Edition 5206, April 15, 2010 - Department of Defence

2 News AIR F
RCE April 15, 2010
From Page 1
Watching events unfold from
HMAS Childers was medical officer
FLTLT Joleen Darby, who immediately
feared the worst.
“I saw the boat explode, knowing
my good friend Sharon was on board,
along with eight other ADF personnel,”
she said. “I didn’t know whether
they were dead or alive.”
FLTLT Darby had to put her
immediate fears and grief aside. As
the only doctor on scene, she knew
there would be seriously injured people
needing her help immediately.
She went straight from the bridge
of Childers to the quarterdeck where
badly burned survivors were already
being plucked from the sea. With no
more than a small backpack containing
basic medical supplies, she began
triaging and treating survivors, turning
that part of the patrol boat into a hospital
and ordinary sailors into nurses.
It would be nearly 15 minutes before
she would know the fate of CPL Jager
and the other ADF members who
were on the SIEV when it exploded.
Back in the water, CPL Jager was
fighting for her life. Her life vest
did not properly inflate and, with an
Afghan man trying to climb over her
to be rescued, she may have drowned
if not for the actions of the Navy
RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat)
crew who dragged her on board their
boat. The Afghan man was subsequently
rescued.
The RHIB coxswain, AB Adrian
Medbury, told the Coroner that CPL
Jager’s head was only just above
the water and she looked terrified.
The RHIB bowman, AB Quinton
Boorman, described the desperation to
save CPL Jager as being like rescuing
someone from his own family, such
are the bonds developed when Army
and Air Force personnel combine
with the Navy’s patrol boat crews on
Operation Resolute.
It was nearly a quarter of an
hour before all ADF members were
accounted for and, remarkably, 47
civilians were rescued within the same
period. But there was no time for celebration.
Two Afghan men were still
missing, their bodies never recovered,
and others had suffered horrific burns.
With the closest hospital in
Darwin, more than a day’s sail away,
FLTLT Darby told the Childers CO,
LCDR Brett Westcott, they didn’t
have a day. She feared at least 10
patients would die if they did not
reach hospital within hours.
In conjunction with Headquarters
Northern Command, a permanently
positioned tanker just 90 minutes from
the site of the explosion was contacted
and asked to assist. Significantly, that
ship, Front Puffin, had a heli-deck and
was located within helicopter range of
the mainland. Despair turned to hope
as both Childers and Albany made
best speed towards Front Puffin.
Despite her terrible ordeal in her
very first SIEV boarding, and ignoring
her own injuries, CPL Jager immediately
went to work, moving between
Childers and Albany to treat survivors
and showing the crews of both patrol
boats what they needed to do to keep
people alive and as comfortable as
possible. Many have described the
scene as organised chaos, the smells
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SHARED MEMORIES: CPL Sharon Jager and FLTLT Jo Darby were praised for “exhibiting leadership
way beyond their experience levels in the aftermath of the explosion”. Photo: LSIS Helen Frank
Story of
heroics
revealed
and sounds forever etched in their
memories.
FLTLT Darby recalls CPL Jager
looking immaculate and not the least
bit flustered, despite what had just
happened to her, and their CO said
both women exhibited leadership way
beyond their experience levels in the
aftermath of the explosion.
“CPL Jager was an inspirational
medic whose role was central to the
success of the rescue effort,” LCDR
Westcott said.
“Many more lives would have
been lost if it were not for the efforts
of CPL Jager and FLTLT Darby over
a prolonged period.
“FLTLT Darby turned sailors into
nurses and the quarterdeck of Childers
into a hospital ward. Her presence and
actions were central to the saving of
the lives of those who were rescued
from the water with horrific injuries.”
AIR F
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The most seriously injured Priority
1 casualties were taken on board
Childers and subsequently transferred
to Front Puffin in a painstaking operation;
using a crane to lift people up the
side of the massive tanker. Leaving
Childers behind, Albany made for
Darwin with the remainder of the
casualties.
As events at sea were unfolding,
back in Darwin the 92WG
Detachment Commander, SQNLDR
Stephen Parsons, received a phone
call not long after standing down his
AP-3C crew following a night mission.
He was told medical supplies
were needed urgently for emergency
air drop.
A frenetic operation immediately
swung into gear. An aircraft was readied
for flight, crew members recalled
to duty and a dash to Robertson
Barracks made to gather stocks of
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Disclaimer
Actions
recognised
CPL Sharon Jager
will soon be awarded
a CDF Commendation
for her actions on
that day. A number
of other awards
will also be presented,
including
a Chief of Joint
Operations Group
Commendation to
the Patrol Boat crews
of Ardent Four and
Assail Two.
pain killers, burns dressings and medical
consumables.
The Orion launched with SQNLDR
Parsons at the controls. To save time,
the heli-boxes and emergency supplies
for aerial delivery were assembled and
packed mid-flight with the aid of volunteers.
The aircraft arrived on station
overhead Front Puffin just as Childers
and Albany were approaching. Over
the next 90 minutes, flying 50 metres
(150ft) above the water, the AP-3C
crew dispatched 18 heli-boxes containing
life-saving supplies. The cardboard
tubes were recovered from the ocean by
RHIBs.
At the completion of the airdrop,
in a short but moving radio broadcast,
LCDR Westcott spoke directly to
SQNLDR Parsons, his words and tone
giving some insight into the emotions
on board Childers at the time and a
sense of the incredible bonds that the
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THAT TERRIBLE DAY: Above, an
AP-3C flies over Front Puffin as
HMAS Childers transfers survivors
to the ship. Photo: LS Jayson Tufrey
Below, CPL Jager (back) and
FLTLT Darby treat survivors
aboard Front Puffin.
Photo: LCDR Brett Westcott
three services of the ADF can form in
times of crisis.
“[Thank you for] your sensational
effort this afternoon; it’s been a long
day for us as I’m sure it has been for
you. Your efforts are well appreciated.
I wish you good luck with the
remainder of your tasking and will
remember this day.”
WGCDR Sandra Riley led part of
the Aero-Medical Evacuation (AME)
retrieval effort involving C-17A and
C-130 aircraft. WGCDR Riley said
that when the airborne critical care
and AME teams took over they were
amazed the injured were in much better
condition than expected, considering
the conditions those on the patrol
boats were working under.
“What they achieved was nothing
short of incredible. It would have been
unbelievably difficult to treat so many
seriously injured people at once with
the supplies they had available, but
through the judicious use of equipment
they did a marvellous job under the
most austere conditions imaginable.
“The efforts of those who provided
care in the immediate aftermath of the
explosion ensured our job was made
much easier during the AME from the
Top End to hospitals in the southern
parts of Australia.”
One year on and all involved
take pride in the fact that every
person pulled alive from the water
survived. FLTLT Darby, CPL Jager
and the other six Air Force members
who were involved that day now
share an unspoken bond that only
they and those who were there can
understand.
See Page 15 for more on Op Resolute.
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