RACMP in SOMALIA
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RACMP in SOMALIA An exact retype of original Post Operations Reports held by RACMP Museum. Researched by Antony Buckingham, MP History Website. Introduction In December 1992 a decision was made by the government to send a Battalion Group to Somalia to assist the equitable distribution of food and to restore a semblance of law and order. The overall commitment of MPs to the operation was unfortunately only six, as 3 Brigade decided that the operation did not require specialist MPs and therefore did not take the ten man section that would usually accompany the RDF Battalion Group. They justified this decision stating that their Regimental Police could do the same job. The six MPs were taken to provide security for HQ Australian Forces Somalia (HQ AFS), which was based at Mogadishu. There tasks were many and varied as they had to contend with long and arduous hours. Background Prior to 1960 Somalia was ruled by Italy in the South and Great Britain in the North. After independence was granted in 1960 nine years of unstable Government followed. The situation grew steadily worse and capitulated in October of 1969 when a military coup put the commander of the Army in power. From that time corruption reigned supreme within the coastal African country which is dominated by intense rivalry between large family oriented clans. In 1991 the fighting between these clans plunged the country into chaos with all government support being shut down. Around this time large numbers of foreign diplomats fled and the country adopted an anarchist approach to society. There were many innocent people caught up in the fighting and to exacerbate the problem of severe drought had caused a significant decrease in the country's food production and people were dying of starvation by the thousands. The situation attracted worldwide media attention and despite the presence of the UN and many aid organisations the food was not getting to the people who needed it most. Instead it was being intercepted by the war lords who ruled the streets with their weapons and used as a form of currency. In early December 1992 the US congress approved a large scale deployment of forces to Somalia to assist with famine relief and to provide security. This operation was aptly named "Restore Hope". Shortly after Australia, as well as many other UN member nations, decided to commit troops for the same reason. The operation was unique as it was not controlled by the 1 This is my Story – Sergeant Peter Watson RACMP – 1 RAR Bn Gp UN as the USA took control and endeavoured to stabilise the situation so the UN could eventually take charge and restore stable government. Preparation/Pre-Deployment About 12 December 1992 Cabinet approved the commitment of a Battalion sized group to assist in the Humanitarian Relief effort in Southern Somalia. The term of commitment was 17 weeks and the advance party was to leave Australia in early January 1993. The Battalion Group was based on 1 RAR, with further elements drawn from the Townsville based 3 Brigade. These elements were from 3/4 Cavalry Regiment, 9 Transport Regiment, 2 Field Supply Battalion, 139 Signal Squadron and 102 Field Workshops. The Battalion Group's Humanitarian Relief Sector (HRS) was to be stationed at Baidoa, popularly called the City of Death. The Battalion Group was to be commanded by a HQ element from HQ 1st Division, which was based in Mogadishu. This HQ was raised on 15 December 1992 and was officially titled HQ Australian Force, Somalia (HQ AFS). It was commanded by Colonel Bill Mellor and the HQ was staffed mainly from HQ 1 Div, Enoggera. Part of this HQ was manned by members of the 1st Military Police Company. The Company was tasked with supplying 1 x SGT and 5 x CPLs to the HQ for the purpose of providing security to the Commander and also provide a measure of security to the HQ. The timing of the announcement of the deployment meant that a large proportion of the Company had proceeded on stand-down for the Christmas period, however, a short list of names was quickly assembled and after making numerous phone calls the detachment was tentatively finalised. This process took longer than expected as the Company decided to take only volunteers. Some of the first members of the Company who were offered the opportunity to deploy on operational service, surprisingly declined. The detachment was to be commanded by SGT P.J. Watson. SGT Watson had been posted into the unit about four months previously and had seen service with the New Zealand Army. The five CPL positions were finally established and the following members were warned out: a. CPL T.D. Warke, 2IC, b. CPL L. Leppens, c. CPL D.J. Cripps d. CPL D.T. Rayner and e. CPL L. Zornig. Numerous discussions were then held over the composition of the Military Police Detachment. A direction from the Commander of 1 Div, Major General P. Arnison, finally settled the issue, and CPL Zornig was cut from the Det and his place was taken 2 This is my Story – Sergeant Peter Watson RACMP – 1 RAR Bn Gp by a female member CPL J.M. Baranowski. The reasoning behind this was that the Det may be called upon to deal with other females that were deploying. It is believed that CPL Baronowski would be one of the first, if not the first female of RACMP to deploy on Active Service. The six members were effectively posted from 1 MP Company to HQ AFS on 15 December 1992. A flurry of activities then took place, dental and medical inspections as well as several meetings with sharp needles. The deployment was to be split into four phases. First a recon party consisting of six key personnel was to leave on 19 December 1992. This party consisted of: a. Colonel Bill Mellor, Commander Australia Force Somalia (CAFS), b. Lt Col Woolnough, Chief of Staff, c. MAJ Peterson, SO2 Int/Ops, d. MAJ Powrie, SO2 Pers/Med, e. CAPT Catchlove, PR, f. Lt Powell, RANLO The vast majority of work in the period prior to departure was of course the stores requirements for both the detachment's specific needs, as well as stores required to operate the HQ. They were restricted to personal luggage of 1 x combat pack, webbing and 1 x echelon bag. The MP Det was left to conduct its own preparation and training prior to departing for Townsville. A zeroing practice was conducted for personal weapons, as well as a magnitude of pre-embarkation administration. Each member of the MP Det was issued with an F88C Aus-Steyr, a 9mm Browning pistol and then the decision had to be reached on taking the new Minimi machine gun or the MAG 58. The MAG 58 won out mainly because of the ability of the weapon to be used in strong point protection. Christmas and New Year passed quickly for the Detachment and finally all the stores were assembled at Amberley where they had been palletised for transportation to Townsville. The Advance Party assembled and on the 4 January 1993 they departed Enoggera for Amberley. Families had a tearful farewell and at 0730 hrs., the bus departed. At Amberley, they boarded a C130 Hercules for the trip to Townsville. On their arrival they were accommodated in the 1 RAR Lines and immediately sensed a tense atmosphere. This atmosphere continued right through the entire operation and steadily developed to the stage where there was obvious animosity between the Battalion Group and HQ AFS. 3 This is my Story – Sergeant Peter Watson RACMP – 1 RAR Bn Gp Townsville At Townsville a series of briefings took place, as well as training in first aid and mine detection. Final preparations of stores took place as the departure date of 10 January 1993 loomed. The Advance Party consisting of 54 members of both the Battalion Group and the HQ AFS, as well as stores and vehicles were to be loaded onto 3 RAAF C130 Hercules for the trip to Somalia. The flight itinerary was: a. Townsville to Port Headland, WA 7 hrs., b. Port Headland to Diego Garcia, 11 hrs., and c. Diego Garcia to Mogadishu 7.5 hrs. The atmosphere in Townsville was becoming intolerable as the air of anticipation associated with the deployment was making the force edgy and tense. It was with a great deal of relief that the day of departure finally arrived. The morning of 10 Jan 93 was hot and oppressive. An early rise and lots of last minute packing and telephone calls had people running in all directions. Buses arrived and rolls called, they were at last on their way. 17 weeks seemed like an eternity to the MP Det Comd at this stage. The departure from Townsville was very orchestrated, with the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Gordon Bilney making a speech about conditions of service. They were then all to learn that this trip was to be a "media event" and that they were to fully co-operate with the media, something that they were not fully prepared for, however, handled with ease. The MP Det was on Chalk Two and it was with some relief that they finally boarded the aircraft and left Townsville. The conditions on the flight were, at best, cramped. On board were two landrovers C/W trailers, 1 x pallet of stores and 27 passengers. The next few days were filled with droning engines and stiff legs and bodies. Port Headland came and went. Diego Garcia was friendly and their last opportunity to break free as Operation Solace was to be dry.