Giving help to Honiara

By LT Simone Heyer
Volume 48, No. 7, May 04, 2006

Airfield Defence Guards LACs Scott Doggett and Brendan Hughs from 4 Rifle Flight patrol Henderson Airfield in Honiara.

Photo by LT Simone Heyer

FOR now there is calm in the Solomon Islands after approximately 500 Australian and New Zealand soldiers deployed there following riots in the country’s capital, Honiara.

For the third time this year, Air Force provided emergency support, this time to the Solomon Islands.

1 Air Terminal Squadron Detachment Townsville stepped up to the enormous task of moving hundreds of soldiers and their equipment to Henderson Airfield, just outside Honiara.

OIC 1ATS Detachment Townsville FLGOFF Brooke Fleming said they were given four hours notice that they’d be transporting soldiers and equipment.

“We ran 24-hour operations to get the initial deployment into the Solomon Islands,” FLGOFF Fleming said.

“For the initial push, we loaded four aircraft in five hours.

By the 36-hour mark, we’d done 20 flights, including a flight of foreign nationals and voluntary returnees.

“We deployed soldiers, cargo and vehicles for the initial push, then port-a-loos and tentage to sustain the troops on the ground.

“While it has been extra work, the troops enjoy the challenge. It’s fulfilling to see the end result of your work.”

Within hours of the riots, soldiers from 1RAR’s Ready Company Group were preparing to leave Australia to bolster the RAMSI forces.

Over the next 36 hours, the Government announced A Coy 3RAR would also deploy, along with aviation assets, a flight of Airfield Defence Guards, logistic support elements and two patrol boats.

The Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 635, LTCOL Andrew Gallaway, said the task force was spread out throughout the main Guadalcanal Island, with ADGs from 4 Rifle Flight providing tarmac security at Henderson Airfield.

SGT Rodney Cox of 4 Rifle Flight said the ADGs arrived in the Solomon Islands in the early hours of the morning and caught a few hours sleep in the abandoned air terminal.

First thing in the morning, they began patrolling and conducting point security, decked out in body armour and with loaded weapons in a show of presence.

He said there was a full section on the tarmac, with a half section providing roving patrols and another half section conducting point security as required.

SGT Cox said 3RAR had provided airfield security until the ADGs arrived. Now the infantrymen secured the perimeter of the airfield.

He said his troops were pleased to be there.

“Everyone is happy and excited to be here – it’s the first deployment for some and it’s giving the young guys the opportunity to do the job. It’s what we’re trained to do.”

Meanwhile support elements of Air Force air load teams from 1ATS, Army movers and Air Force medics, helped keep the operation running smoothly.

FLTLT Sharon Sykes led the Evacuation Handling Team from 3 Combat Support Hospital. She said while their job was to medically assess internally displaced people and foreign nationals, they hadn’t handled any evacuees.

“It has been very uneventful, but the team is ready,” she said.

Air Load Team SNCO-in-charge SGT Lucy Foster said her small team had been working through the night for four days.

“We’ve been offloading medical equipment, kits, soldiers, vehicles, equipment and Iroquois,” SGT Foster said.
“At first we didn’t have a forklift, so it was all hand-offload.”

She said as well as loading and unloading aircraft, they coordinated movement of personnel and the manifests that go with air travel.

Now that things are stabilising, they are able to run a rotation of four days in country, and then return to Townsville for recuperation.

She said her troops had done a fantastic job in difficult conditions.

“It’s amazing what the human body can cope with workload-wise. Working in this stifling heat for long hours is a strain and as a result your sense of humour gets a bit warped.”

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