Soldiers mount full-blown amphibious assault
AUSSIE diggers have to face huge tides and man-eating crocs when they storm the beach with US Marines and Japanese troops in a amphibious assault.
AUSTRALIA’S ability to mount a full-blown amphibious assault will face its sternest test at Fog Bay west of Darwin today when diggers from the 2nd Battalion storm the beach alongside US Marines and Japanese troops.
On board the navy’s 16,000-tonne Landing Ship HMAS Choules yesterday Australian soldiers were putting the final touches to their plan to assault the beach and capture an airfield in the fictional country of “Monmir” where the democratic government has been overthrown.
Diggers from the 2nd Battalion will act as “enemy” and even their commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bassingthwaighte has no idea what the “bad guys” have planned for his invading force.
“They wouldn’t tell me,” he told News Corp on the bridge of the 16,000 tonne former Royal Navy ship.
“It is a free play activity and that is part of the test,” he said.
The test will not only involve a successful landing and assault, but also the ability to operate seamlessly with a massive force of US Marines and their vast array of equipment that includes huge hovercraft, Harrier jump jets, Osprey vertical takeoff aircraft and amphibious landing craft that emerge from the water like submarines with wheels.
For Colonel Bassingthwaighte the assault will be the culmination of months of planning in one of the most complex military environments — between the sea and the land.
The 2nd Battalion has become the nation’s first truly amphibious force and while they are not technically Marines the soldiers are training to spend months at a time on board one of the navy’s three new amphibious ships.
Ultimately the Battalion will have four combat teams trained and equipped for operations ranging from disaster relief to high-end warfighting.
“We aim to learn as many lessons as we can from other people,” Colonel Bassignthwaighte said.
Meanwhile on the container deck in between landings by the ship’s MRH-90 helicopter Sergeant Andrew Mazourenko from the 28th Manoeuvre Platoon is putting his heavy weapons teams through their paces.
As the US amphibious assault ship USS Green Bay steams in the background the machine gun and rocket teams run through their drills.
Several decks down on the vehicle deck Major Mick Adams the Officer in charge of the ship’s army establishment makes final checks of 16 Bushmasters, several LARC amphibious vehicles and Landrovers and G-Wagons that will go ashore with the force. The 100-metre-long deck is
only half full but when the curtain goes up on Saturday he and his 22-man team will be flat out transferring vehicles the 12km from the ship to the beach.
In the ship’s gymnasium Major Ben Watson is running a final Rehearsal of Concept or ROC with the command team from Alpha Company.
They go through every aspect of the plan for the assault in fine detail.
Back on the bridge the commanding officer of HMAS Choules, Commander Chris Aulmann, prepares for one of the most important days of his career.
With nine-metre tides, man-eating crocodiles and even nesting turtles, not to mention the welfare of 430 souls on board his ship to worry about, he has plenty going on.
A couple of nosy crocs even had to be shooed off the beach during rehearsals this week.
“The environment is the biggest challenge with strong tidal runs and the potential for water craft to get stuck,” Commander Aulmann said.
“This is one of the most difficult and complex environments to work in.”
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