Interstate soldiers called in to help get Adelaide’s 10th Brigade afloat

As army units struggle to meet their manning requirements, artillery gunners are quietly being told they will be posted to Adelaide at the end of year to help the ADF get a new long-range fires brigade up and running.

Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles (R) and Minister of Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy pose with a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher in Avalon on Monday. Picture: William West/AFP.

As army units struggle to meet their manning requirements, artillery gunners are quietly being told they will be posted to Adelaide at the end of year to help the Australian Defence Force get a new long-range fires brigade up and running, which will be stacked with weapons capable of striking targets hundreds of kilometres away.

The early warning comes as Army higher-ups try to piece together 10th Brigade, which will serve as the organisation’s brand new ‘fires brigade’.

Unlike other field artillery units scattered across Darwin, Townsville, and Brisbane, 10th Brigade will be armed with the deadly High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) platform which has a range of more than 500 kilometres.

A US HIMARS platform in action at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland.

On Monday, the Albanese Government announced the first three HIMARS platforms destined for Adelaide had arrived - with another 39 on their way.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the acquisition of the HIMARS was on track to be fully operational four years ahead of schedule.

“HIMARS is a world leading capability, delivering accurate firepower at long ranges, resulting in a more than ten-fold increase in Army’s striking range,” he said.

“This is about equipping our ADF right now with state-of-the-art capabilities that enables it to operate effectively on land, sea and in the air to deter aggression and safeguard Australians.”

However, the ADF’s ability to man the platforms looms as a significant challenge, with officers and soldiers yet to be trained and qualified on the new systems.

Further, the ADF continues to battle a retention and recruitment crisis which has stretched workload and severely hampered defence’s readiness.

The Royal Australian Artillery has also been crippled by the retention crisis, with some gun batteries across the nation forced to operate undermanned for consecutive years.

Artillery command system operators, who specialise in communications, have been in particular short supply.

Troops from 1st Brigade, Darwin, are being called upon to help get the Adelaide unit up and running.

Now, in a bid to keep 10th Brigade’s progress on-track, the RAA has been forced to cannibalize gunners from interstate - including in Darwin.

This publication understands members of 8/12th Regiment have already been informed by their superiors they have been earmarked for the fires brigade, with relocations to occur as early as October.

It is also understood gunners in Townsville and Brisbane have also been similarly informed, with members given advanced notice in the event selected soldiers choose to appeal the decision.

It is unclear how many gunners and their families will be relocated to Adelaide.

The Department of Defence has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Interstate soldiers called in to help get Adelaide’s 10th Brigade afloat