in the Field Training Exercise (FTX) in an area bounded by Townsville, Gladstone, Rockhampton, the Shoalwater Bay Training Area and adjoining maritime exercise areas including the Coral Sea.

Croc 03 is designed to exercise and train Australian and US forces in the planning and conduct of combined operations.

Navy, Army and Air Force elements from the ADF, as well as Navy and Marines forces from the US Pacific Command, are participating in the exercise.

RAN participants comprise HMA Ships Anzac, Melbourne, Canberra, Stuart, Tobruk, Kanimbla, Success, Diamantina, Gascoyne, Norman, Hawkesbury, Melville, Benalla, Shepparton, Rankin, MSAs Bandicoot and Wallaroo and AUSCD Teams One and Four.

United States Navy forces comprise US Ships Curtis Wilbur and O’Brien, a submarine and an EOD team.

Ships from the east and west coasts of Australia defended themselves from attacking F/A-18 and F-111 aircraft as they transited to the exercise area.

During the exercise, participants will conduct work-up activities including ASW serials and amphibious training off Townsville.
The combined task force commander is MAJ Mark Evans, the Commander of Australia’s 1st Division.

The exercise scenario involves the planning and conduct of an Australian-led, US-supported campaign to project combat power offshore to a fictitious island called ‘Legais’.

The scenario is not based on any particular country but permits the exercising of a wide range of combined maritime, air and ashore military operations.

Croc 03 concludes on September 25.

 

Croc 03 environmentally sound

By LCDR Tony Underwood

Apart from ‘fighting and winning the war’, the 10,000 participants in Exercise Crocodile 03 face the challenge of doing so with minimal impact on the environment.

Croc 03 is the first major Defence exercise subjected to the environmental impact assessment requirements of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Exercise planning saw extensive community consultation including liaison with Environment Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Environmental Protection Authority.

As part of the approval process Defence conducted a public review process of the proposed activity. This involved the public display in public libraries and councils of all the information provided to the Federal Environment Minister.

Safeguards in place apply equally to US forces participating in the exercise.

The Defence Directorate of Environmental Stewardship has set up a network to monitor compliance with the Combined Exercise Instruction.

“The environment chapter of the CEI considers operational limitations and restrictions for land, marine and air activities to minimise environmental impacts during the exercise,” said exercise control environmental officer Dr Maria Schroder.

“We have four environmental monitoring teams in the exercise area doing just this.

“They comprise Defence civilians with a variety of environmental specialisations.

“Two teams are ashore in the SWBTA and two are afloat, in Kanimbla and Melville.”

Dr Schroder said the teams report to the Combined Environmental Monitoring Group using pre-exercise inspection reports, daily SITREPs, minor damage reports, incident reports and post-exercise reports.

“We have already issued environmental advice through pamphlets, video and DVD,” she said.

“These canvass such aspects as the fact that targeting, harassing, feeding, injuring or killing animals or birds in the exercise area is strictly prohibited.

“People also have been asked to avoid unnecessary damage to vegetation and to seek approval from environmental personnel before clearing large trees or areas of vegetation.

“There are very strict limitations on construction of latrines ashore and on the discharge of sewage offshore,” she said.

Defence environmental monitors will be providing input into the development of a post-exercise report to be submitted to the Environment Minister.

“The Marine Park is one of the great wonders of the world,” she said, “and the SWBTA is the largest coastal area of high wilderness value, south of Cooktown, on Australia’s east coast. This is significant both regionally and nationally.

“The area includes fresh water and inter-tidal wetlands that have been accepted as internationally significant under the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands to which Australia is a signatory.”

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