G`Day Pom Old Mate,
How`s every little thing going over there ? Just a brief note to let you
know that the Boss ( Kerry ) and I are tentatively ( extremely tentatively )
planning a trip to Richmond to see the grandchildren in about Aug / Sept,
while there we hope to get in a couple of days in Newcastle during the week
to catch up with as many of the lads as possible, which probably wont be
many in just a couple of days, but we intend doing the best we can.
We`ve got to try and time the trip for the off peak season, at both ends, as
far as possible to avoid any hassles with accomodation `cause last time we
went over in peak season ( 2000 ) we really got stuffed about with
accomodation even though we`d booked everything several months before, it
was a bloody disaster. Will let you know more as time progresses.
In the meantime we`d just like to wish you and all your family all the very
best for a safe and prosperous New Year.
Keep your ammo dry
All the Best
Don.
donandkerry@iprimus.com.au
Our organisation would like to thank everyone who played a part in making this unique and beautiful quilt. There were some special moments for so many: the mothers who wanted to place a patch for their sons who never returned, the wives
who patiently quiltedtheir husbands'patches, the mates who told me, "I'm sending two patches, they must lie side by side on the patch, if they won't
fit, then forget it" and all those talented 'ladies who quilted such beautiful patches. You have helped create a little piece of history according to the Australian War Memorial our organisation is the first to have made a quilt for our Vietnam veterans. At the time we wereunaware of this. We believed that this quilt would probably end up being a little over knee rug size, maybe single bed size if we were lucky. This is why we decided to raffle it not send it directly to the Australian War Memorial, we could not go back on our word. It grew so much larger than we ever expected - it is over 11 ft wide and over 7ft in depth. We have had a professional photographer take an enlarged photo of the quilt which will be framed and donated to the AWM. So that each patch can be read, this photograph will measure approx 6ft x 4ft.
The Hon Mark Vaile drew the winning ticket and the lucky winner is ticket, no2708, Mr Vincent Clegg of Dalby, Queensland. We would like to thank everyone who participated by way of patches and by purchasing tickets. In doing so, you can feel pleased to know you will have helped a fellow veteran and/or family member in times of need or crisis, as a large percentage of all monies raised goes to the assistance of the veteran, wife or children.
As everyone would like to own part of the quilt, even if it is only a photo, A4 size (approx 12' x 8") coloured photos are available for $20 inc postage. They would make a lovely Christmas gift.
Money in full to be sent to:
Treasurer Mrs Fay Deas,
18 Kendall Pde, Cundletown
2430
Tel 6553 9798 or
Secretary Jan Jurd
7 Cowper St, Taree 2430
Tel 6551 0854 Fax 6551 2271
E-mail vfsll@tsn.cc +
Santiago de Compostela
4-01-2002
Dear Friends:
Im Historian, and I´m researching about Flight
Lieutenant Colin Walker (RAAF 461 Sq), who fight
against Ju-88 in the Bay of Biscay on June 2 1943,
during WWII.
Have you any information about this man?
Any information you send me would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank You very much.
José Antonio Tojo.
Orange force 'water-tank' infiltrators - Back: LAC Chris Hay, LAC Geoffrey Bell, FLGOFF Wayne Ross, LAC Craig Fitzgerald and LAC Damien O'Day. Front: LAC Ben Parkinson and LAC Justin Abberton.A night attack on RAAF Tindal took place in the early hours of 28 August. Air Force News' Amber McKinnon witnessed events first hand and provides a personal account from a civilian perspective.
Having spent a large and uncomfortable proportion of the night in a car, with two EXCON members, Flight Lieutenant Andrew Pickett and Warrant Officer Bob Dickson (who marvelled at the luxury we were enjoying?), Orange force as was outlined, were expected to attempt an infiltration at the RAAF Tindal water tank.
In the cover of darkness, a small Orange troop would attempt to secure and detonate charges. And the purpose of the target - to disrupt the Base water supply for mock conflict resolution in Orange force favour.
Given the nature of the scenario, phone calls are made between Orange force, EXCON and Blue Force; for Orange to inform of their potential success and for EXCON to relay to the Patrol point the mock explosion at the Base water supply… unless Blue catch them can catch them, that is.
FLTLT Pickett, WOFF Dickson and I settled in for the impending action and long after explosion-fraught nightmares on my part, Orange come through to complete their mission at 0551 hours.
We arrived on the scene and discovered the Quick Reaction force, which arrived at 0611 hours, scouting and securing the area. EXCON determined the explosive devices (card boxes) would have destroyed both pumps.
The Damage Assessment Team (DAT), comprised of a work supervisor, plumber, electrician and plant operator, arrived at 0626 hours to complete a damage report for a 'call back' to the Operations Centre, who then send out a recovery team.
The DAT turned in a redundancy plan that included Base water isolation, switching to town water, and calling on Environment Health to test the water for contamination, winding up at 0648 hours.
In the event that EH clear the water supply for use, DAT can run the water to Base facilities at reduced volume and pressure, while they waited for repair parts to arrive.
And how did Orange force accomplish their successful raid - according to Leading Aircraftman Ben Parkinson, who lead the six-strong force, they had planned the hit two days in advance.
The band was transported to the Stuart Highway from their outposted command some kilometres from the Base, patrolling in and out slowly over four hours.
With the Ninox night-vision the unit was unopposed, despite being spotted on the way out - however, the boys in Orange 'confused them with a few dummy stops'.
The ADGs explained they enjoyed filling opposition shoes, as 'it helps them fix their patrol' when they return to the primary role of ground defence.
The Base water supply was a high priority asset, and unfortunately for Blue, unmanned for the first time during the exercise, while Blue went patrolling.
How do Blue force recover from the infiltration - they examine the point of enemy entry and match that with the job completed, having marked their patrol route using GPS.
If Exercise Desert Predator questioned the resources, capabilities and commitment of the Royal Australian Air Force Airfield Defence Guards (ADGs) and its supporting infrastructure, then the answer is unequivocal. During the exercise recently conducted at RAAF Base Tindal, near the heart of Australia, our ADGs more than proved their worth, as participants were pushed to the limit over two weeks in challenging conditions testing mental, physical and emotional faculties. The scenario surrounding the exercise was defined by the fictional state of Kamaria and the Lessor Islands, within the Australian region disputing Australian gas and oil rights in the Timor Sea. The ensuing standoff between Governments, lead to a Kamarian Armed Forces Special Operation Group physically threatening RAAF Base Tindal.
'Watchdog 1' aka LAC Shallum Hogan checks incoming traffic with HQ.The ADGs primary role in this event was to provide ground defence - despite the fact, Air Force is better known for air power. Air Force maintains ground control given the need to protect these air power assets around Australia. This was the focus of the exercise at Tindal, demonstrated by a defensive Blue force, who in small and dedicated units protected Base lines employing everything at their disposal to ensure the infiltrating Orange force could not penetrate the Base. Orange force was made up of a small unit of ADGs, housed off RAAF Tindal in keeping with their detached offensive role. Units and personnel included two Airfield Defence Squadrons, 30 RAF and 35 RAAF Reserve members, and a large proportion of staff from RAAF Tindal. The value in conducting the defensive exercise at Tindal, according to OC 322CSS Wing Commander Mark Simpson, relates to the fact Australia may, one day, be in a conflict situation of this type. 'The exercise allows troops to adjust to conditions, and terrain (for observation and camoflague) and further, practise communications to discover black spots and the like,' said WGCDR Simpson. Officer-in-Charge EXCON Squadron Leader Dennis Anderson, Plans Ground Defence Officer at Headquarters Air Command, was the Exercise Desert Predator mastermind - from his initially contact and approval from the Chief of Staff Air Command, to the planning phase that identifying the players, through to organising participating units in the exercise. As OIC EXCON, SQNLDR Anderson's main role was to manage the adjudicating unit, who for all intent purposes 'referee' war-games, in addition to the opposition force. 'The purpose of the exercise is to simulate, as closely as possible, a realistic special force enemy - to have them attack the Base, so that Blue force can find them and deal with them,' said SQNLDR Anderson. 'Blue force are learning lots of valuable lessons.' On the part of the Orange force, this involved identifying targets, measuring access and employing the appropriate weapon systems - matching the weapons system to the terrain and the target. EXCON umpires, who travel with Orange force, determine the success or failure of the missions carried out during the exercise. In addition, a security police officer with EXCON generates intelligence, which would normally filter through from HQAST, to exercise the ground combat intelligence section within Blue force. They interpret the 'hints' and best guess what the enemy will do, in order to pre-empt a strike. Flight Lieutenant Andrew Roberts OIC Ground Combat Intelligence (GCI) described 'intell' as the provision of situational awareness to the commander, to aid his decision making on the battlefield. A relatively new role to Air Force, Army had previously supplied all GCI; however, while the RAAF appreciate the support of its joint forces, they no longer rely on them to provide for its capabilities. 'Ground intelligence approached the exercise a month prior to its commencement, described as the 'intelligent preparation battlefield' - which involves research on location in terms condition and terrain, and of course, the enemy. 'GCI predominantly examine the battle from the enemy's perspective. And the commander has operations personnel who view the exercise from the friendly angle. That enables us to develop a likely scenario, to stay ahead of the game - and make decisions fast,' said FLTLT Roberts
FSGT Todd Ackerley and CPL Christina Millard work side by side in battle command.Once deployed, GCI collate the relevant information with feeds from higher command, by conducting briefs and debriefs in the field; that information returns to the central cell at the Base command. The information is then ordered and analysed, and finally briefed to the commander, effecting positively command ability to conduct the operation. FLTLT Roberts commented he was reasonably happy with Exercise Desert Predator, prior to its wind-up. 'This is the first time we've put a GCI together in this scenario and it's worked reasonably well. We've some training issues we need to identify, but other that…' The types of information GCI have received largely pertain to enemy activity; and given the aim of GCI is to know what the enemy is doing, when and how, in order to prepare - Air Force has adjusted well to the role. FLTLT Roberts commented this was his first involvement in a base command post, having normally worked in a squadron-level command post, and as such the learning process was invaluable. One of GCI's most important means of communication and control from its command post is through Base Security Police. Base Security Officer Flight Lieutenant John Waugh outlined exercise responsibilities in terms of regulating base security levels. In the first week of exercise, FLTLT Waugh ensured base police provided security patrols, access control and responded to any reported sightings of enemy forces; therefore, acting in a ground intelligence role. The experience, according to FLTLT Waugh has given Base Security officers new to Tindal, a chance develop a certain skill set. And given that the information flow is a crucial issue for any military capability, field debriefs conducted by Security Police Officers, Sergeant Gary Hall, Leading Aircraftman Lee Hutchinson and Leading Aircraftwoman Emma Hall rate all-important. LAC Hutchinson described his role 'to debrief incoming patrolling squadrons - as gathering intelligence via the patrol groups with reference to significant terrain changes and enemy contact, which details equipment, their mode of operation and other noteworthy aspects. 'Similarly, we feed information to the squadrons to create them with a situational picture. Following the field debriefs, we create intelligence report which is then presented to the commander during the daily brief.' LAC Hutchinson also commented that 'despite the importance of creating a situational awareness for the commander, anyone could provide an account on what is happening; the guts of their role was analyse the goings on and provide assessments on a likely developing scenario, in order to facility preparation.' With an international flavour to the exercise, a small contingent from the RAF joined the Amberley ADGs in both offensive and defensive roles. The offensive sniper, Corporal Stuart Males section commander from the UK found the difference in exercise interesting, but removed from his usual role as he commented on 'going against the squadron'. With its size and realism a bonus, CPL Males explained the sniper role is 'to disrupt the enemy, shooting key opportunity targets like aircraft and pilots. 'We work in pairs - nipping in quietly behind the enemy to take the shot and hopefully, quietly extract. 'Whereas is you've a big force, they are more likely to find enemy patrols - we often times sneak through.' Group Captain John Kennedy, Officer Commanding RAAF Tindal enjoyed his first Base exercise, also filling the position of Officer Commanding Exercise Desert Predator. This, he said, involved being the mainstay of conflict direction and running the designated orders group, which lays out the mission - essentially, the chief overseer. The objective of the exercise was to secure personnel and assets at RAAF Tindal, in order to sustain air operations. GPCAPT Kennedy's personal intent as OC 322CSW was to maintain uninterrupted air operations in order to support national interests. With both objectives met, the exercise has proven its strengths and weaknesses, according to GPCAPT Kennedy. 'Its resounding strength has been the people themselves; their dedication, motivation, and applied training. The weakness has been the size of RAAF Tindal; it has been very difficult to defend the substantial perimeter. 'The participation personnel were not in ratio to the Base dimension. The shortfalls that have been identified are an important reason we conduct exercises, so they may be addressed,' said GPCAPT Kennedy. The marked difference the OC noted, between this exercise and those previous conducted, had been the command post - having the logisticians, administrators, security police, air traffic controllers, ground combat intelligence and legal officers in Headquarters proved its weight in gold. Immediate access to information and distribution capabilities as required, facilitated the communication process, paramount to the exercise execution. 'Exercise highlights include denying the enemy the freedom of their action, said GPCAPT Kennedy. 'We've captured a few, including a few kills.' So with Blue and Orange force out on the oblatory prowl day and night, their support crew, in the form of the Airmen's Mess personnel filled their hungry mouths. The response from the ADGs was accounted for by the feeding frenzy, with over 5500 hot-box meals sent into the field throughout the exercise. Sergeant Eddie Hassle commented the meal distribution had worked quite smoothly, as catering is accustomed to the operation, despite the increased scale. The main difference was exercise participation by Mess personnel in a Blue force role; however, the Mess area was not a component of the exercise. With Desert Predator, the largest RAAF ground combat exercise in 2001, over and out - participating personnel in all areas are left to scrutinise the process and execution in detail, with most just grateful for an extended period of sleep. Air Force News will publish more photographs of Exercise Desert Predator in next month's edition. Story and Photographs by Amber McKinnon
No. 1 AIRFIELD DEFENCE SQUADRON
(1AFDS)
1AFDS existed during WW2 under numerous titles and in several roles, both training and operational. However, following the cessation of hostilities and a general downsizing of the military, was disbanded in the 1950's. The Unit was reformed at RAAF Tindal on 1 July 1992 under the direction of Chief of Air Staff (CAS) as part of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) push for the defence of Northern Australia. 1AFDS, along with numbers 2 and 3AFDS, is part of No. 1 Airfield Defence Wing, located at RAAF Amberley, who in turn answer to Headquarters Combat Support Group. The Unit was relocated from Tindal to Edinburgh at the beginning of 1998 and was officially stood to on 1 Jan 99, taking up its place in the old Recruit Block Building 100.
1AFDS, with a Permanent Air Force (PAF) cadre staff of 14, has responsibility for providing Reserve training personnel for the Ground Defence Reserve Group (GRDEFRG) who are located in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmania. All reserve members are Airfield Defence Guards (ADG) and generally receive training on a monthly basis. The part time ADG's conduct weekend and block training, and when they are available, deploy on major military exercises and deployments such as the recent East Timor crisis. 15 reserve members of the Unit deployed with No 2 Airfield Defence Squadron who were tasked with protecting the airfield at Dili in East Timor.
A small portion of the Reservist's five year commitment is full time employment within the Unit. For three months, those on their full time service phase are permanently with the Unit, learning the basics of their trade. After their full time service is completed, the Reservists return to their home locations and serve out the rest of their commitment on a part time basis. Airfield Defence Guards, both Permanent Air Force and Reservist, fulfil the vital role of providing for the defence of RAAF airfields in times of conflict. ADGs must be extremely fit and proficient in numerous types of small arms, as well as having a clear understanding of tactics and, most importantly, a clear vision of the needs of Air Power.
The Unit expects that by January 2001, it will have a full complement of 92 Permanent Airfield Defence Guards, making it a fully deployable organisation, ready at short notice to deploy wherever the Air Force needs it.
Bobby.......................got a phone call, then these invites from Peter Daley of 7 course. As you can see he is an artist and this is his latest show.................well, not entirely, there is another which he is part of, called Vietnam Voices, which is currently on at the Newcastle Regional Museum.
Perhaps you could put in a commercial for him.
Lawrie.
His address, if anyone would like it is; 2 Edgewater Close,Yamba 2464....tel 0266461476
Doubts about Vietnam VC rejected
By Robert Garran, Defence writer
02jan02
KEVIN "Dasher" Wheatley had run out of ammunition and was under heavy fire from the Vietcong, but he was not going to desert his seriously wounded mate Ronald Swanton.
He dropped his rifle and dragged Swanton to cover, making a last stand with two grenades, before both men were shot and killed.
For his bravery in the Tra Bong Valley of Vietnam on November 13, 1965, warrant officer Wheatley was awarded a Victoria Cross.
Documents just released by the UK Public Record Office show that in a highly unusual move, the citation for the award was altered. The documents show that a British investigation questioned whether Wheatley's award was merited, and said the citation suggested the pair could have died in a suicide pact.
But Ashley Ekins, a senior historian at the Australian War Memorial, said yesterday it was "outrageous and preposterous" to suggest the award was not deserved.
Mr Ekins, who has unrestricted access to classified documents for his work preparing an official combat history, said that the claims in the British documents had beed based on misunderstandings.
He said a November 1966 letter from Buckingham Palace showed the Queen was pleased to approve the award, but raised two questions about the citation because it could lead to some misunderstanding, "as it now has".
The letter, from the Queen's secretary, Martin Charteris, says: "Her Majesty is not doubting for one moment that Wheatley displayed outstanding valour, and considers that the citation should leave no doubt in anybody's mind that his action was of the exceptional character required for a Victoria Cross."
It was unusual that the citation for the award was rewritten at the request of Buckingham Palace, but this was not done because of any doubts about Wheatley's bravery, but to remove ambiguities, Mr Ekins said.
The original citation said Wheatley had discarded his rifle and his radio, and the Palace's first query was whether it was wise to mention that Wheatley had discarded his rifle, a breach of military discipline.
Wheatley had dropped his rifle because he had expended all his ammunition and was cut off from other retreating troops.
Another unreleased document suggests he intended to use the grenades to make a "last stand" by attacking the Vietcong, Mr Ekins said.
"Why he decided to do it is the intangible question," he said.
"I think it was this bond of mateship between these guys.
"They had formed a pact that one would never leave the other."
The Palace also wanted the citation to make clear the grenades were to be used against the enemy, not for self-immolation.
"Both those things that Buckingham Palace raised have come back to haunt us," Mr Ekins said.
BLUE BERET ISSUE 25 - AUGUST 2001 Page 7
6.3 Web Site activities
Jim Gable again expressed some concern that members were now looking on the web site as the official news outlet for the Association. It was agreed that whilst the site had proved to be extremely popular and valuable, the Association's official news outlet was still considered to be the Blue Beret and there was a general agreement that whilst members were welcome to post information etc on the site, they should be encouraged to also copy-in the Blue Beret to make sure that everyone was able to access their information. It was pointed out that not all members had access to computers or the internet and that if something of value appeared on the web-site, it did not automatically reach everyone who might be interested.
It was stressed however that this was not a reflection of the quality of the website, which was very highly regarded and was considered a tribute to Bob Cornwell's dedication.
Foot note:
To the association in light of what has been said above i wish to point out that OUR web site is open to all (the POM is only the means of putting it up for all to see) including the Association for use thereof and if need be i'd be only to happy to generate the associations own page which could be updated as soon as the association see's fit with items needing immediate attention.
True no matter what we do there will always be a time lag but i'm sure that by working together as a team a lot can be accomplished to the members satisfaction and the old case of them and us will become a thing of the past.
The web is a wonderful form of communication and as stated above not everyone is on line so to speak but if those who have this means at their disposal would no doubt make sure that those without would be notified if a matter was pressing and needed immediate attention.
Secondly you have proberly noticed that the past years pages of the Electronic BLUE BERET have been taken down off the index but if theres anything that you might like or if you would prefer to have your own copy, then please let me know and i'll post you a copy of the the 2001 Electronic Blue Beret in review for the small fee of $15-00 it has been copied into Microsoft Word and i assume that at least 99% of us would have that program aboard our computers, the disc contains all past pages and photo's used, photo's stored in folders associated with each page.
CD usage:
Insert CD into cd drive.
Go to My Computer and Double click.
Open folder containing pages.
Select page to view and when it opens, go to the top left corner and click file, a box should drop down allowing you to select view as web page and presto there it is the same as on the web but the hyperlinks will not work.
All monies raised from sales of this CD will help in recovering expenses involved with running Our ADGie Web Site and if the responce is as good as expected maybe bigger and better things can be added to our site.
Gidday Pom, Heres the photos as promised. They are named and here is a brief
discription. I'm going to send them in a few email's as can't send to many
files with hotmail.
Thanks Felly for sharing your memories with us we'll look forward to the rest.
Daryll Fell served with the RNZAF in Timor
After serving time with us as an ADGie.
Daryll Fell in ALP Taken at Maliana airfield waiting for VIP. Wearing ALP
16 on the pad ready for a mission.
The Best seat in the house or the office Rifle bag on wall for Styer
ultrashort, Crash kit under my seat with floor armour over an inch thick.
M60 originals brought in package with the hueys in the 60's.
Under helmet is an ALP Armoured Life Preserver a cross between a Mae west, Armour vest and
Survival vest it carrys a small oxygen bottle and resperator if you get
caught under the water.
it has a restraint so you don't need a dispatch harness or monkey strap and can be worn while winching.
Great piece of kit.
Checking tail was taken by RNZAF Photog during an IRF (Reaction Force)Sweep
in the Taroman area.
Fast Rope was with the Irish Rangers These guys where great to work with
hard core(hard to listen to on the net)
Finals into an LZ to pickup an NZSAS Patrol been out for a few days
Low level photo of Helicopter crewman HCMSGT Max Cawley
Me on gun taken after we dropped off a patrol into lz following up on sign
and blood trails from previous night.
Two ship was taken on the day Leonard Manning was killed we moved load after
load of Infantry into area for the company sweep.
SASR Both, of the boys practicing with us Kiwis fast ropeing and rapelling.
The Sally Man great work brillant guys.
Their you go pom will send ADG pics tonight
Regards Felly