Welcome
to the Hotel Kanimbla
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DISSECTED:AB
Dayna Mills, working hard in HMAS Kanimbla’s kitchen.
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HARBOUR
ACTION: Kanimbla sails past HMAS Manoora during Operation
Astute.
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Photos:
LAC Rodney Welch & ABPH Brenton Freind
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By
CPL Andrew Hetherington
HMAS Kanimbla has been providing outstanding support and hospitality
to deployed Army and Air Force personnel in Dili.
CO of HMAS Kanimbla CMDR George McGuire said they were ordered
to East Timor just after the ship and its crew had finished its
major evaluation off Sydney.
“I received a phone call from Maritime Headquarters and was
told the weekend we were thought we were going to have at home
wasn’t going to happen,” he said.
“We set sail and headed north for our first destination which
was Townsville. Then after about a day and a half we were told
to go around to Darwin. When the situation deteriorated in East
Timor we sailed to Dili.”
After arriving in Dili the ship offloaded its cargo and then switched
to the role that the ship’s XO LCDR Mark Leach calls “Hotel
Kanimbla”.
“We essentially provide a hotel and hospitality service for
the force ashore, which involves providing 100 to 150 additional
meals for lunch and dinner each day,” he said.
“The personnel can also have a shower, have their cams washed,
phone home, send an e-mail, purchase items from the canteen and
can also stay aboard overnight and have a sleep in a real bed
and depart the next day.
“All of the jokes between Army, Navy and Air Force have gone
out the window; we are all one ADF and are all working very hard
to look after each other. It is a real tri-service environment.”
The deployed Australian troops are not the only personnel to have
benefited from Kanimbla’s presence, as LCDR Leach said other
nation’s forces have been aboard also.
“We have also had some New Zealand infantry, British Army
and Marines here on Exercise Long Look and the Malaysian Army
have used the facilities here,” he said.
The ship’s crew have been working long hours to ensure their
guests have a comfortable and memorable experience.
AB Dayna Mills, a cook onboard HMAS Kanimbla, said she felt good
about helping out the Army and Air Force.
“They get a break coming aboard the ship, they are doing
it hard out there compared to us,” she said.
Army Sig Brad Booth, working with 102 Signal Squadron in Dili,
has had a meal and his clothes washed aboard the Kanimbla.
“It was excellent, it has made this place quite bearable
and a pleasure to work in,” he said.
“I have never experienced anything like this to this extent
even on an exercise, it was a spectacular experience.”
On
station in Dili
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UNLOAD:
Soldiers disembark from HMAS Balikpapan near Dili.
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Photo:
LAC Rodney Welch
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By
CPL Andrew Hetherington and Michael Brooke
The deployment of the Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group (ARG)
to East Timor on Operation Astute was the largest deployment of
RAN’s amphibious forces since World War II.
The Maritime Commander Australia RADM Davyd Thomas remarked on
this accomplishment as he praised RAN personnel for enabling Navy
to again demonstrate its capability to meet the challenges of
short-notice contingencies.
“The RAN has long employed a rigorous standard of training
and expectation that our personnel are able to respond with efficiency
and professionalism to short notice contingencies,” he told
Navy News.
RADM Thomas said the “rapid and professional deployment of
ships and support to Operations Anode and Astute have been testament
to this commitment”.
CAPT Peter Murray, Maritime Component Commander for JTF 631 Operation
Astute, said the Navy contingent was continuing to provide logistical,
transport, personnel and security to deployed forces in Dili since
accomplishing Navy’s main role of moving the fighting elements
of JTF 631 from Townsville to Dili onboard its amphibious ships.
CAPT Murray said he had numerous ships and personnel under his
command at the onset of the operation, which included HMA Ships
Tobruk, Manoora, Kanimbla and four landing craft, plus an additional
Army amphibious beach team and two landing craft from 10FSB.
He said there was a large mix of troops, equipment, supplies and
stores transported to Dili aboard Manoora, Tobruk and Kanimbla
during the initial phase of the operation.
“Manoora transported some of the operation’s fighting
elements, which consisted of A Company 1RAR, some of their vehicles,
a substantial portion of B Sqn of 3/4 Cav Regt and four Black
Hawks from B Sqn of 5 Avn Regt,” he said.
“Tobruk transported most of the second and third line logistics
equipment and personnel required to form the operation’s
Combat Service Battalion.
“Kanimbla carried the Primary Casualty Reception Facility
and staff essential to the initial phase of the Operation. It
also brought a load of fresh bottled water, pallets of ration
packs and defence stores.”
On May 28, A Coy 1RAR was flown into Dili by air assault using
four Black Hawks from 5 Avn Regt, which took two hours to move
ashore from Manoora.
“They took up location in the Dili heliport and later that
afternoon. Manoora commenced an amphibious assault schedule, in
which her load of fighting vehicles, APCs, Unimogs and other support
vehicles were off-loaded,” he said.
These were transported ashore in 15 loads to a beach adjacent
to the western end of the Dili airport. Tobruk arrived the next
morning and commenced an amphibious offload of vehicles, which
because of poor weather was completed at 3am the following day
after 4RAR secured the port facility.
CAPT Murray said the performance of all Navy personnel had been
excellent.
“The three major ships and crews were very well prepared,
and this has been demonstrated in their fine performance on operations,”
he said.
East
Timor conditions deemed non-warlike
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BRAKE:
AB Jared Ahern tends to the brake as he lets the anchor
cable out while HMAS Tobruk anchors off the coast of Dili.
Tobruk is part of Navy’s contribution to Operation
Astute.
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Photo:
ABPH Brenton Freind
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Details
of the East Timor conditions of service package that will affect
about 2,500 ADF personnel were announced on June 7 by the Minister
for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson, on his visit to the island.
ADF service on Operation Astute has been declared “non-warlike”
by Dr Nelson.
This reflected Defence’s assessment that the situation in
East Timor, while unstable, did not meet conditions that warranted
a higher classification.
In addition to continuation of seagoing allowance, sailors assigned
to the operation and inside the area of operations – East
Timor and its territorial waters – will be paid the tax-free
daily rate of employment allowance of $78.60.
“All ADF personnel deployed for 91 days or more may have
all ADF income and benefits treated as tax-free from the date
of their deployment,” Dr Nelson said.
“Other benefits include an additional accrual of recreation
leave, comprehensive military compensation and rehabilitation
coverage, and taxation concessions that depend upon the length
of deployment.”
The Australian Service Medal will also be awarded.
