The Australian contribution to the
war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021).
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...
(ADF) operations and the size of the forces deployed have varied and ADF involvement has included two major areas of activity:
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
and the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
. These activities have seen the deployment of naval, air and land forces that have taken part in combat and combat support operations as part of the
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...
(ISAF).
In mid-2014, the naval and logistic support operations in the Persian Gulf were re-designated as Operation Manitou and Operation Accordion respectively.
Operation Slipper
Operation Slipper began in late 2001 and ended on 31 December 2014.
First phase
During the first phase of Operation Slipper, the
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...
(ADF) commitment to Afghanistan consisted of a
Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...
Task Group and two
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF)
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
air-to-air refuelling aircraft from
No. 33 Squadron. These aircraft and associated support personnel operated from
Manas Air Base
Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Ai ...
in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
and provided support to coalition aircraft operating in Afghan airspace. Two RAAF
AP-3C Orion aircraft flew maritime patrol missions in support of maritime interdiction operations in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
. These aircraft were temporarily retasked to
Operations Falconer and Catalyst in 2003.
RAAF
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...
transport aircraft were also involved in providing logistic support for deployed forces. The Special Forces were involved with the establishment of the US-led coalition's first Forward Operating Base (
Camp Rhino) southwest of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
in November 2001, followed by the capture of
Kandahar International Airport
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
in December 2001. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in December 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn.
Following this date until 2005 Australia's total contribution to efforts in Afghanistan were two officers attached to the United Nations and the Coalition land mine clearing force.
All three squadrons of the Australian
Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
(SASR) were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002. The dates of these deployments were:
* 1 Squadron Group, SASR: (October 2001 – April 2002)
* 3 Squadron Group, SASR: (April 2002 – August 2002)
* 2 Squadron Group, SASR: (August 2002 – November 2002)
Second phase
An Australian Special Forces Task Group was re-deployed to Afghanistan in August or September 2005. This Task Group consisted of elements from the
SASR
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...
,
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR) was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964 and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009.
His ...
(Commando), the
Incident Response Regiment
The Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER) is a specialised unit of the Australian Army. The regiment forms part of the Special Operations Command. The unit was formed in 2002 as the Incident Response Regiment (IRR), they are deployed to r ...
and logistic support personnel.
As well as heavily modified Land Rovers, the Special Forces Task Group was also equipped with some
Bushmaster infantry mobility vehicle
}
The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built four-wheel drive armoured vehicle. The Bushmaster was primarily designed by the then government-owned Australian Defence Industries (ADI), and is cur ...
s. A detachment of two
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...
helicopters from the
5th Aviation Regiment was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2006 to support the Special Forces Task Group. The Australian Special Forces Task Group was withdrawn from Afghanistan in September 2006 and the helicopter detachment returned to Australia in April 2007.
Third phase
![Bushmaster Afghanistan snow Jan 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Bushmaster_Afghanistan_snow_Jan_2010.jpg)
A Reconstruction Taskforce-based around the
1st Combat Engineer Regiment with protective elements from the
5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) (5/7 RAR ECH was a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory and formed part of the 1st Bri ...
,
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conf ...
and
2nd Cavalry Regiment began arriving in
Uruzgan Province
Uruzgan (Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as th ...
in southern Afghanistan in early September 2006. The Australian Reconstruction Taskforce formed part of a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
-led
Provincial Reconstruction Team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRT ...
, operating as part of the Dutch-led
Task Force Uruzgan
Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern reg ...
and based at Forward Operating Base Ripley, outside of
Tarin Kowt
Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
.
A 300-strong Special Operations Task Group was deployed to support the Reconstruction Taskforce in April 2007, including a
Commando company-group, elements of the SASR, and an integral combat service support team.
In addition to radar crews, logistics and intelligence officers, and security personnel, this brought the number of Australian personnel in Afghanistan to 950 by mid-2007, with further small increases to 1,000 in mid-2008, 1,100 in early 2009 and 1,550 in mid-2009.
These increases occurred in spite of opinion polls indicating that public support for the deployment was decreasing, with a poll released in September 2008 finding that a majority of those surveyed were opposed to Australia's continued military involvement in the country.
In early 2009, a number of
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) were the NATO equivalent of the United States' Embedded Training Teams and were active in Afghanistan.
Countries
Teams from several countries
provided training and operational support to the A ...
s (OMLTs) were embedded into the
Afghan National Army
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
* Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
battalions serving in the 4th (ANA) Brigade,
205th Hero Corps, in Uruzgan as part of the Australian mission to mentor and partner the ANA within the province. Consequently, the RTF was renamed the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force.
[ On 16 January 2009, Trooper ]Mark Donaldson
Mark Gregor Strang Donaldson, (born 2 April 1979) is an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award in the Australian honours system. Then Trooper Donaldson was a member of the Special Air Service ...
, a member of the SASR
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the Special Air Service, British SAS sharing the motto, "Who ...
, was awarded Australia's highest gallantry medal, the Victoria Cross for Australia
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons w ...
. Donaldson was awarded the medal for exposing himself to enemy fire to protect injured Australian troops and then rescuing an Afghan interpreter under heavy enemy fire during a contact on 2 September 2008.
A modest Australian force remained in Afghanistan over this period and was involved in counter-insurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
operations in Uruzgan province in conjunction with Dutch, US and other coalition forces. MRTF was again renamed to the Mentoring Task Force in early 2010. Based around a combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
-sized battle group, it consisted of motorised infantry
Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ...
and cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
force elements supported by engineers
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
, as well as coalition enablers including artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
assets. The Rotary Wing Group flying CH-47D Chinooks, the Force Logistics Asset and an RAAF air surveillance radar unit were also based in Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
. A further 800 Australian logistic personnel were also based outside of Afghanistan, in locations in the Middle East.[ Meanwhile, detachments of maritime patrol and transport aircraft continued to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, based out of ]Al Minhad Air Base
Al Minhad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة المنهاد الجوية, , also just Minhad Air Base) is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately south of Dubai and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air ...
in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
Order of battle
Over the course of the operation, as the size of Australia's contribution has fluctuated and the scope of operations undertaken has evolved, the number and type of units deployed has also changed. A snapshot of the order of battle from March 2011, when approximately 1,550 Australians were deployed to Afghanistan, is as follows:
*National Command Element
**Mentoring Task Force 2 (MTF-2)
***Headquarters, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR)
***4 x Combat Teams including infantry, cavalry, engineers and offensive support
***5 x Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams
***Force Communications Unit IV (1st Combat Signal Regiment)
***Logistics and support units
**Detachment, (operates ScanEagle
The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a co ...
UAVs)
**Special Operations Task Group
***Elements of the SASR
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the Special Air Service, British SAS sharing the motto, "Who ...
, 2nd Commando Regiment, Reserve 1 Commando Regiment and Special Operations Engineer Regiment
The Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER) is a specialised unit of the Australian Army. The regiment forms part of the Special Operations Command. The unit was formed in 2002 as the Incident Response Regiment (IRR), they are deployed to r ...
**Rotary Wing Group (including two CH-47D Chinooks helicopters).
**Detachment, 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (16 gunners attached to the British Army)
**RAAF Control and Reporting Centre (Kandahar International Airport
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
)
** Two AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and three C-130 Hercules transports
**Personnel embedded with various coalition units
**Force Level Logistic Asset (Kandahar International Airport)
Departure of Australian combat forces
At the end of October 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
traveled to Afghanistan with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...
for a special ceremony at the Australian base in Tarin Kowt
Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
in Uruzgan. He told a gathering of troops and Afghan leaders that "Australia's longest war is ending. Not with victory, not with defeat, but with, we hope, an Afghanistan that is better for our presence here." Afghan forces were scheduled to take over running of the camp in mid-December. The last combat troops were withdrawn on 15 December 2013; however, approximately 400 personnel remain in Afghanistan as trainers and advisers, and are stationed in Kandahar and Kabul.
On 1 July 2014, as part of the restructuring of Australian operations in the Middle East, Operation Slipper was split into three different operations: ongoing operations in Afghanistan as part of ISAF under Operation Slipper; maritime security operations in the Middle East and counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden under Operation Manitou; and support operations to Slipper and Manitou from a number of locations in the Gulf States, primarily the United Arab Emirates, under Operation Accordion. Approximately 400 personnel are deployed on Operation Slipper, another 550 as part of Accordion, and 250 on Manitou. Australian operations in Afghanistan were scheduled to continue until the ISAF mission concludes in December 2014, while its contribution to the NATO-led "train, advise, assist" mission post-2014 was still to be confirmed. The final Heron UAV detachment left Afghanistan in December 2014.
Operation Slipper concluded on 31 December 2014, with Australia's "train, advise and assist" mission in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission
Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...
being conducted under the code-name Operation Highroad after this date. Approximately 400 Australian personnel are deployed as part of the new mission, including personnel in mentoring and advisory roles, as well as medical personnel, force protection and logistic support. Over 26,000 Australian personnel have served in Afghanistan.
War crimes inquiry
In May 2016 the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, Major General Paul Brereton, launched an inquiry into allegations that some Australian special forces personnel committed war crimes in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. In February 2020 it was announced that 55 incidents were being investigated and, in November 2020, the inspector-general concluded that 36 incidents ought to be referred to the Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
for criminal investigation and possible prosecution by the Department of Home Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
' Office of the Special Investigator and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...
.
According to Brereton's report, there is credible information that 25 Australian Defence Force personnel were involved in serious crimes in Afghanistan. Of the soldiers, 19 were directly implicated in the murder of 39 prisoners and civilians, and cruel treatment of 2 others, while the other military personnel were believed to be accessories to the incidents. Brereton noted that some of the soldiers were ordered by their patrol commanders to kill prisoners. Some soldiers are also believed to have planted evidence next to civilian corpses to imply that the civilians were armed, and thus could be classified as legitimate targets in post-incident investigations. The report describes a 2012 incident as having been "possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia's military history", but the specifics were redacted in the version released to the public.
Upon the report's release, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, apologised for "any wrongdoing by Australian soldiers". He announced that the 2nd Squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
(SASR) would be disbanded as a result of the investigation, citing a "distorted culture" that undermined the moral authority of the Australian Defence Force, through all three SASR squadrons were implicated in poor conduct.) According to one reporter's correspondence with a former patrol commander, "EVERYONE KNEW mphasis in the original that war crimes had been committed, but when it was reported regiment leadership decided to handle the matter internally. General Campbell also explained that he and the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr
Lieutenant General Richard Maxwell "Rick" Burr, (born 2 June 1964) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army, who served as Chief of Army from 2 July 2018 to 1 July 2022. He was previously Commander 1st Division from 2011 to 2012, D ...
, would take further action with respect to the commanders of units apparently involved in war crimes.
Journalist Mark Willacy
Mark Willacy is an Australian investigative journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). He along with ABC Investigations- Four Corners Team won the 2020 Gold Walkley for their special report on ''Killing Field,'' which covered ...
estimates that prosecutions related to these findings may not be concluded until approximately the year 2030.
Final withdrawal
A contingent of around 80 ADF personnel remained in Afghanistan as late as 2021 to train and advise Afghan forces. The Australian embassy in Kabul was closed on 28 May that year. The last ADF personnel and diplomats in Afghanistan departed on 18 June 2021. This formed part of the withdrawal of international forces from the country.
Following the fall of Kabul in August 2021, ADF personnel were used to evacuate Australians and Afghans who had assisted the Australian forces from Afghanistan. Three RAAF aircraft and 250 personnel were deployed from Australia to the Middle East as part of this effort. The first evacuation flight from Kabul took place on the night of 17/18 August. Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...
stated that it would not be possible to evacuate all the Afghans who had assisted the Australian forces due to the situation in the country.
Persian Gulf
Since October 2001 the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN) has maintained a continuous presence in and around Iraqi territorial waters as part of Operation Slipper and subsequent operations. There were four major rotations of RAN ships to this area of operations between December 2001 and March 2003. The primary focus of these rotations was to conduct Maritime Interception Operations as part of a US, Australian and British force enforcing United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Security Council resolutions against Iraq. The first rotation consisted of Her Majesty's Australian Ships (HMAS) ''Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
'', ''Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
'' and ''Kanimbla''. These ships were followed in February 2002 by HMA Ships ''Canberra'', ''Newcastle'' and ''Manoora'' and again in July 2002 by HMAS ''Arunta'' and ''Melbourne''.
HMAS ''Kanimbla'' departed from Sydney, Australia on 20 January 2003 again bound for the Persian Gulf under the mission objectives of Operation Bastille. On arriving in Bahrain on 16 February she reverted to the original mission objects of Operation Slipper (that of enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq). On 20 March 2003, HMA Ships ''Kanimbla'', ''Anzac'' and ''Darwin'' participated in the combat phase of the 2003 Iraq War, codenamed Operation Falconer
Falconer may refer to:
* A person skilled in the art of falconry
People
* Falconer (surname), a family name
* Falconer Larkworthy (1833–1928), New Zealand banker and financier
* Falconer Madan (1851—1935), librarian of the Bodleian Librar ...
; in April ''Kanimbla'' supported Operation Baghdad Assist, delivering medical supplies that were transported to Baghdad.[ During these operations the Australian ships pioneered a number of techniques that increased the effectiveness of Maritime Interception Force operations leading to them intercepting and boarding about 1,700 vessels in this period. Four Australian naval officers commanded the multinational force at various times during the course of the operation. Detachments from the Army's 16th Air Defence Regiment provided point defence to the ''Kanimbla'' and ''Manoora'' during their deployments.]
From 2009 Australian warships and aircraft in the Middle East have also been involved in counter-piracy operations and maritime interdiction off the Horn of Africa as part of Combined Task Force 151
Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to enga ...
.
Diego Garcia
A detachment of four Australian F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...
fighter aircraft provided air defence for the US military base on the island of Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands o ...
, British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...
during the campaign against the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
. The initial detachment was provided by No. 77 Squadron RAAF
No. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It is controlled by No. 81 Wing, and equipped with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters. The squad ...
between December 2001 and 10 February 2002. This was replaced by a detachment from No. 3 Squadron RAAF which was deployed between 10 February 2002 and 20 May 2002. No further Australian units were deployed to Diego Garcia.
Casualties
Operation Slipper is notable for the first Australian combat deaths since the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and to date all casualties have occurred during operations in Afghanistan. 41 Australian soldiers have been killed and 261 wounded, the majority since October 2007. Another Australian was killed while serving with the British Army.
Timeline
Cost
The cost of operations in Afghanistan has represented the largest operational expenditure by the ADF in most financial years since 2001/02. The yearly expenditure on Afghanistan by the ADF includes the figures below.
:
See also
* Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
* Civilian casualties of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
* Coalition casualties in Afghanistan
, there have been 3,502 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations ( Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF) since the invasion in 2001. In this total, the American figure is for deaths "In and Around Afghanistan" whi ...
* International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan
A 47-nation global survey of public opinion conducted in June 2007 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found considerable opposition to the NATO military operations in Afghanistan. In 2 out of the 47 countries was there a majority that favoured ...
* Taliban insurgency
{{Infobox military conflict
, partof = the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghanistan conflict
, image = 2021 Taliban Offensive.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Map of the 2021 Taliban o ...
* Afghan Files (Australia)
The Afghan Files are a set of Australian Defence Force documents about the operation of Australia's Special forces of Australia, special forces in Afghanistan. The documents were leaked to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) by David Mc ...
Notes
References
* Australian Department of Defenc
Operation Slipper
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan since 2001: a chronology
– Australian Parliamentary Library
Australian War Memorial: Afghanistan, 2001–present
{{Australian Military History
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Australia
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
Military operations involving Australia