The Brisbane Line VOL 6; ISSUE 2, July 2018 RAAF is going though “an incredible transition” – especially at Amberley Below, left: The Growler electronic attack platform for which A$300 million is being spent on new hangers at Amberley. Below: A Boeing C-17 Globemaster III based at Amberley. Left: The F35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will be based at Williamtown in December 2018. Australia’s Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was now going through an incredible transition according to Air Comodore Kenneth Robinson, pictured right, CSC, Commander Combat Support Group and Senior Australian Defence Force Officer - Amberley. RAAF Base Amberley is also going through a major development. It is to be maintained as one of Australia’s leading defence facilities, he said. Much is being spent on new RAAF aircraft to make Amberley Australia’s “centre of air mobility”. Spending of about A$1.3 billion over four years was soon expected to equip RAAF Base Amerberly with 63 aircraft instead of 38. AIR CDRE Robinson gave a talk on these RAAF changes to a luncheon meeting of RUSIQ members on May 16, 2018. He has 4,500 personnel under his command, or close to one- quarter of the RAAF’s trained workforce. These include 2,500 or so RAAF people at Amberley and about 1,500 others – including reservists. About 8,000 people currently go through the front gate each day at Amberley - working on construction as well as defence. About 900 of them are Australian Army soldiers – who are involved in engineering and logistics. and defence dog training. AIR CDRE Robinson said his biggest objectives was to ensure both unity and harmony at the airbase. “It is about how do I get them to work together to achieve a common goal of keeping the planes flying. Aircrew do the job of flying. My team is responsible for everything else, up to the point of a crew member walking out to an aircraft,” he said. To add complexity, AIR CDRE Robinson is responsible for the same functions at all permanent RAAF bases around Australia, but at Amberley it is a ‘dual hatted’ job. With many bases, including Amberley, now being ‘multi-user’, AIR CDRE Robinson said he is drawing on his 28 SQN experience to bring different unit structures together. Correspondence to: A publication of the RUSI Queensland Branch, Royal United Service Institute Queensland Inc (RUSIQ). Victoria Barracks Brisbane, Promoting Australia’s National Security and Defence. ENOGGERA, QLD 4051 A constituent body of the Royal United Services Institute of Australia. RUSIQ Phone: +61(0)7 3233 4420. Email: [email protected] or Victoria Barracks, Brisbane, Qld 4000 President’s Mobile: 0415 313 600. President: [email protected] or Secretary’s Mobile: 0411 511 369 Secretary’s Mobile: 0411 511 369. Secretary: [email protected] or Email: [email protected] Treasurer: [email protected] Web: www.rusi.org.au The Brisbane Line Page 2 He said RAAF Base Amberley was a military airbase eight kilometres southwest of Ipswich, Queensland and 50 kilometres southwest of Brisbane. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron and No. 6 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G ‘Growler’), No. 33 Squadron (operating Airbus KC-30A) and No. 36 Squadron (operating the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III jet transport). He said that Amberley was also home to Army units making up the 9th Force Support Battalion (9 FSB). Located on 1,600 hectares, RAAF Base Amberley is the largest operational base in the RAAF. Also on the base are training colleges and maintenance areas. Amberley’s largest squadron in terms of personnel is No.23 Squadron providing both garrison and deployed combat support. Amberley was one of only two airfields in Australia (the other being Darwin International Airport) that were listed as a Transoceanic Abort (TOA) landing site for the Space Shuttle. The RAAF will soon have Amberley operating as its “superbase” with flights of F/A-18F Super Hornets, KC-30A, C-17 Globemaster. No. 35 Squadron (Operating C-27J Spartan) is planned to move to the base from RAAF Base Richmond after it is fully equipped with the C-27J. Above, left: The 27J Spartan – about $300 to $350 million to be spent on its facilities at Amberley. Above, right: The KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft AIR CDRE Robinson told RUSIQ members: • Australia still had much to offer to the Coalition effort in the Mid-East region. How long it would take depended on government policies. • In Australia’s more immediate region there was competition between big powers for which sensible planning was needed. • Other regional contributions were being made – eg. help to the Philippines Government. • Disaster relief would continue. Besides aid supply, this included transport of people. But he said the major effort was an “incredible transition’’ of the RAAF fighting force, it’s reconnaissance capability, and its transport service. “The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is going to revolutionise the way we conduct our business,” he said. “It will start the retirement of the Hornet Fighter in 2020-21. ” The Growler electronic attack platform would also come into full service,” AIR CDRE Robinson said. “Australia is the only country outside the United States which has been afforded the opportunity use the incredible capabilities of the Growler aircraft,” he said. “Growlers will be based at Amberley.” The RAAF also operates eight Boeing C-17 Globemaster III large transport aircraft. Four C-17s were ordered in mid- 2006 to improve the ability to operate outside Australia and its immediate region. The aircraft entered service between November 2006 and January 2008.. Two more C-17 Globemasters were ordered in 2011, the sixth being delivered to the RAAF in November 2012. Another two C-17s were ordered in October 2014, with the final aircraft being delivered in November 2015. All C-17 Globemasters are assigned to No. 36 Squadron and are based at RAAF Base Amberley. The aircraft have supported ADF operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations in the Middle East, as well as training exercises in Australia and the United States. They have also transported supplies and personnel as part of relief efforts following natural disasters in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and several other countries. The C-17s are highly regarded throughout the Australian military for their ability to carry large amounts of cargo across long distances, and the process through which they were acquired has been identified as an example of good practice in defence procurement. AIR CDRE Robinson said the C-17 had been a game-changer for the RAAF over the last 10 years. “It can take almost anything almost anywhere,” he said. When asked questions AIR CDRE Robinson said that no longer did the three main ADF services operate alone any more. Their integration whenever possible was providing effective defence resilience. “All ADF operations are commanded and coordinated by a Joint Commander, and not by the single-Services. This has led to greater operational effects,”he said. The Brisbane Line Page 3 Historical background on Amberley: An RAAF base near Brisbane, Queensland, was identified in the PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 1930s, when 357 hectares of land near Ipswich was gazetted for defence on 12 December 1938. The base was initially planned to house a general-purpose squadron with 300 officers and men. At the outbreak of World War II the handful of brick buildings were still incomplete and many extra buildings were constructed quickly using wood and fibro-cement. The base opened in June 1940 with the first unit based there being No. 24 Squadron. From May 1942 the base changed roles from flying operations to mainly assembly and repair of aircraft. The US facilities were transferred to Australia in 1947. After WW2 it became the base for the RAAF’s heavy bombers operated by No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 squadrons. The reserve No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron relocated from RAAF Station Archerfield to Amberley in 1955. In 1965, the US extended a “Joint Research Program for Measuring the Physical The past six weeks has been a life changing event Effects of Disturbances in the Atmosphere or in Space with in that I have undergone life saving open heart particular emphasis on their effect on Radio Communications” surgery. Currently, I am in healing and rehabilitation from RAAF Base Pearce to the base at Amberley. for the next 12 weeks. Some of the Executive, and particularly the Secretary and Treasurer, have taken About AIR CDRE Robinson: Before joining the RAAF in 1989, the initiative to keep RUSIQ active, and for this I AIR CDRE Ken Robinson worked for five years in the private sector. am grateful. It is in times such as this some step Following initial officer training he was posted to No 114 Mobile forward, and shine against others. Control and Reporting Unit (114MCRU) where he deployed on RUSIQ has now passed the mid-year for our lecture numerous exercises throughout Northern and Western Australia programme, and this has been presented by all high- as the adjutant of 114MCRU. Other posts that followed as a junior quality speakers. At times attendances have been officer and Squadron Leader included that of recruitment officer, disappointing in numbers, but natural attrition and career manager, workforce planner and staff officer to Director flu outbreaks have played a role. General Personnel - Air Force. AIR CDRE Robinson completed his MBA degree in 2001 and is also a graduate of the Australian The World still moves forward, and the visible Command and Staff Course (2004). He subsequently held changes in defence and security are continuing to command of No 28 Squadron throughout 2005.