Engineers tackle offshore mission in Torres Strait

Australian Army engineers took to the water with specialist equipment on three commercial barges to support a complex infrastructure mission last month.

CAPTION: Army engineers from 6th Engineer Support Regiment clear the ground with a JCB Skid Steer Loader for the Army Ailan Community Assistance Program. Story and photos by Captain Joanne Leca.

Engineers from the 6th Engineer Support Regiment (6ESR) travelled to the Torres Strait Islands to train community members in project management, construction, health and mentoring.

After years of planning, stores were delivered to Horn Island, Erub (Darnley) Island, Poruma (Coconut) Island and Warraber (Sue Islet) Island.

The projects, conducted under the Army Ailan Community Assistance Program (AACAP) and training activity Exercise Saunders, will continue until October.

Major Ancel Lupke, of 6ESR, said working in unfamiliar territory with civilian crews meant adapting military equipment for non-military platforms.

“Defence working closely with contractors like Westlink will ensure we are ready to react, and will positively influence our ability to defend Australia should we be called upon in the future,” Major Lupke said.

“The execution of this barge movement across the sea will inform our future operations and plans in the littoral operating environment.

“This is proving to be the most logistical significant and complex deployment of all previous AACAPs, involving lodgements of equipment, resources and personnel over ground, sea and air.

“We ask our soldiers to ply their trade in remote and austere environments, working long hours in harsh conditions, and this, most importantly, is what sets them apart from their civilian counterparts.”

Construction projects across the three islands will include a community hall, facility refurbishments, a carriage way culvert, a kup murri (traditional earth oven), a sports facility and road paving.

Corporal Dylan Booth said the AACAP mission was an eye-opener, seeing the complexity and planning that went into achieving infrastructure projects offshore.

“In my previous experience, I would go to a central location out field, do the job and come back,” Corporal Booth said.

“AACAP is much more complex. We need to understand site plans and requirements, work with external agencies, civilian communities and a variety of trades.

“In addition, offloading all the equipment from the barges, including multiple military vehicles and accessories such as an HX77, 40M trucks, Manitou, excavators, JCB backhoe loaders, JCB compact tracked loaders, heavy-duty slashers, cement batchers and up to 80 storage containers with supplies, tools and resources.”

CAPTION: Corporal Dylan Booth, of 6th Engineer Support Regiment, provides guidance on ground clearing works at Erub (Darnley) Island.

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