Change of command in the Middle East
Major General Susan Coyle has assumed command of Joint Task Force 633 in the Middle East, taking over from Rear
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Operations
Ration-pack cheese cows get Army payback
Fire killed Tim Salway’s brother and father on NYE when it tore through the family farm near Cobargo – and the cows that were’t killed still needed milking.
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Pushing through to protect what’s left
A plant operator for RAAF 65 Sqn, with Army counterparts, is pushing through to construct a 70km firebreak in the Bondo State Forest near Tumut.
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Spartan pilot proud to be involved
C-27J pilot Andrew Willersdorff was watching the scale of the bushfires on TV when he decided to contact his boss to offer help – and has been busy since.
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Big bale delivery on south-coast hay run
Thousands of livestock went to sleep on full stomachs for the first time in days after Army truckies delivered almost 100 large bales of hay on 18 January.
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Soldier’s mum pops in with muffins for the troops
It’s not every day your mum drops in with home-made muffins while you’re on deployment, but that’s what happened to Private Jonathan Amey in Cooma.
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Diggers bridge underbelly of fire damage
Two 5th Engineer Regiment combat engineers are now familiar with dozens of bridge underbellies in south-east NSW following bushfires that swept the region.
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Fuel-time job to keep the power on
Tonnes of fuel is being airlifted by Army CH-47 Chinooks and RAAF C27J Spartans from RAAF East Sale into fire-devastated communities across east Gippsland.
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Op Bushfire Assist – 19 January UPDATE
Updated 9am 20 January 2020 CAPTION: Lieutenant Matilda Connell and Corporal Trent Jones from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment
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Army helps charity hay convoy
Relief is on the way to fire affected farmers in southern New South Wales thanks to the Australian Defence Force and the South Coast Rural Relief charity.
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Op Bushfire Assist – 18 January UPDATE
Updated at 9.30am 19 January 2020 CAPTION: Australian Army HX77 heavy rigid vehicles load up with fodder near Cooma, NSW,
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RAAF fetches fresh fire retardant from the USA
Australia’s aerial firefighting retardant supplies have been boosted after the Royal Australian Air Force began ferrying new supplies from the USA.
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Spartan loadmaster reviews the stats
RAAF C27J Spartan loadmaster Corporal Antonia Guterres has been hands-on in helping deliver supplies to fire-affected communities in Victoria.
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Navy medic’s link to bushfire affected communities
Being part of the bushfire relief operation has been more meaningful for HMAS Adelaide’s crew because of personal connections to affected communities
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Op Bushfire Assist – 17 January UPDATE
Australian Army soldiers from 16 Regiment Emergency Support Force assist in flushing a contaminated water tank near Lobethal, South Australia.
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Maintenance contractors (happily) caught up in Navy mission
A crucial component of HMAS Adelaide’s bushfire-support success is thanks to five Defence-industry civilians caught up in her short-notice deployment.
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7000 military now supporting the firefight
Nearly 7000 military personnel are now supporting the front lines of bushfire fighting efforts, especially in the south-eastern states and the capital.
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Anything to support the real fighters
A small team from RAAF Base Richmond’s 65 Squadron have become a driving force behind the Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service in their area.
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Bushfire threat to Albatross much worse than earlier report
For those at HMAS Albatross on NYE, the irony of launching helicopters to assist elsewhere while the base came under serious fire threat wasn’t lost.
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Bushmaster medicos deliver behind the firefront
In the NSW Snowies, medical personnel from the 1st Close Health Battalion are offering primary medical services while public services are reestablished.
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