MINDEF VISIT TO AUSTRALIAN TROOPS IN

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

I am pleased to announce I have completed my second visit to Australia’s serving military personnel in the Middle East.

From 28 August – 2 September I had the honour to visit Australian troops deployed on Operation Slipper in Afghanistan, Operation Catalyst in Iraq as well as other key serving personnel deployed in the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO).

All Australians should be very proud of the outstanding role being done by our troops serving in Afghanistan. I was honoured to again visit the Special Forces Task Group (SFTG) at Camp Russell in southern Afghanistan, the Chinook Helicopter Detachment based in Kandahar and initial elements of the Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) in the Oruzgan province.

Our elite Special Forces play a key role in the international Coalition’s fight against terrorism.  The SFTG provides reconnaissance, surveillance and other specialised capabilities to the Coalition's continuing operations against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. I was pleased to be able to see the SFTG prior to their scheduled return to Australia in late September. 

The RTF is preparing to conduct reconstruction and community-based projects in Oruzgan Province as part of Australia’s commitment to assisting Afghanistan achieve a stable and secure future.  It was inspiring to see the RTF establishing its base as part of the Netherlands-led Provincial Reconstruction Team as it prepares to make an important contribution to the lives of the Afghan people in Oruzgan Province.  I look forward to the full deployment of the RTF later in the year and the commencement of reconstruction projects. 

I also took the opportunity to hold a series of meetings with senior Coalition and Afghan officials, including my counterpart the Afghan Defence Minister General Wardak, the Commander of the International Stabilisation Assistance Force, General Richards, the Commander of the Coalition Force Command - Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Eikenberry and the Netherlands Contingent Commander, Brigadier Spijk.

In Iraq, I visited the Overwatch Battle Group in Talill in southern Iraq, along with Headquarters staff and the Security Detachment in Baghdad.

The Australian Government remains strongly committed to our deployment to Iraq under Operation Catalyst. It was a privilege to see our people and witness the important contribution they are making to the rehabilitation of Iraq. Their morale is high, their dedication is impressive.  Australians should be very proud of the job being done by our men and women in the Middle East. Their families can be very proud of them.

My visit also included meeting and talking to personnel deployed with our AP-3C Orion and C-130 Hercules detachments who are providing excellent service to our own and Coalition forces.  I also visited HMAS Warramunga which is making an outstanding contribution to securing Iraq’s economic future, by protecting Iraq’s key oil platforms in the North Persian Gulf. I commend the fine job being done by the Warramunga and her crew under the command of Commander John Hielscher.

I also took the opportunity to hold a series of meetings with senior Coalition and Iraqi officials, including my counterpart the Iraqi Defence Minister Dr Sadoun, and the Commander of the Multi-National Forces – Iraq General Casey.

We currently have around 1400 ADF people deployed in Iraq for Operation Catalyst. We are committed to assisting our Coalition partners rehabilitate Iraq and stabilise the country. The Iraqi Government supports the presence of our forces, in particular, their excellent work helping to train the Iraqi Security Forces.

The Australian Government is committed to completing the task at hand in Iraq. While we have come a long way, much remains to be done.

We will not cut and run until our job is complete and the Iraqi Security Forces can provide protection for their own people.

I again thank all the military personnel involved for making this visit possible. All Australians can be immensely proud of the work that our troops are doing, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan the MEAO or the North Persian Gulf. 

Media Note

Still Imagery of the Minister’s visit is available at www.defence.gov.au/media/download/

Video is expected to be distributed to the media at 0900hrs.

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