AUSTRALIAN SAPPER – 2012 ISSN: 1449-4140 PUBLISHER Australian Sapper Magazine is published annually by Head of Corps Royal Australian Engineers (magazine not published 2004/05/06). DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this publication are the personal views of the author and unless otherwise stated, are not necessarily the views or policies of the Royal Australian Engineers, the Australian Army or the Australian Defence Force. COPYRIGHT Text and images in this publication are copyright of the Commonwealth of Australia unless otherwise credited. Enquiries regarding the use of material in this publication in WKHÀUVWLQVWDQFHVKRXOGEHGLUHFWHGWRWKH(GLWRU 7 EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief: Brigadier Wayne Budd, CSC Managing Editor: Lieutenant Colonel Allan Hollink Editor and Production: Major Craig Clunas Assistant Editors: Regional Education Detachment (NSW) Graphic Design: Mr George Petrovski, Mr Steve Comer CONTACT THE EDITOR: 25 51 [email protected] Contents Message from Head of Corps - RAE .............................................3 6th Engineer Support Regiment ............................................38 Message from the Corps Sergeant Major - RAE ..........................4 8th Combat Engineer Regiment.............................................42 !e RAE Foundation .....................................................................6 19th Chief Engineer Works ....................................................43 Force Engineers Branch ................................................................8 Special Operations Engineer Regiment .................................44 Corps Capability Development ...................................................12 21st Construction Regiment ..................................................46 School of Military Engineering ..................................................13 22nd Construction Regiment .................................................47 RAE Trade Training (ALTC) .......................................................19 3rd Field Squadron ..................................................................49 RAE Trades & Training (CATC) ..................................................20 13th Field Squadron ...............................................................50 RAE SCMA ...................................................................................20 Our Museum ...............................................................................51 RAE DOCM ..................................................................................21 Personnel Matters .......................................................................52 RAE Operations ...........................................................................22 Sapper Obituaries .......................................................................53 Personal Accounts ...................................................................24 History in Dispute - Beadell’s Rescue .........................................54 AACAP 19 ................................................................................25 Transitioning from Operations ..................................................56 Ex RIMPAC 2012 .........................................................................27 13 Fd Sqn - Army’s oldest unit ...................................................58 Sapper SITREP: Philosophy on Leadership and Soldiering .................................59 1st Combat Engineer Regiment .............................................28 Skypilot at the Home of the Sapper ...........................................60 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment ............................................30 Ex Fortress ...................................................................................62 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment .............................................33 United States Army Engineer Exchange ....................................64 4th Combat Engineer Regiment.............................................35 60 Second Quick Fire ..................................................................66 5th Combat Engineer Regiment.............................................36 Book review - A Sappers’ War .....................................................67 COVER: Search teams form 9 CE Sqn 1 CER undergoing High !reat Search Certi"cation Woomera Aug 12 AUSTRALIAN SAPPER 2011: Corrections - 1CER Operations authored by MAJ N. Bosio, A HESCO Guard Post authored by CAPT B. Durrant, Ex Talisman Sabre 2011 authored by LT S. Mulligan and Ex Warthog Warrior authored by MAJ J. Harris. AUSTRALIAN SAPPER 2012 1 ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS CORPS SUBSCRIPTIONS WHY SHOULD YOU SUBSCRIBE? HOW DO YOU SUBSCRIBE? Subscriptions to the Royal Australian Engineers Corps Serving ARA personnel can subscribe through a pay Fund provides an income that allows the Corps to care allotment by completing an AD577 form (Defence for our heritage and to foster esprit de corps Employee Pay Allotment Authorisation) WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF IT? Corps Fund account details: ,QGLYLGXDOVPD\EHQHÀWIURPWKH&RUSV)XQGLQPDQ\ZD\VHLWKHU Australian Defence Credit Union BSB No: 642-170 directly or indirectly. For example, the Corps Fund has provided Account number: 528618 ÀQDQFLDOVXSSRUWIRU Account Name: RAE Corps Fund &RUSVVSRUWLQJDFWLYLWLHV Organisation code: RAE Corps Fund WE0002 3XUFKDVHDQGSUHVHUYDWLRQRILWHPVRIKLVWRULFDO GRes and ex-serving personnel can subscribe through an VLJQLÀFDQFHIRUWKH&RUSVPXVHXP electronic funds transfer to the account (details above). 3URYLVLRQRISUL]HVIRUWRSSHUIRUPLQJRIÀFHUV Cheques are also acceptable and should be made payable to and soldiers graduating from courses the RAE Corps Fund Send cheques to SO2 Head of Corps, WHAT DOES IT COST? Steele Barracks, Moorbank Ave, Moorebank NSW 2170 The cost of subscriptions are: WANT MORE DETAILS? SHUIRUWQLJKWIRU$5$VHUJHDQWVWRRIÀFHUV For further information contact the Head of $1 per fortnight for ARA Sappers to corporal Corps Cell at [email protected] SHUDQQXPIRU*5HVRIÀFHUV $20 per annum for GRes Ors Reserves and ex-members are cordially SHUDQQXPIRUH[VHUYLQJRIÀFHUV reminded that annual subscriptions should $20 per annum for ex-serving Ors be paid by 1st December each year A donation for ex-serving associations Your Corps Fund subscription will ensure that the Royal Australian Engineers can continue to acquire, preserve and display our heritage while fostering esprit de corps Message from the Head of Corps Royal Australian Engineers Brigadier Wayne Budd, CSC elcome to the 2012 edition of Australian SAPPER. People come and go from !e tradition of this magazine and your collective the Corps but this group W contribution to its production makes it essential showed us some excep- reading and very much your magazine. I enjoy reading about tional commitment. As the Corps achievements in each edition. younger Sappers con- 2012 has remained a tough year for the Corps. It marks 13 template their personal years of continuous higher level operational activity for the ADF futures, please re$ect on and in the Middle East Area of Operations the sustainment of what you o#er the next signi"cant combat operations. In all of this the sappers of the generation and how you can shape our future. For the Corps Corps have served with distinction. When I review the con- leaders, retention is a function of leadership and I ask that we tribution made by the Corps to our combat operations, I can ensure all our people are encouraged, empowered and given every report that the work of our people has made a real di#erence opportunity to prosper and advance. to the operational outputs and, on the ground, saved count- !e future has begun to take on more relevance as we start the less Australian and partner nation lives. Without those e#orts transition from combat operations in Afghanistan. Please don’t and courageous souls leading the way in Afghanistan the casu- place too much emphasis on the current budgetary constraint. alty statistics would have been so much di#erent. For those We have been through these periods of tight "nance before. !e of you who have served in our deployments this year you have Chief of Army has made his case for retention of structure and the earned the admiration of the ADF and Australian community Army senior leadership will "ght for the level of resourcing neces- for your sel$ess commitment to protecting those with whom sary to maintain a balanced structure with appropriate operat- you served. ing resources. Army’s Plan Beersheba that depicts the intended Operational activity continues to have its impact on the Corps multi-role brigades and force rotation concepts has set out a path family. !is past year we have lost Sapper James Martin of 2nd for the Army’s future. Within the concept the engineer require- Combat Engineer Regiment to the insidious insider threat which ments are reasonably well de"ned and engineer command groups seeks to destroy the fabric of what we have achieved in Uruzgan within brigades working with the Force Engineer and his sta# we province of Afghanistan, and Corporal Scott Smith of the Special will be able to expand on the operating model for engineer sup- Operations Engineer Regiment who died during an IED clearance port. We need to also address the challenges of engineer support activity. We have also lost Sapper Jordan Penpraze, a young IET, within the amphibious force requirements. during a training accident. Each will be remembered in a special To support these future endeavours we will have a new way by their family and friends. School of Military