Ready for the real thing
ARMY troops launched a spectacular final assault last night to spearhead the nation’s overseas deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
In two- week Exercise Hamel, about 8500 soldiers battled it out in a simulated war game before the Enoggera- based 7th Brigade take over from Townsville’s 3rd Brigade as Australian Army’s Ready Combat force.
Fighter jets, helicopter gunships, tanks, armoured vehicles and ground troops stormed a fictitious 800- strong enemy base in the fullscale military attack at an airstrip in the military training areas of Shoalwater Bay, near Rockhampton.
Just days earlier, troops cleared a village of insurgents as they intermingled with civilians in an urban warfare scenario.
Afghanistan veteran Captain Lachlan Joseph, 29, said the biennial exercise captured all lessons learnt on the battleground of the war- torn Middle East.
“The threat is often not a conventional threat,’’ Capt Joseph said.
“We see a lot of operations in an urban environment, where our role is securing the safety of the civilian population and reducing the threat of active insurgents. “It’s not like the movies.” Drones, unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs), combat reconnaissance vehicles, and Tiger assault helicopters flew sorties over the enemy camp to build an intelligence picture of the battle space before the final attack.
“It’s all highly Capt Joseph said.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into it, it gives the commanders a big- picture perspective of how to co- ordinate all the assets.
“But it also gives the soldiers a chance to hone their tactical skills.’’
Every year the role of Australia’s Ready Combat Brigade is rotated in the handover of responsibilities for international deployments to war zones. This year that duty falls to Brisbane’s 7 Brigade, which will also be the first responders for humani- synchronised,’’ tarian aid and disaster relief. Air force Wing Commander Jim Xinos said Exercise Hamel was the big test of any Battle Ready Group. “It’s the final hitout before they go on- call for war,’’ he said.