Frequent Questions

How many Australians are serving in the operation to enforce Iraq’s disarmament?

About 2000 Australian servicemen and women have been committed to the coalition enforcing the disarmament of Iraq.

Where will Australian Defence Force members operate?

To ensure the security of Australians serving overseas, and ensure that the effectiveness of their mission is not compromised, details of exact unit locations and specific missions will not be discussed publicly.

Are the Australian Defence Force members in danger?

This will be a difficult and dangerous mission. Not only will the ADF be operating in difficult terrain and harsh conditions, but Saddam Hussein is known to have weapons of mass destruction.

The nature of the operation means there is a level of risk to our personnel and a possibility that Australian casualties may be sustained.

However, ADF personnel were forward deployed to the region to ensure they were well prepared for the potential of conflict by having opportunity to acclimatise to conditions in the region and exercise and train with other coalition forces.

How long will Australians serve as part of the coalition?

The Australian Defence Force has been committed to the coalition for as long as required. Individual elements will however rotate through the operational area.

What support mechanisms are in place for the families of those serving in the coalition?

The Defence Community Organisation and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will work closely to provide the highest level of support to the families of those personnel deployed.

Information on the support that is provided can be found from the various support agencies, which include:

• The Defence National Welfare Coordination Centre on 1800 801 026, which provides 24 hour support to the families of deployed personnel.

• Other support information is available through:
  - Family Information Network for Defence (FIND) on 1800 020 031 or www.dco.dod.gov.au

- National Consultative Group of Service Families on 1800 100 509

Knowing that their loved ones are being well supported at home will be a significant morale boost for deployed personnel.

Whose command are ADF personnel under?

The Chief of the Defence Force has full command of the ADF at all times including all Australian Forces deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations.

The commander of the Australian National Headquarters Middle East Area of Operations exercises national command over ADF forces in the Middle East.

The Australian National Commander is Brigadier Maurie McNarn.

He monitors any tasking of ADF elements and has the authority to veto any proposed tasks that fall outside bounds set by the Government.

At the unit level, ADF forces remain at all times under the command of their Australian commanding officers.

Of course, ADF forces that are part of a broader coalition may be assigned specific tasks under the operational control of coalition commanders, just as from time to time US or other coalition forces may be assigned under Australian command.

This is the nature of coalition operations and has been the case for all previous Australian coalition contributions, including the 1991 Gulf war and the war against terrorism.

What roles will the ADF play during the operation?

For operational security reasons, we will not be specific about the missions the ADF will undertake.

The Operation Bastille Facts Sheets provide more information about the general roles of each of the elements involved.

What are the ADF’s rules of engagement?

Australian rules of engagement have been endorsed by Government and issued to commanders. They define the circumstances and limitations within which military force may be applied during operations in Iraq.

Rules of engagement are by necessity protected. Precise knowledge by an adversary of the limitations that have been placed on the use of force by Australian forces could endanger the lives of ADF personnel.

However, in broad terms, Australian rules of engagement comply fully with Australia’s domestic and international legal obligations, including Australia’s obligations under the Laws of Armed Conflict, the Geneva Conventions, and other treaties to which Australia is a Party.

Under these obligations, Australian forces will be authorised to engage with necessary and proportionate lethal force all Iraqi military and paramilitary forces, as required to achieve their mission.

Australian forces will not attack civilians or other persons protected by the Geneva Conventions, such as those who are incapacitated by sickness or wounding, and are unable to defend themselves, or who have surrendered.

Australian forces will not attack civilians, other persons protected by the Geneva Conventions, or civilian objects such as civilian buildings, provided they are not being used for a military purpose. Under the same conditions, Australian forces will also not attack objects and infrastructure such as hospitals, places of worship, objects of cultural significance, dams, dykes and nuclear power stations.

Additionally, and consistent with Australia’s obligations under the Ottawa Convention, Australian forces will not use or assist or encourage others to use anti-personnel landmines.

As a matter of Government policy, the use of cluster munitions by Australian forces has been prohibited.

Are Australia’s rules of engagement more stringent than those of the United States? Australia is party to more international treaties than the United States. Australia has more stringent obligations under international law. For example, as a signatory to the Ottawa Convention we prohibit the use of anti-personnel land mines. Also, as a matter of policy we prohibit the use of cluster bomb munitions. These differences will not affect our ability to work with United States forces.

How much will Operation Falconer cost?

There are clearly additional costs associated with a deployment such as this that could not sensibly be met by the existing Defence budget and will be met therefore by an appropriation in the forthcoming budget. Costs will be determined through the budget process and will be announced by the Treasurer.

The additional costs of the operation are expected to add up to some hundreds of millions of dollars. It is not possible to calculate the final additional cost of the deployment until it is completed.

Will the ADF deliberately target civilians?

The ADF abides by the international Laws of Armed Conflict that control the use of military force and includes specific provisions to protect non-combatants and non-combatant facilities.

Coalition military planners are working hard to reduce the risk of civilians and other protected person casualties in the event that there is a conflict.

Comprehensive arrangements are in place to ensure that the risk of civilian and other protected person casualties is taken into account in assigning all targets.

Australian forces act in accordance with the Laws of Armed Conflict at all times.

What vaccinations are given to our personnel?

All deploying ADF personnel are vaccinated according to the risk and threat assessment that is conducted for each operation.

This is to ensure they are well prepared and protected against any assessed threat.

The ADF has sufficient quantities of all necessary vaccines that may be required.

The ADF has assessed that some personnel being deployed to the Middle East under Operation Bastille may be at risk of exposure to a variety of possible weapons of mass destruction, including anthrax.

For operational security reasons we are not specific about every vaccine given to ADF personnel. However, the ADF has confirmed that all personnel deployed on Operation Bastille will be vaccinated against anthrax.

The vaccine is given on the basis of voluntary informed consent. Those who refuse will not be punished or discriminated against. Personnel who do not consent to being vaccinated are returned to Australia as soon as possible for their own safety. Returned personnel will be posted to positions commensurate with their experience and skill. We will try to maintain geographical stability wherever possible.

Any personnel who elect not to have the vaccine have been or are being replaced.

For further information on the anthrax vaccination program, the Defence Health Service website has more information: www.defence.gov.au/dpe/dhs.

Are there enough ADF elements left in Australia to cope with an incident here?

The Chief of the Defence Force has given careful consideration to existing ADF commitments and the ADF ability to respond to short notice contingencies in planning these forward deployments and assigning forces to Operation Bastille.

The ADF remains highly capable of meeting its regional and domestic security responsibilities.

The force elements deployed under Operation Bastille are those that can be deployed and still allow the ADF to meet unexpected contingencies.

For example, the Incident Response Regiment is still able to respond to a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident within Australia and the Tactical Assault Groups based on the east and west could respond to a terrorist incident if required in support of civil authorities.

Are Reservists being deployed?

There is no general call for reservists to be on standby for the war against Iraq. There is also no intention to deploy reserve units as part of Operation Falconer. Some regular units may contain individual reservists serving on full time service.

Individual reserve members may be employed to fill specific appointments for deployment on Operation Falconer where their specialist skills, such as medical support, can not be met from within the regular forces.

Can the media get access to ADF personnel on Operation Falconer?

The ADF will conduct regular operations briefings in the Middle East and in Canberra to ensure the Australian public is fully informed about ADF deployments.

In addition, ADF public affairs officers based in the Middle East are facilitating media access to ADF personnel deployed under Operation Falconer having regard to operational security requirements and host nation sensitivities.