ISSUE 1 : Nov/Dec - 1976 - Australian Defence Force Journal

24 DEFENCE FORCE JOURNALvant therefore to draw readers' attention tothe fact that in the Soviet Navy the main tacticaland assault landing capability for theRussian forces is provided by their LSLequivalents,the Alligator class which aresimilar in size, layout and capabilities to thatplanned for the LSH. Of recent months thepresence of a single Alligator class ship, withmarines and tanks embarked, off the coast ofAngola or in the Indian Ocean has causedconsiderable concern in Western Defencecircles, and these ships have been used onother occasions to provide tactical threat aswell as strategic deployment.Now, while the LSH is building, Arms andNavy should be planning an evaluation programmeto establish exactly what range ofoperational roles these RAN amphibious shipsand their embarked Army forces can undertake.Well known are the logistic supporttasks that the UK LSLs have undertaken inNATO, Middle East, Far East and Caribbeanareas, but less well documented are the LSLstactical capabilities. During 'confrontation'these ships were also used as mobile bases forthe tactical deployment of Commandos byhelicopter, to supplement the UK forces' otherlarger and more 'assault orientated' amphibiousships. How best then can the AustralianDefence Force use the LSH?It is suggested that Army officers of all armsand services should be thinking deeply on howthe I Sll I CM combination can be used musteffectively as tools of both logistic and fieldforce commanders.In the LOTS field, do the Services' presentorganisations provide the necessary beach unitexpertise for the LSH to self-discharge acrossa beach without having to wait for TerminalGroup personnel to be flown or driven to theappropriate beach area?In the tactical field, the following thoughtson ship useage are offered for consideration:• the lodgement of a cavalry squadron toharass a coastal line of communication.• the helicopter and/or gemini insertionof SASR units along a coastline;• the tactical re-deployment of a tanksquadron or artillery battery;• the surface and/or air deployments ofinfantry patrols from a mobile base;• the insertion of engineer units, suitablydefended, to either destroy enemy routesor create/improve own lodgement routes;• the provision of a mobile base for ArmyAir Corps helicopter operations.In the near future, as it was in the past, thesea will be able to become an Australian ArmyTAOR instead of being either a hostile or aneutral zone. The Services must be ready totake maximum advantage of the new tacticaland administrative movement opportunities. QTORTOISE AM) HAREThe Royal Navy with its usual panache for total efficiency incorporated the simplestmovement in devising its salute. But the Army, with its inbred love of ceremonial for itsown sake, devised the most circumlocutory and physically exhausting manoeuvre possible,suggested a correspondent to The Times.Quoted in The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal.From H\1S LEANDER after sinking an old Bermudan tug. Justice, by gunfire:"Justice has not only been done, but it has been seen to be done. There is no Justice.RIP.Hard work has an astonishingly poor record in terms of killing people. So little inlife is worthwhile unless people work for it. Having shown your capacity for hard worknever surrender it.The Honorable Jim Killen. The Minister for Defence, in anaddress to air crew graduates at RAAF. East Sale.(RAAF News)