Off on strike

By Private John Wellfare

* F-111s from No. 1 Squadron operated from RAAF Scherger to fly strike missions to Australia’s north during Exercise Kakadu.

NO. 1 Squadron F-111s deployed to RAAF Scherger for the first time, supporting Blue Force strike operations during Exercise Kakadu.

Commanding Officer No. 1 Squadron Wing Commander Paul Willmot said deploying to the remote bare base, which had never supported fast jets, had been a challenge, but also invaluable training for unit members.

“This is it – defence of Australia from a bare base with a ground [threat], having to step through the stages that the air defence guards and No. 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron have stepped through, now setting up the wing operations centre and pulling forward the squadron – this is as good as it gets,” he said.

“We’re doing long-range strike into the air-sea gap against military shipping, which is our core role.

“Being able to do it at the ranges we’re doing it, which is over a thousand miles each way, is pretty good for any fast jet.”

Wing Commander Willmot said No. 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron members had accomplished more than could have been expected of them in bringing RAAF Scherger online in time for the fast jets’ arrival, about a week after the activation process began.

“I prepared my guys that if we got up there and all we could do was fly during the day, in good weather, and park on the side of the runway, then that is definitely within the realm of what we could expect.”

“This is not a light aeroplane – you need a lot of infrastructure to support an F-111 and we’ve got good night aids on the airfield, power supply is stable, the lights have been repaired, the runway is in good condition and they’ve got temporary approach aids in place for us, which facilitates our recovery in weather or at night.

“We’re not going to be limited in our ability to do our job by RAAF Scherger, which is a wonderful testament to the ECSS.”

Most of the challenges No. 1 Squadron faced while deployed to RAAF Scherger had been a result of the base’s remoteness and the fact it hadn’t been activated in a long time.

Getting the base’s communications network online and keeping it operational had been a round-the-clock challenge for No. 1 Combat Communications Squadron.

RAAF Scherger’s accommodation facilities, although comfortable for a bare base, could never compare with an established base such as Darwin or Tindal, where the majority of personnel deployed on Exercise Kakadu are based.

“It would be a lot more comfortable for us to be living at RAAF Base Darwin or RAAF Base Tindal, but that’s not necessarily realistic,” Wing Commander Willmot said.

“We’re not always going to be collocated [with operational partners], we’re not always going to be in the environment that we want to be in and we’re not always going to have everything working for us.

“They all present challenges, but they’re challenges that we have to be experts at dealing with. So given the option of going to Darwin or coming [to RAAF Scherger], I would come here, because the unit and I get a lot more from it.”

 

Back

 

 

 

 

.