Issue 20
December 2008

Only available directly from Contact Publishing.

84 Pages This Issue

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	BOOTS ON THE GROUND - The folly of an AFV-based force “It was not a miracle. It was the infantry. The plan had called for the air and naval bombardments, followed by tanks and dozers to blast a path through the exits so that the infantry could march up the draws and engage the enemy. But the plan had failed. Utterly and completely failed. As is almost always the case in war, it was [now] up to the infantry.” American historian Stephen Ambrose on the Normandy invasion. Words Scott J. Winslow Pics Scott J. Wislow collection and US Army	Handy 2009 Year Planner included in this issue - can also be downloaded and printed here.

	In the previous issue of CONTACT we looked at Tiger and Black Hawk simulators for pilot and battle captain training. Costing more than a combined $100 million to build, we nonetheless decided they were worth every penny. However, in the Black Hawk world, as well as Chinook and the soon-to-be introduced MRH-90, there’s a third and sometimes fourth member of the aircrew who also needs to be trained – the aircrewman, formerly known as loadmaster. Does he have a simulator to enhance his training and, if so, where is it? Words and Pics Brian Hartigan

	RAMS – RAEME Aircraft Maintenance School – is a place I know well. Or at least I thought I did until I visited it again recently. A lot has changed in the 12 or so years since I last did a course there. In fact, a lot has changed in the past two or three years – or so I’m told. Words and Pics Brian Hartigan

	The RAAF is back in the business of running air shows at its various bases around the country and this year’s event at Amberley in south-east Queensland was surely the biggest such official Defence event ever. Words and Pics Brian Hartigan

	Soldiers from Reconstruction Task Force 4’s Combat Team Dagger travelled more than 400 kilometres from their base in Tarin Kowt in August to rebuild two bridges destroyed by the Taliban. The bridges, in Zabol and Ghazni Provinces, were vital links in the main supply route between Kandahar and Kabul and it was deemed that the Australian team were the only elements in the country that could complete the task in a reasonable timeframe. Words Brian Hartigan Pics ADF

	Australian artillery gunners fi red more than 140 fire missions and 2500 artillery shells in the first deployment of Australian artillerymen in their primary role since ADF operations ceased in Vietnam in 1972. Sixteen ‘gunners’ from the Darwin-based 8/12 Medium Regiment provided vital fire support to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan National Army troops in Helmand Province as attachments to the British Army’s task force in Afghanistan. Pics Able Seaman Paul Berry

	The Royal Australian Navy’s Clearance Diving and Mine Countermeasure Task Group descended on Jervis Bay, New South Wales, in October to conduct the Fleet Training Activity Dugong ’08. They also appeared on TV in their own show - ‘Navy Divers’ - on the ABC. Pics Able Seaman Evan Murphy and Petty Officer Damian Pawlenko

	DSTO’s annual Land Warfare Conference was held in Brisbane this year with all the usual trappings of a major gabfest and associated trade show. I was there to make sure everyone who’s anyone in Defence or defence industry is aware of CONTACT and the great job it does. At least that was the excuse I used! Words and Pics Brian Hartigan

	If you asked anybody now, who had served with me back then, what they remembered most (if anything) about ‘Shinns’, it would probably be that I was an absolute fool when it came to my gear. I scrubbed new pouches and kit to get rid of the shine, anything not cammed was hit with paint, pouch-belt clips were wired down, straps were double taped and then the tape painted. It bordered on obsessive compulsive disorder, I’m sure. Words AJ Shinner Pics Supplied by AJ Shinner, and ADF
Plus... Avalon Airshow now in poll position Adaptive Army New, safe, blank ammo Diggers save Afghan locals vietnam MIA Private David Fisher found and repatriated On patrol in Afghanistan Plus our regular columns; Letters to the Editor The Big Picture - flashpoint diplomacy - HMAS Toowoomba in Pusan, Korea Heads up - latest snippets from Australia, New Zealand and around the World Military Fitness by Don Stevenson - Military Self Defence by Major Travis Faure Just Soldiers by WO1 Darryl Kelly Games reviews by Sapper Gameboy Book reviews by Gordon Traill and Brian Hartigan

BOOTS ON THE GROUND - The folly of an AFV-based force