An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 17 Wing Commander James Wright was in charge of P-8A oper- ations and planning and said the crews had also been captur- ing imagery, which was passed to authorities on the ground. "Our value is from the P-8A Poseidon's speed and the ex- pertise of the crews to interpret what they are seeing on the ground, from a height of around 15,000 feet," Wing Command- er Wright said. "They can get from one target to another very quickly and this has proven to be a useful service to ground-based crews. "Everyone wants to contribute in some way and our members have been really keen to support this operation," Wing Com- mander Wright said. "Sadly, our crews were seeing homes and businesses destroyed but, importantly, they can then quickly assess the status of a township, which is useful for those on the ground who don't have our birds-eye view." Other aircrews doing a big job were the C-27J Spartans, pushed to their limits in nightmare flying conditions. In heavy smoke and poor visibility, the crews from No. 35 Squadron made essential con- tributions to airlift missions, especially around south-east Victoria. Their missions included de- livering supplies and specialist personnel into Mallacoota, and evacuating members of the civilian community. The mission to Mallacoota was also supported by Aus- tralian Army Chinook, MRH90 and Black Hawk helicopters, contracted search-and-rescue helicopters, and the Navy. The first Spartan landed in Mallacoota on the evening of 3 January and evacuated 25 people, but heavy smoke thwarted the first attempts to land in the town the following day. Video of a Spartan crew flying through an eerie red glow gen- erated by the smoke, attracted international media attention. Improved conditions on 5 January allowed Defence aircraft to evacuate 381 people, with eight Spartan missions carrying out 243 of those – including 73 children and 15 infants, along with 13 dogs and three cats. In their first week, the Spartan detachment had carried 472 people and nearly 18 tonnes of cargo and supplies, including generators and diesel bladders flown into Mal- lacoota to help provide power for those in the community who chose to stay behind. C-27J Spartan pilot Flight Lieutenant Sean Joyce said the biggest challenge to the mission had been the smoke and the weather. "Initially all the smoke that was being blown in from the fires in the vicinity of Mallacoota was making it very difficult to land at the airfield," Flight Lieutenant Joyce said. "A cold front also came through and brought in some associ- ated cloud and rain, which made it even more challenging." Even with a forecast of heavy smoke and poor weather, Spar- tan crews launched on missions on the chance that visibility around Mallacoota would be good enough for a quick landing. "We've been really well prepared – we built up as many differ- ent approach options for getting into Mallacoota as we could," Flight Lieutenant Joyce said. "But I don't think any of the crew on board have encountered conditions like this before. "On some days the visibility has been down to 500m or less, when you wouldn't even attempt to get in. "We were using all of the tools we have available – but, on some days, none of those were good enough. "On other days, we made it in, and worked a full crew duty day just to get as much as we could in and out of Mallacoota." They even flew an extended crew duty day on 5 January, al- lowing an additional 90 people to be flown out of Mallacoota before bad weather closed in on the following days. While the flight from Mallacoota to East Sale takes less than an hour, Spartan crews did what they could to make the trip enjoyable for passengers. This included providing children with lollies supplied by the Australian Red Cross, along with poppers and colouring-in books donated by the local community. "It's pretty clear to us that they've been through a lot, but once they're able to get on the plane and get airborne, and they know they're being evacuated to a safe part of the community, they're pretty relieved," Flight Lieutenant Joyce said. "They're really glad to get all the help." Flying into small regional airfields is a mission that plays to No. 35 Squadron's strengths with the C-27J Spartan. "We have a smaller physical footprint than larger transports, so we can have multiple aircraft on the ground at Mallacoota at the same time as other assets like Chinooks and Black Hawks," Flight Lieutenant Joyce said. Mallacoota Airfield has two runways – one asphalt, the other unsurfaced – measuring approximately 1km long. On these missions, the Spartan is able to take approximately 30 passengers or up to 2700kg of cargo. No. 35 Squadron's Detachment Commander at RAAF Base East Sale Squadron Leader Mark Seery said crews carefully managed the Spartan's weight, fuel and tyre pressure when operating from Mallacoota. "What you don't want to do is land on a runway and put any holes in the surface or damage it in any way so that other aircraft can't use it," Squadron Leader Seery said. "No. 35 Squadron has been landing on the unsurfaced dirt runway, and taking off on the sealed runway. "Our light footprint has made us really effective in operating from Mallacoota." The Spartan's work was made easier by a No. 4 Squadron Combat Control Team delivered to Mallacoota on 5 Janu- ary to help coordinate passengers for the Spartans, provide weather and airfield information, and assess the condition of the runways. Further west, the ADF expanded its efforts to defend Kanga- roo Island in support of emergency services and the community. As of Thursday 9 January around 250 reservist and full-time

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