An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 18 | ADF personnel were on Kangaroo Island. ASLAV light amoured vehicles from 1st Armoured Regiment were conducting route reconnaissance and helping access hard- to-reach areas. Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles were being used to drag fallen and felled trees off roads and lanes. The desalination plant was fully operational, pumping out 100,000litres of drinking water per day from sea water. Buldozers and graders were clearing firebreaks. And, Army truck drivers were helping to deliver hay donated by farmers on Australia's mainland to properties to feed livestock. A fleet of aircraft were also on standby at RAAF Base Ed- inburgh to evacuate residents from the island should it be deemed necessary. Thankfully it never came to that. And still more help was coming. A large convoy of equipment and personnel from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment based in Townsville departed Lavarack Barracks on 12 January, bound for the fire zones of Vic- toria – to be partnered with a force of about 100 army engineers from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. The PNGDF contingent and the bulk of the 3rd Brigade per- sonnel travelled the following day via RAAF C130 Hercules to prepare for the arrival of their convoy and to receive their orders. A day after that, Fiji said it was sending an engineer platoon to help too – and soon after that, Japan said it was sending two C-130 Hercules. As time progressed and with scores of bushfires still out of control, but with people largely out of danger, much attention began to flow towards animal welfare. Many farm animals were starving on scorched earth. Even water was scarse in a lot of places, because infrastructure had been destroyed or dams had been sucked dry in the fire fight. Cooma farmer George Walters was an individual who put a lot of blood, sweat and tears in to doing what he could – and then the Army stepped in to lend a hand. "The whole community has gotten behind the relief efforts, but to have the assistance of the Army has been a massive boost," Mr Walters said. "Some sheep, cattle and horses haven't had anything for days. "We are now reaching farms and properties that desperately need assistance." Private Shaun Whitehurst, an HX77 heavy-truck driver from Brisbane-based 7th Combat Service Support Battalion, was one of those tasked to help. "I'm from off the land at Gin Gin, up past Bundaberg, so I know how tough farmers are doing it," Private Whitehurst said. "It's a privilege to be able to get out and help – being here makes me proud to wear the uniform." Army vehicles – even helicopters – distributed much-needed fodder for several days. One of the biggest tasks after the fires was clearing fallen or dangerous trees from roads and roadsides all across three states. While it was common and expected to see the engineers at the task, a closer examination of shoulder patches often revealed infantry, artillery or even RAAFies behind chainsaws or swinging axes. The sight of the gunners wielding chainsaws may at first seem unusual, but the scene made perfect sense when you consider that artillerymen often build gun emplacements in the field as part of their normal war-time operations. But for others, new skills were taught and practiced as a mat- ter of necessity in the face of the mammoth task. Army Reserve infantry soldiers were busy across south-east NSW, armed with new chainsaw training and skills from the School of Military Engineering. The fit and nimble soldiers had their skillsets enhanced with a special one-day chainsaw course in Holsworthy that qualified them in crosscut operations. This training allowed them to cut up fallen timber so their teams can haul away the debris from roads, tracks, fences

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