Royal United Services Institute Locked Bag 18, 1 New South Wales Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Level 20, 270 Pit Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 www.rusinsw.org.au Newsletter [email protected] Telephone: (02) 9393 2325 Issue No. 20 - 23 APRIL 2016 Fax: (02) 9393 3543 Introduction Welcome to this month’s issue of the electronic newsletter of the Royal United Services Institute of NSW (RUSI NSW), the aim of which is to provide members, stakeholders, and other interested parties up to date news of our latest activities and events as well as selective information on defence issues. Major General J. S. Richardson CB, Founder There is no charge to receive this newsletter electronically and recipients are of RUSI NSW not required to be a member of the RUSI of NSW. Invite your colleagues to receive this newsletter by going to the newsletter page on the RUSI NSW website http://www.rusinsw.org.au/Newsletter where they can register their email contact details. Latest News Update on Australian Defence Force operations - Press conference on 31 March with Vice Admiral David Johnston and Air Commodore Vincent ‘Joe’ Iervasi At the Press Conference on 31 March, Vice Admiral Johnston started with the contribution to Fiji in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Winston. It commenced with the establishment of an air bridge between Townsville, Brisbane and into Suva which enabled the ADF to very rapidly provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Fiji. Surveillance aircraft were positioned to perform air assessments of the degree of damage and helicopters were also deployed to increase the rate of the assessments being performed, and to commence the delivery of aid to the more remote communities. The initial contribution was supplemented by the deployment of the ADF’s newest amphibious capability. HMAS Canberra which embarked engineering assets, medical teams, helicopters, underwater clearance teams and a range of vehicles and small boats in The Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston order to work alongside the accompanied by Director General Air Operations, Air Commodore Vincent Iervas provides an update on Australian operations at Republic of the Fijian military Russell Offices, Canberra. Official Newsletter of the Royal United Services InstitutePage |New 1 South Wales ABN 80 724 654 162 www.rusinsw.org.au [email protected] Telephone: (02) 9393 2325 Fax: (02) 9393 3543 2 forces. This effort was mainly light engineering involving debris removal, restoration of critical infrastructure, the supply of fresh drinking water and the delivery, particularly in the early stages, of life saving supplies to the two islands of Koro and Taveuni. At the height of the deployment, approximately 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel were participating in the operation to support Fiji. HMAS Canberra returned to Australia on 30 March following its successful maiden deployment to Fiji in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston. At the request of the Fijian Government, around 200 Defence personnel will remain as a Suva-based humanitarian assistance and disaster relief force. Four MRH-90 helicopters from Townsville’s 5th Aviation Regiment will also remain to support Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office. Vice Admiral Johnston finally commented that the ADF had been able to work off the back of the significant training work undertaken by HMAS in Canberra and the amphibious force preparation late last year. He further commented that it was a demonstration of how much the ADF can perform both with these ships and the embarked forces with them, which in One of HMAS Canberra's landing craft leaves the ship with combination with the airlift operations, both Australian Army soldiers and vehicles from 2nd Combat the C-17 and C-130, gives Australia a rapid Engineer Regiment onboard to be transported to Suva, Fiji. response capability to provide support to our regional neighbours in a time of need. Despite the tragic circumstances of the event, one of the real positives has been the daily interaction that the ADF had with the soldiers, men and women of the Republic of Fijian Military Forces. Vice Admiral Johnston then provided an update on the operations in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, the situation now is that Iraqi security forces have cleared central Ramadi, and as part of an operation called Desert Lynx, they are now advancing west along the Euphrates River valley with the aim of securing the city of Hit. Concurrently, a separate Iraqi force in the north, along the Tigris River valley are conducting consolidation operations near Makhmur, which is 70 kilometres south of Mosul. In the face of this concentrated pressure, Daesh is losing control over previously won territory. While many locations and Iraq and Syria remain exposed to small scale, localised counter-attacks by Daesh, the capacity for Daesh to launch major attacks is considerably diminished. Australia’s contribution remains a key Coalition support in the fight against Daesh. Each of the Australian force elements continues to make significant contributions to the overall commitment in the fight against Daesh. Having enabled over 1000 straight missions against Daesh during the mission to capture Ramadi, the Australian Special Force element, who are conducting the Advise and Assist mission is tending to provide remote based joint terminal attack controller support to the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. The majority of these missions are currently supporting Iraqi Official Newsletter of the Royal United Services InstitutePage |New 2 South Wales ABN 80 724 654 162 www.rusinsw.org.au [email protected] Telephone: (02) 9393 2325 Fax: (02) 9393 3543 3 operations clear the Euphrates River valley. Additionally, the Special Operations Task Group continues to support the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service with future operations. Since the beginning of 2016, the Air Task Group has conducted 110 strike missions, the majority of which have been two aircraft missions, but a number have An infrared picture from a camera on a RAAF F/A-18A Hornet involved four aircraft in a single fighter aircraft shows the entrance to a Daesh underground tunnel mission. They have deployed a complex in northern Syria. total of 273 munitions during those operations. The primary locations for our strike effort has been through the Tigris River Valley, the Kurdish region of operations, including Sinjar and Mosul, the Euphrates River Valley, including Fallujah, Ramadi and Hit, and into Syria. Vice Admiral Johnston then provided some detail on two of the missions that have been performed this year. In conclusion, Vice Admiral Johnston commented that the start of 2016 has seen Iraqi security forces on the counter offensive in the Euphrates River Valley, while performing isolation operations around Mosul and consolidation operations elsewhere in Iraq. As of early 2016, the US Congressional Research Service estimated that Daesh fighters have ceded approximately 40 per cent of the populated territory they once held in Iraq, and between 10 to 20 per cent of the populated territory they had seized in Syria. A number of key Daesh lines of communication and transit between Syria and Iraq had been disrupted, but others remain intact but offer a less direct and less efficient means for them to be able to conduct logistics resupply and movement. In regard to Afghanistan, Vice Admiral Johnston advised that the ADF presence has increased slightly since his last update, with an additional 20 personnel deployed in the Kabul area, bringing the total number of ADF personnel to 270, mainly located in Kabul. A small team of Australian media is planning to visit Afghanistan, where they will meet with senior ADF officers, some of the senior Australian Defence staff, and visit the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, where the future leaders of the Afghan forces are trained. Australia has some very committed instructors providing mentoring and instructional roles within that academy. As with the junior leader course in Taji, our contribution to the training missions is an investment in the future of these countries. At sea in the Middle East, the Royal Australian Outgoing Commander of the Air Task Group Strike Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne handed over Element, Wing Commander Benjamin Sleeman, maritime security responsibilities to its sister ship, addresses Australian Defence Force personnel at a Transfer of Authority ceremony held at Australia's HMAS Darwin, in February, after Melbourne main air operating base in the Middle East region. completed five months of operations in support of the Combined Maritime Forces and more than six Official Newsletter of the Royal United Services InstitutePage |New 3 South Wales ABN 80 724 654 162 www.rusinsw.org.au [email protected] Telephone: (02) 9393 2325 Fax: (02) 9393 3543 4 months away from home. Vice Admiral Johnston also referred to a recent visit to ADF personnel who are performing important peace-keeping roles on the border of Israel and in the Sinai Desert in Egypt. These long-standing operations are being performed in increasingly difficult circumstances, but are crucial to the stability of the nations where this support is being provided. Their efforts and willingness to perform their mission is impressive. Vice Admiral Johnston’s final comment was that the recent high tempo period of operations had seen in excess of 3000 ADF women and men deployed on operations, which reflects extremely well on the ADF and Australia. The full transcript of the press conference including questions can be accessed here. Address by the Minister for Defence the ASPI International Conference, ‘Defence White Paper: From Page to Reality’ On the 7 April 2016 the Minister for Defence addressed the ASPI International Conference on the ‘Defence White Paper: From Page to Reality’, Extracts from the address follow: “Delivering a White Paper, fully-costed that for first time aligns strategy, capability and resources was not an insignificant task for Defence and Government.