Image Gallery 2008
27 February 2008
Aussie Diggers fight off Taliban extremist attacks on construction site
For 35 days in mid-winter, Australian soldiers of the Reconstruction Task Force and their Afghan National Army (ANA) allies were responsible for the construction of an ANA Forward Operating Base (FOB) and provision of security in Afghanistan’s strategic Chora Valley.
Australian infantry, cavalry and combat engineers of the Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), based in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan have successfully fought off repeated insurgent attacks in the Dorafshan area.
The action happened near the mouth of the contested Baluchi Valley where the Australian Army engineers are building a patrol base for the Afghan Army as part of Operation Shar Markaz.
While the enemy tried to box in the troops with simultaneous attacks from mutually supporting fire teams, the Digger’s defensive tactics prevailed. Mortars from the Townsville-based 2nd Battalion also fired in support.
Australia has deployed an ADF Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), consisting of a combined arms team, to the Uruzgan Province in Southern Afghanistan as part of Operation SLIPPER. The RTF is in partnership with the Netherlands Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and forms part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
The RTF has a clearly defined role to work on reconstruction, improvement of provincial infrastructure and community based projects. The RTF also provides trade training to the local population and military engineering training to the Afghan National Army. This type of assistance is designed to benefit the people of Uruzgan Province well into the future and form building blocks of a stable and prosperous community.
The RTF contains around 370 ADF personnel from predominately Queensland-based units. It includes elements to provide command, security, engineering, and administrative support and is equipped with Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles (IMV), Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) and armoured engineer plant equipment.
Australia's contribution to ISAF is an important component of the Australian Government's commitment to assist Afghanistan achieve a stable and secure future.
| 20080130adf8248214_071 Private Brant Logan (standing) and Private Matthew Zejfert, from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment's Mortar Platoon, prepare to fire their 81mm mortar during a fire support mission in the Chora region of Afghanistan. The two soldiers have deployed with Reconstruction Task Force Three. (Date taken: 30 January 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080129adf8248214_013 A Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle from Reconstruction Task Force Three heads off across the rugged countryside of the Chora region of Afghanistan. (Date taken: 29 January 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080129adf8248214_046 Private Aaron John Duffy from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment kneels beside a near frozen creek whilst out on patrol in the Chora region of Afghanistan. (Date taken: 29 January 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080130adf8248214_060 A group of Bushmaster Infantry mobility vehicles break from a hide, and depart on the next leg of a patrol whilst in the Chora region of Afghanistan. (Date taken: 30 January 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_052 An up-armored Australian Mack Truck from Reconstruction Task Force Three sits in a car park while a camel train moves through the area. Photo taken during the commencement of Operation Shar Markaz, conducted in the Dorafshan area. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_074 An up-armored Australian Bulldozer from Reconstruction Task Force Three levels ground in preparation for construction works as during Operation Shar Markaz in the Dorafshan area. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_116 A soldier from Reconstruction Task Force Three recovers weapons and ammunition whilst searching a hidden weapon cache on patrol in the green zone of the Dorafshan area. The weapons were used in an attack on Australian positions the previous night and after a follow-up patrol the next day, weapons and quantities of ammunition were recovered from caches used by fleeing insurgents. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_124 Two soldiers from Reconstruction Task Force Three document recovered weapons and ammunition found in a hidden weapon cache during a patrol in the Dorafshan area. The weapons were used in an attack on Australian positions the previous night and were cached by the fleeing insurgents. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_144 Corporal Damian Woods and Corporal Ty Mcrae from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, now serving with Reconstruction Task Force Three in Afghanistan, log information into the Personal Data Assistants carried by all Section Commanders following their return from a patrol. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_149 An ASLAV Personnel Carrier from 2/14 Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) returns to its dug-in overwatch position during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_170 Soldiers from Reconstruction Task Force Three conduct their night routine and prepare to stand-to in their pits whilst an earth mover continues digging other fighting positions of the construction site during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_194 An up-armored engineering plant vehicle from Reconstruction Task Force Three lifts multiple Hesco baskets during the construction of a perimeter wall. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_227 Sapper Rodney Johnstone from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, now serving with Reconstruction Task Force Three, marks out the initial measurements for what will later become a fortified tower during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_255 Warrant Officer Class Two Martin Thompson from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, now serving with Reconstruction Task Force Three, instructs soldiers from the Afghanistan National Army in the finer points of putting up wire defences. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_283 The sun sets over the Australian flag hoisted high above an Australian Army Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle from Reconstruction Task Force Three during Operation Shar Markaz in the Dorafshan region of Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_330 (From R-L) Corporal Jarred (Bingo) Bingham and Private Damien Brown from 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment conduct night routine in the late hours of the afternoon during Reconstruction Task Force Three's Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_357 Major Jim Kmet from Reconstruction Task Force Three speaks with local Afghan men whilst out on patrol in the Dorafshan region during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_370 Major Jim Kmet from Reconstruction Task Force Three comes face to face with some of the local animal life while out on patrol in the Dorafshan region during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_383 A soldier from 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, now serving with Reconstruction Task Force Three, sits in an overwatch position. The soldiers is on a short halt from a patrol in the Dorafshan region of Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_399 Commanding Officer Reconstruction Task Force Three Lieutenant Colonel David Wainwright (right) speaks with a local Afghan man about the situation in the Dorafshan region of Uruzgan province whilst out on a patrol during Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080219adf8248214_428 Sapper Rodney Johnstone and another soldier from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, now serving with Reconstruction Task Force Three, carry a wooden beam across the worksite during construction of a checkpoint as part of Operation Shar Markaz. (Date taken: 19 February 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
