By
CPL Cameron Jamieson
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FLTLT
Mal Leonard organises logistic support for the Al Muthanna
Task Group as the soldiers and their equipment arrive at
Camp Virginia in the Middle East.
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Photo
by CPL Cameron Jamieson
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Al
Muthanna Task Group vehicles arrive at Camp Virginia.
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Photo
by CPL Robert Nyffenegger
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The Force Level Logistic Asset for coordinatin
troop movements in and out of Iraq is
commanded by FLTLT Mal Leonard.
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The nine-person team has been coordinating
the deployment of the Al Muthanna Task
Group.
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ONCE
the 450 soldiers of the Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG) landed in
the Middle East, there was a need for the Australians to be housed,
fed and administered as they prepared for the move into Iraq.
There was a small band of ADF personnel working hard to make sure
the AMTG’s stay at Camp Virginia was as comfortable and as
well provided for as possible.
Flight Lieutenant Mal Leonard has two jobs; one as the Force Level
Logistic Asset (FLLA) Operations Officer for operations in the
Middle East, and the other as the officer commanding the FLLA
detachment that manages the receipt and staging of all troops
and their equipment moving into Iraq. His job involves a lot of
driving, especially to and from airports.
“Some days when we have 180 man-hours available for tasks,
75 hours can be used just in driving tasks,” he said.
“But the quantity of troops and equipment belonging to the
larger AMTG contingents requires US military buses and semi-trailers
with US escorts.”
FLTLT
Leonard said the pace for his team was fast but manageable, thanks
to detailed planning and the wide range of resources available
to him.
“The AMTG is on the top of our list of priorities, but we
do have a lot of other issues running at the moment,” he
said.
“We have [the] Tour de Force military concert party coming
up from Australia, and we are moving out of our camp as it is
closing.
“We have a lot to do, but our permanent manning was increased,
so that has helped a lot.”
As an Air Force officer, FLTLT Leonard has found that soldier-speak
and Army acronyms can lead to information getting lost in the
translation.
Fortunately for him, his second in command is a soldier who has
previously worked with a cavalry unit and can translate the demands
of the cavalry officers that work in the AMTG’s headquarters.
Corporal Joe Callahan normally works as an administration clerk
in Townsville with the 3rd Combat Services Support Battalion,
but now faces the challenges of his first overseas deployment.
“Each US camp has a mayor to administer the facility, and
I deal with the mayor’s office to make sure the AMTG has
what it needs while they are at Camp Virginia, such as map boards,
phone lines and transport,” he said.
Corporal Callahan said even the weather, which included regular
sandstorms, didn’t get him down. A sentiment that is
shared by the rest of his team.
“Our nine-person detachment at Camp Virginia is happy to
be here, so their morale is high despite the workload,” he
said.
So in spite of the heat, sand and wind, the job goes on at Camp
Virginia. A place that FLTLT Leonard said had been well set up.
“The AMTG has a lot of room to move,” he said.
“They have excellent range facilities, the food is good,
they have telephones to call home with, and they have postal and
pay support.
“Plus there is the FLLA support – whatever they need,
we can sort it out.
“It’s a bit like a home away from home.”
