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 NEWS
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Subject: SOLDIER KILLED IN TRAINING ACCIDENT
Department of Defence Media Mail List
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MSPA 194/09 Friday, 26 June 2009
An Australian soldier was tragically killed in a training
accident at Puckapunyal, Victoria,
earlier today.
At approximately 11am, a single M113A1 Armoured Personnel
Carrier holding four troops rolled
while taking part in a training exercise.
Another soldier was injured in the accident, and was flown
to hospital in Melbourne for
treatment. His condition has now been downgraded from
serious to stable.
Our deepest condolences go out to families and friends of the soldiers involved
in this
tragic accident, and we are doing everything we can to
assist and support them through this
very difficult time.
For privacy reasons, personal details of the deceased
soldier and his injured colleague are
not being released at this time.
Army is assisting civilian authorities who are undertaking
the investigation, and will not
speculate on the cause of the incident until the
investigation has been completed.
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: 02 6265 3343 or 0408
498 664
DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs,
Department of Defence,
Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6265 3343, Fax: 02 62656946
G-G opens Beersheba Light Horse memorial
Australia's Governor-General, Major General
Michael Jeffery, has opened a park in southern Israel
dedicated to the Australian Light
Horsemen who fought the Turks in the area during World War
I.
The Light Horse regiment launched a dramatic charge to
defeat Turkish troops near the town of Beersheba in October
1917.
It was a crucial victory for the British-led forces which
opened the way to Jerusalem and, ultimately, the fall of the
Turkish Ottoman Empire.
Opening the Beersheba memorial to the Light Horse, Major
General Michael Jeffery said not enough Australians knew of
their achievement.
Source: ABC News.
Audio:
Click Here.
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Digger David Pearce killed
by bomb in Afghanistan
THE
Australian solider killed by a roadside bomb in
Afghanistan yesterday was a father of two young
daughters. He had been in the forces for just 15
months.
Trooper David Pearce, 41, of Brisbane, joined the
Army at the age of 39 after three years with the
Army Reserve.
He leaves behind his wife Nicole and two daughters
Hannah, 6, and Stephanie, 11.
Pearce was killed and another seriously wounded when
an improvised explosive device detonated
next to their military vehicle in Afghanistan's
Oruzgan province yesterday, 6km from their base at
Tarin Kowt.
He celebrated his 41st birthday on Thursday last
week.
Source:
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THE army's $555 million
fleet of 59 front-line main battle tanks could not safely go to war alongside US
forces because of a potentially deadly communications gap.
An audit of the M1A1 Abrams tank project has found the tanks' $12 million
battle management system has not been installed.
That means the American-built machines could not be tracked on the
battlefield by allied forces.
In a war, that would place them at dire risk of being hit by so-called
"friendly fire".
Australian special forces vehicles deployed with US and British forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan carry a satellite tracking system known as a "blue
force tracker".
That enables commanders and coalition forces to monitor where friendly
vehicles are at all times.
If vehicles are not equipped with the tracker link they are at grave risk of
being destroyed by other fighting vehicles or coalition aircraft.
During the Iraq war a number of British vehicles were bombed by US aircraft
and in Afghanistan, Canadian armoured vehicles have been hit by US missiles with
fatal consequences.
According to the officer charged with buying and equipping the tanks,
Brigadier Mike Phelps from the Defence Materiel Organisation, defence has been
unable to negotiate a suitable agreement for a satellite link with any
Australian company.
"We aim to have it in by the end of the year," Brig. Phelps said.
According to a report from the Australian National Audit Office, a temporary
system should have been in place by this month.
That has not happened and tank crews are unable to train with a viable battle
management system.
"The delay associated with delivering this service has been reported by
army to have adversely affected the training schedule," the auditors said.
They also found a proposed interim system would not interact with any
existing defence force system.
The temporary solution would be compatible with US systems and the plan is to
replace it once the Australian Defence
Force acquires its own force-wide battle management system under a separate
project.
Brig. Phelps said if necessary the DMO would buy a US system at short notice
to cover any gaps.
He said there should be sufficient warning to allow enough time to get a
contract in place.
"If we had to deploy at short notice we would try to get into the US
system before we arrived in theatre," he said. "We would have to do
some lead-up training in theatre."
The Abrams tank purchase was one of the most controversial military buys in
years. Experts were divided about the value of the 60-tonne reconditioned US
machines to Australia's military arsenal.
The Abrams is designed for high-intensity conflict and is unsuitable for
low-level regional missions closer to Australia.
Critics say the tanks, like their predecessors the German-designed Leopard,
are unlikely to ever fire a shot in anger.
SOURCE:HeraldSun
Ian McPhedran
July 26, 2007 12:00am
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An armoured vehicle carrying Australian troops has come under attack in
southern Iraq
Emily Scanlan reports the Australian Defence Force says two Australian
soldiers traveling in the armoured vehicle escaped injury.
They were on patrol last Friday night near An Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar Province
when an improvised explosive device or IED was detonated.
Defence Forces says the vehicle has been recovered but the extent of the
damage is still being assessed.
Nearly one month ago three Australian soldiers were wounded when an IED was
used in an attack on a convoy of Australian Light Armoured Vehicles in the
same area.
A Counter-IED Task Force has been set up to investigate the roadside devices
which are the biggest cause of casualities for US and coalition forces.
Source: 13.05.07 ABC Radio Australia
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THREE Australian soldiers have been injured in a roadside
bomb attack in Iraq during a day of violence directed at Diggers.
The three Darwin-based soldiers serving with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment were in
a three-vehicle patrol north of An Nasiriyah in southern Dhi Qar province when
the attack occurred about midnight AEST on Monday.
Those injured were Major James Greenshields, who suffered a fractured arm
in the blast, an unidentified corporal, who suffered a schrapnel wound, and a
trooper, who sustained burns to his legs. None of the injuries were
life-threatening, and the families have been informed.
The injured men had been travelling in the first of three Australian Light
Armoured Vehicles, or ASLAVs. Defence sources said the vehicles were hit by
three separate roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices.
The explosion caused extensive damage, igniting a fire that destroyed the
vehicle the troops were travelling in. There were no injuries among the crews
of the second and third vehicles, which were damaged but not destroyed.
The attack came just four days after a visit to the 520-strong Overwatch
Battle Group by Defence Minister Brendan Nelson.
"This is not the first time an attempted IED attack against
Australians has occurred, indeed our people in Iraq and Afghanistan face these
types of threats on a regular basis," defence spokesman Brigadier Gus
Gilmore said. Extensive armour protection on the vehicles had helped protect
the three-man crews, he said.
In 2004, three Diggers serving with the security detachment force in Baghdad
were injured when a roadside bomb detonated next to their armoured vehicle.
In Monday's attack, a US helicopter arrived within minutes of an emergency
call and the injured were taken to a military hospital at nearby Tallil air
base.
Australian troops securing the site of the bomb attack fired on a civilian
vehicle approaching them at high speed. The driver had ignored warnings to stop
but there were no reports of injuries following the encounter.
Earlier in a separate engagement, an Australian patrol was attacked with
seven rocket-propelled grenades and small arms by insurgents.
Both sides of politics expressed support for the soldiers, with Peter
Costello describing them as "modern-day Anzacs".
"We know that when you go into a theatre of war it's dangerous,"
the Treasurer said. "We respect them and we admire them and we support them
for it."
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said the thoughts and prayers of all Australians
were with the soldiers injured in Iraq and with their families. "This is
terrible news," Mr Rudd said.
Source: The Australian 25 April 2007
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