Australia’s 3rd brigade preparing for intense year of upgrades
It will be a big year ahead for Townsville’s 3rd Brigade with joint exercises planned with allied Defence personnel, overseas deployments and the brigade beginning its transformation to a lethal heavy armoured combat fighting force.
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It will be a big year ahead for Townsville’s 3rd Brigade with joint exercises planned with allied Defence personnel, overseas deployments and the brigade beginning its transformation to a lethal heavy armoured combat fighting force.
The brigade will also celebrate its 110th birthday being raised to support WW1 and also its proud history of being the first brigade ashore at Gallipoli a year later in 1915.
There will also be further strengthening of the mutual bonds with neighbour nations including PNG and more interaction planed with the city’s community and its national sporting teams.
For brigade commander Brigadier Dave McCammon it has already been a busy 12 months since he took command of the unit at the start of 2023 and he said at the time ‘there was no better place to serve than with 3rd Brigade’.
For the Brigadier that sentiment has only been reinforced during the past year and he still feels there is still no better command slot in the army then here in Townsville with the 3rd Brigade.
“I think 12 months on, this brigade still remains at the forefront of the Army’s deployable capabilities,” he said.
“It’s fortunate enough to serve in probably Australia’s best garrison town and that’s in terms of ability to train, but also the great support we get from the community in a range of different areas.”
In September last year the Federal Government moved to implement recommendations from the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) which included major changes for the Townsville-based brigade.
In the DSR, 3rd Brigade will become the Australian Army fighting force able to bring the greatest lethality in any conflict which will see new armoured vehicles and 500 hundred more soldiers in the coming years ahead.
“The strategic review makes us a more focused force and in that, you see a change in roles for the 3rd Brigade – a far heavier force.
“We’ll see this year new tanks coming into the brigade. In time we’ll see LAND 400 phase three, the (Hanwha Redback) armoured fighting vehicle coming to 3RAR.
“There will be self-propelled guns come in to 4 Regiment and that will make 3rd Brigade far more lethal, heavier, capable force.”
Despite this change of focus the Brigadier said 3rd Brigade would still be the army’s ready force, able to deploy at a moment’s notice.
“Because of geography and location, the 3rd Brigade will always be ready and meet the obligations given to us by government.”
The DSR also earmarked the brigade as the army’s amphibious force.
“As part of the DSR, we get a far greater focus on the amphibious force in 3rd Brigade and as part of the exercise we’ll see the Australian Amphibious Force, take part in that – they’ll conduct landings around Cowley, Lucinda, and we’ll look to deploy people from those locations into Tully and into High Range.
“I think we will build on the work that we’ve previously done. Last year 1RAR and 2RAR both deployed for significant periods as part of the Australian Amphibious Force and we’ll see similar commitments this year and we’ll see greater integration of the Australian Amphibious Force into 3rd Brigade exercises.”
He said different brigade units would also be deployed overseas throughout the year.
“We’ll see throughout this year a range of different deployments. From the brigade we will see deployments (three or four rotations) as normal back into PNG and we’ll also see 1RAR deployed in Malaysia and Singapore during the year.
“There will likely see some deployments to the Solomon Islands this year with small training teams as well.”
They will also focus on readiness of warfighting skills and complete training at the Townsville Field Training Area (TFTA) or High Range.
“Probably the most significant exercise we’ll do is Brolga Run which will see us deploy the entire brigade up to TFTA but we’ll also see elements into Tully and we’ll see elements from the US Army US Marine Corps, possibly the Republic of Korea come and take part in that exercise,” Brigadier McCammon said.
“Also probably some Japanese Self Defence Force as well.
“Following straight on from Exercise Brolga Run will see all the elements of the brigade take part in one of the largest live fire exercises at TFTA for many years.
“Brolga Run will run from back end of May into June and then once that finishes, we’re going to do a live fire activity that takes us out to the end of June.
The Brigade’s RSM Warrant Officer Rob Munro said the live fire exercise would build on skills learnt from last year’s international Talisman Sabre Exercise held at the TFTA and other Queensland locations.
“This year opens up another great opportunity to take the training standard that we achieved last year, which we reinforced quite well through the Talisman Sabre Exercise, to now use that as a platform to build further on,” the RSM said.
“What we’ll see is pushing that standard again, but this time lifting it even further through live fire through some complex field firing activities, which we’ll see us combined all of our key combat units together.
“Then take that experience to reinforce to young men and women that this is the nature of high end warfighting, and that that’s the standard we have to train towards so that we’re comfortable bringing all those assets together to focus on a mission so that we can win, but critically, come home alive at the end of the day.
“So that’s that training year we’ll see that focus on building up those skills, the foundation skills, mature them into a level of expertise that will give our young men women confidence to be in that fight – and then come home.” The RSM said.
One major change announced in the DRS was the addition of 500 more soldiers to 3rd Brigade and the Brigadier said plans were already underway to ensure the brigade’s growth would keep in time with Townsville’s growth.
“Townsville troop numbers will grow and that’s been announced and we’ll see growth over the coming years and there’ll be a deliberate plan to ensure that we grow within both Lavarack Barracks capacity and the city’s capacity to absorb those people.
“Defence is working with a range of different agencies to ensure that we grow at a deliberate rate that gets the best for both the community and Defence.”
“It’s a great time to be in the brigade and it’s an exciting time to be in army.
“A lot of new equipment’s coming in over a structured period of time, we’ll see basically, almost all the brigade’s heavy equipment or key equipment get replaced.
“We will see new artillery, will see new fighting vehicles and will see new tanks.
“So a great time to be in the army and see significant change in the capability and technology that we employ.”
He said an example of the new technology was the Korean-built Hanwha Redback fighting vehicles which would be used by 3RAR.
“The Redback is our highly capable entry fighting vehicle.
“We’ve moved from the M113 (armoured personnel carrier) to a vehicle that’s got capacity to carry troops but also has capacity through a main armament or a gun to engage targets.
“It’s effectively a jump from an analog capable vehicle to a digitally capable vehicle.”
Under the Brigadier’s stewardship the Brigade continues to forge and build on existing relationships with Australia’s near neighbours including PNG.
The special bond the nation’s nearest northern neighbour was further strengthened late last year with the appointment, for the first time, of a senior PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) officer as the Deputy Commander of 3rd Brigade.
Brigadier McCammon said the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Boniface Aruma as the new deputy commander marked an important milestone for the Brigade.
“The 3rd Brigade’s had for a very long time, a close relationship with the PNG and I think the introduction of a Deputy Commander into the 3rd Brigade from the PNGDF just shows how close those links are and allows us to tighten those links in the years to come and we’ll see a close-ning of that relationship continue.
“It’s just very fortunate of the brigade to get such a highly capable officer into this position that will help us continue to engage throughout the region.”
Only in the second week in his new job Lieutenant Colonel Aruma and said he was honoured to be given the opportunity.
“It’s certainly an opportunity for me to bring to bear some of my own experiences and knowledge and what I’ve acquired over the length of my career to helping contribute in an invaluable way to help 3rd Brigade contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the PNGDF.
“I think there’s opportunity here is a great testament to the enduring relationship that both countries and both Defence Forces have going back.
“We set common values and common history and same principles and values of what we would like our neighbours to be like a safe, secure, stable region,” the Lieutenant Colonel said.
The Brigadier said an important part of the brigade’s ongoing success and strength was its close ties with the Townsville community and also the city’s sporting identity.
“We have strong ties in community with JCU and with the sporting teams Townsville Fire with the Cowboys.
“The Townsville Fire Defence round is a great example of our relationships and this year, we’ll see an even closer relationship around the Anzac Day round with the brigade and the Cowboys.
“We’re very fortunate. There are very few cities in Australia that have the facilities that Townsville has but also the great community that supports defence as well.”
He said the Townsville community was always willing to give Defence a helping hand when needed.
“We see it everywhere. You go to places and people continually ask, ‘What can I do to help?, How can we help defence be successful?’
“You get that whether it’s in community, whether it’s from industry – it makes us very fortunate to operate here.
“We saw last year with Talisman Sabre, one of the biggest exercises ever conducted by the ADF.
“What a great community to get around that exercise and that community day in town was one of the most successful events I’ve ever seen where and all our international partners just couldn’t compliment enough about how great a city this was and how good people were for them.”
“For a long time, people have understood that Townsville is the best garrison city in Australia.
“Where we enjoy an amazingly fortunate relationship with the community here that we feel incredibly well supported across all the activities we do, and there is growth in Townsville, and there’s no better place for defence growth than in this city.”
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