By
Michael Brooke
Volume
48, No. 5, April 6, 2006
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LACW
Lindsay Leonard of No. 1 Combat Logistics Squadron helps
to retrieve medical equipment from a badly damaged storehouse
at Innisfail hospital.
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Photo
by SGT John Carroll
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AIR
FORCE personnel from No. 86WG are among the many ‘unsung
heroes’ of the whole-of-government response to the devastation
caused by Cyclone Larry in Far North Queensland which former
CDF GEN Peter Cosgrove (Rtd) likened to “some terrible
bombing raid”.
Larry lashed the heavily populated coastal strip on March 20,
but Air Force air assets and ADF personnel were quickly on the
scene with food and medical supplies, as well as equipment to
restore vital infrastructure including power and communications.
DHC-4 Caribous and C-130 Hercules from No. 86WG based at RAAF
Bases Amberley, Townsville and Richmond, along with other ADF
aviation assets, gave the distraught victims of Larry hope by
flying in tonnes of urgently needed supplies and equipment.
Members of Combat Support Group and Surveillance and Response
Group assisted with the restoration of airfield services, air
traffic services and the off-loading of aircraft at the Innisfail
airport.
Three C-130s from No. 36SQN and No. 37SQN flew from Richmond,
Townsville and Innisfail to deliver supplies including tarpaulins
for scores of roofless houses. In all, over 500,000 pounds of
cargo, including 200,000 pounds of water and 100,000 pounds
of tarpaulins, were ferried on more than 50 sorties by C-130
and DHC-4 aircraft.
Some of the supplies were delivered direct to Innisfail by C130
while others were ferried by No. 38SQN Detachment DHC-4 Caribou
aircraft from Townsville to Innisfail.
They were then distributed to thousands of victims, many of
whom lost their homes when winds in excess of 295km/h ripped
through the area.
GPCAPT McGarry told AIR FORCE News that No. 86WG’s role
in OP Larry Assist again demonstrates the ability of Air Lift
Group to respond to urgent requirements of the Government and
ADF, whether the mission be disaster relief or peace operations.
ADF pilots said that from the air Larry’s trail of destruction
resembled a 50km-wide raw scar between Innisfail and Cairns.
The air offered the best perspective of Larry’s path of
destruction, with F-111 reconnaissance aircraft used to fly
photographic missions to assess the areas in most need of disaster
relief assistance.
Such was the devastation that GEN Peter Cosgrove (Rtd), who
was appointed to lead the recovery taskforce, likened cyclone-ravaged
north Queensland to the war zones he has seen.
