Small team helps in Op Phuket Assist

By CPL Simone Liebelt

* Several Air Force personnel were among the ADF team that helped Thai authorities and the Australian Federal Police to identify victims and repatriate survivors of last year’s Boxing Day tsunami.

Two of the Air Force personnel who were on the operation were SQNLDR Ritchie Cunningham, (2nd from right), and SGT Arun Bartlett, (far left).

A Royal Thai police boat was swept inland about 2km by the tsunami.

Photos by MAJ Barnham Ferguson.

ABOUT 400 Air Force members will have deployed to Operation Sumatra Assist by the time the op draws down at the end of March.

The Director of Operations at Air Command has reflected on what has been a complicated but dynamic effort to assist our Indonesian neighbours in crisis.

Group Captain Rick Owen used the analogy of a footy game when asked to describe the teamwork required to successfully plan and execute such large-scale relief operation. “I think of the whole operation as a team effort,” GPCAPT Owen said.

“There are so many guys and gals behind the scenes that made, and are still making, this operation a success.

Some play the game on the field, some wash the jumpers, some cut the oranges and others coach and train, some even enforce the rules, but all contribute to the score in the end.

These team members include ADF, APS and in some cases, civilian contractor personnel plus their families, many of who put their holidays on hold. I was just a guy cutting oranges, doing a bit of spare-time coaching.”

He said the operation was organised as well as could be expected. As part of the immediate response, elements of Air Lift Group, Combat Support Group, the Army Combat Engineer Regiment and the Health Support Battalion played key roles in establishing a workable environment in an area that was otherwise completely devastated.

The information that flowed back from their work helped future planning. More than two months after the disaster, GPCAPT Owen said the demand for emergency response was almost complete and “now we will be able to sit back and take a breath, at least I hope we can, and all the elements of planning will be analysed to identify what we can do better”.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more from the people involved as everyone worked hard to meet the task. The thing that really stood out most was our ability to recognise and simply get on with the important things without too much fuss, despite the terrible situation faced in Sumatra by our people. This really does reinforce the dedication and professionalism of our people.”

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