Image Gallery 2006
27 September 2006
Australian 1st Reconstruction Task Force
A contingent of Australian Defence Force personnel has arrived in Afghanistan as part of a Netherlands-led Provincial Reconstruction Team under the NATO International Security Assistance Force's stage III expansion into Southern Afghanistan.
Australia's contribution, known as the Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), is a mix of engineers and security personnel deployed to Afghanistan for up to two years to work on reconstruction and community-based projects as part of Australia’s commitment to assisting Afghanistan achieve a stable and secure future.
The Australian contingent will be preparing the camp, conducting planning for RTF construction and trade training projects, and setting up the logistics supply chain for when the main body arrives later in the year.
The majority of the task force is drawn from the Darwin area and made up of personnel from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, which will provide combat engineers and tradesmen (carpenters, plumbers, electricians and plant operators) that will undertake the majority of the RTF's construction activities. This includes skills training for the local population to ensure the benefits of the deployment continue well after our personnel have returned home.
The Australian protective force for the RTF is being provided by the Brisbane-based Motorised Infantry of the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, equipped with Bushmaster vehicles; the 5th/7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (5/7 RAR), also with the Bushmaster; and the Darwin-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment with ASLAV light armoured vehicles. Command, logistics and support elements have come from the Darwin-based 1st Brigade.
| 20060916adf8185016_0045 Australian 1st Reconstruction Task Force soldiers lend a helping hand putting a roof on a Dutch office building. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20060916adf8185016_0064 Sapper Peter Jeffery (right), Tim Lee (left) and Sapper Beau Best (centre), from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, join metal trusses for the roof of a Dutch office. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20060916adf8185016_0078 Sapper Peter Jeffery (right), a carpenter from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, and Dutch carpenter Corporal Menno Visscher (left) join metal trusses for the roof of a Dutch office. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 0020060916adf8185016_0136 Sapper James Haw (right), a carpenter from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment and Dutch carpenter Corporal Menno Visscher (left) join timbers for the roof of a Dutch office building.. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20060916adf8185016_0142 Dutch carpenter Corporal Menno Visscher (left) lays out joining brackets for Australian troops to use on the roof construction of a Dutch office building. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20060918adf8185016_0083 Sapper Gavin Williams, a plant operator from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, moves in with a load of dirt to fill safety walls at the Reconstruction Task Force camp in Southern Afghanistan. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20060918adf8185016_0095 More dirt filling as Sapper Gavin Williams, a plant operator from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, moves in with a front end loader full of dirt to fill safety walls. (Date taken: 13 September 2006) Low-res | High-res |
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