It is a privilege to announce the completion of the Australian Defence Force’s medical support to the humanitarian mission in Pakistan and welcome them home.

Operation PAKISTAN ASSIST is an outstanding example of the Australian Defence Force performing at its absolute finest. All Australians can be rightly proud of the efforts of our soldiers, airmen and airwomen.

The ADF medical team consisted of around 140 personnel who deployed to provide vital health care assistance to those affected by the earthquake in October last year. The immediate aim of the relief effort was to provide medical assistance to the people in the Dhanni area, about 20km north east of Muzaffarabad on the Pakistan side of the Kashmir Line of Control.

This deployment builds on the successful work by ADF personnel providing humanitarian assistance to countries affected by natural disasters.

Under the command of Colonel Andy Sims, the ADF Primary Health Care Teams provided a critical medical capability in a time of extreme need. They performed over 9500 medical treatments and over 4000 immunisations enabling surviving residents to begin the long process of restoring their lives. A particular highlight for the ADF personnel was the delivery of 5 babies during this time.

An Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter detachment from Army’s 5^th Aviation Regiment based in Townsville enabled medical assistance to remote regional villages in rugged terrain with limited road access. These helicopters have performed 74 life saving aero medical evacuations. Much of their work was done in trying conditions, often being subject to sub-zero temperatures.

The majority of the health and support personnel are drawn from the Army’s logistic support force based at Randwick Barracks, in Sydney. An Air Force Primary Health Care Team based at Richmond, New South Wales supplemented the medical team, whose personnel were drawn from a range of units across Australia including some Reserve personnel.

The primary health care facility at Dhanni has been gifted to the Government of Pakistan along with some ADF military equipment and supplies. This gift will result in a significant improvement in the community’s ability to rebuild.

With our medical mission now complete, the Black Hawk Detachment will continue to distribute humanitarian supplies to villages and communities cut-off by earthquake damage. Four Black Hawks will provide essential transport and support tasks around Dhanni. Operation PAKISTAN ASSIST will end when the helicopter detachment departs Pakistan around the end of this month.

All Australians should feel proud of our role in assisting Pakistan earthquake relief efforts. I congratulate the ADF personnel on this outstanding deployment and thank them for their commitment and dedication on behalf of the Australian people. To their families, a very special thank you from a grateful nation.

Vision of Operation Pakistan Assist will be fed to networks at Parliament House