Edition 1204, December 11, 2008 - Department of Defence

Army December 11, 2008
18 CENTREPIECE 19
Critical communication: Pte James Woods and Pte Emmanuel Brown relay information to command during a patrol in the Northern Territory.
In the thick of it: Cpl Cameron Neervoort and Pte Jida Gulpilil conduct surveillance unit tactical training deep in the bush.
Back to the bush
After supporting the government’s intervention in the Northern
Territory, Norforce soldiers are back in their element patrolling the
remote and hazardous coastal regions of Australia’s top end.
Story and photos by Gnr Shannon Joyce.
THE eyes of an ancient beast biding its time in
the waters of a Northern Territory estuary peer
through the darkness at the indigenous warriors
scouting the bank.
A safety spotter targets the saltwater crocodile with his
night-vision goggles, keeping the reptile in his sights.
Under the veil of night, the patrol’s mission, following
insertion into the region, was to set up an observation point
on a small island off the coast. With the patrol ready, the
coxswains powered up their boat motors and flicked on
their night vision goggles to navigate the waterways.
Following the completion of the ADF’s commitment
to the Northern Territory intervention, Norforce soldiers
have returned to conducting surveillance and reconnaissance
missions. Patrol commander Cpl Andrew Henderson
declared Operation Resolute “back with a vengeance”.
“The boys are geed-up to get back out there and have
eyes on their land again,” Cpl Henderson said.
“We’ve had patrols deploying throughout the year on
Op Resolute tasks but, in a sense, tonight really marks our
transformation back to a regional force surveillance unit.
“Everyone needs their wits about them during the insertion
phase. One slip overboard and they’ll be swimming
with the crocs.”
The island’s sparse vegetation meant the soldier’s
movement during the day would be extremely limited.
There would be no opportunities for foraging bush tucker
or fresh seafood rations during this deployment, as any
movement could compromise the mission.
Because of cultural and community commitments, it
can be months between operational deployments for some
of the indigenous patrolmen, so every mission requires
a training phase for the soldiers to re-attune to a tactical
mindset.
The patrolmen have rehearsed their drills for most of
the week to confirm operating procedures should they be
seen and challenged by their target on deployment.
One member of the patrol, Pte James Woods, has been
a vocal advocate for the Outreach intervention in his community
of Maningrida. He hoped the changes would one
day benefit the community his kids are growing up in.
“With three boys of my own to think about, I didn’t
mind doing Operation Outreach work in my community
and some of the outstations,” Pte Woods said.
The balance between Norforce’s border protection
duties and commitments to the Northern Territory intervention
has come down to the unit’s CO, Lt-Col Mick Rozzoli.
“The success of the whole-of-government approach to
border protection in recent years afforded us the ability to
take on Operation Outreach without neglecting our relationship
with border protection command,” Lt-Col Rozzoli
said.
“Norforce has a long history looking after the bush and
its people. Any requests for support by the government that
has our soldiers out and engaging the communities, reinforces
our unit’s ideals to the public and further promotes
what we can do for young, eager indigenous Australians.
“The Aboriginal people look up to Norforce as modernday
protectors of the land, and our soldiers’ presence in the
communities on Operation Outreach hasn’t done anything
to falter that high regard.”
Lt-Col Rozzoli said it was good to be back to the business
of protecting the land.
“This is why most of the boys join Norforce, to be on
patrols and stop the foreign fishing,” he said.
Night vision: A resupply boat navigates through mangroves during a night exercise.
On track: Cpl Cameron Neervoort revises map-to-ground techniques.