Operation Mazurka is 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 Forc ...

's (ADF) contribution to the

Multinational Force and Observers The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai peninsula, ensuring free navigation through ...

(MFO), an international

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

force, based in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

, overseeing the terms of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. The MFO operates from two secure bases: * North Camp, located at El Gorah in the Northern Sinai, and * South Camp, located at

Sharm el-Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh ( ar, شرم الشيخ, ), commonly abbreviated to Sharm, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 53,670 ...

. The Australian personnel operate predominantly in South Camp.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

was an original contributor to the MFO with a joint Australian-New Zealand rotary wing squadron deployed in 1981. In 1993, Australia returned to the MFO with an ADF contingent of 25 personnel. Since that time approximately 1,200 personnel have deployed on Operation Mazurka. The ADF contingent operates on a 6 monthly posting cycle, with a part of the contingent rotating every 3 months.Op Mazurka
''Defence'' magazine, Sept 2005, accessed 5 June 2009

Role

The mission of the MFO is:

"...to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty and employ best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms."Multinational Force and Observers Website
accessed 30 August 2007

The ADF contingent performs various staff functions in the MFO Headquarters, as well as providing the Force Regimental Signals Officer, Security Sergeants to work with the Colombian Infantry Battalion for the base security at North Camp and Operational and Training staff to the MFO.

References

Mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...

Multinational Force and Observers {{Australia-mil-stub