Our Journey

A Dassault Falcon 900 tri-jet VIP transport from No 34 Squadron was used to fly home Australians who had become hostages in the Gulf crisis triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on 2 August. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had detained thousands of foreign citizens to deter the US from launching a military attack against him, but early the next month he agreed to free at least the women and children in this group. The hostage drama was only a prelude to a six-week multinational campaign, which by 28 February 1991 had expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Air Commodore Alan Titheridge was announced as commander of an ADF contingent deployed to Kuwait in anticipation of renewed conflict with Iraq in the Persian Gulf. The Australian Government decided to support US forces by deploying a contingent of 110 Special Air Service (SAS) troops, along with two B-707 tanker/transport aircraft and 80 Air Force personnel. Although the Iraqi Government defused the crisis by agreeing to cooperate with UN inspectors looking for weapons of mass destruction, it was decided to retain coalition contingents in the area for the time being.

Four F/A-18 Hornets and 70 personnel from No 77 Squadron departed Williamtown, NSW, for the tiny Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Their role was to provide combat air patrol cover for international coalition forces based on the island, during operations aimed at destroying the bases in Afghanistan of the Al Qaeda terrorists who had attacked the United States on 11 September.

The first detachment of about 70 personnel from No 84 Wing arrived at Manas airport outside Bishkek, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, as part of the international coalition formed in response to terrorist attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001. Operating from Ganci Air Base, a tent city set up alongside the Manas airfield, the RAAF detachment’s two B-707 aerial tankers provided an air-to-air refuelling capability for the more than 350 coalition fighter aircraft striking into Afghanistan, seeking to topple the Taliban regime there which had provided a terrorist haven. The detachment included air and ground crews from No 33 Squadron, and personnel from 84 Wing, No 1 Combat Communications Squadron and No 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron. A changeover of replacement personnel arrived in June, before the detachment withdrew in September.

The Air Force detachment of two AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft sent to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) flew its first mission under Operation Slipper. Patrolling day and night ahead of the coalition invasion of Iraq , the aircraft contributed to the overall objective of achieving and maintaining sea control in the northern Persian Gulf. The superior intelligence from the Orions’ sensors provided coalition commanders with an accurate surveillance picture of surface activity, enabling potentially hostile shipping to be identified and challenged well away from allied warships. This marked the start of a commitment that flowed on into Operation Catalyst (the rehabilitation of Iraq following the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein) and would last for more than five years. In that time, the detachment also undertook overland reconnaissance as well as maritime patrols and oil terminal protection sorties.
 

The combat force of 14 F/A-18 Hornets from No 75 Squadron, which the Air Force contributed to the operation to overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, flew its last combat mission of the war. As defensive missions became redundant due to lack of Iraqi opposition in the air, 75 Squadron aircraft began flying deliberately planned strike missions–beginning with an attack on Al Kut on 23 March. By the time the squadron flew its last mission, it had amassed 670 sorties and 2300 hours in the air, including 350 sorties and 1800 hours on combat missions since 9 March.

An air traffic control detachment of nearly 60 Air Force personnel was made responsible for providing air traffic services at Baghdad International Airport. The detachment remained in place until August 2004 handling on occasion more than 650 movements daily.

A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) established by Air Force personnel at Kandahar Airfield took over the management of an assigned area of Afghanistan’s operational air space in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force battling Taliban extremists. Using a state-of-the-art TPS-77 radar, the CRC assumed responsibility for coordinating and deconflicting coalition air operations, including surveillance and air-to-air refuelling, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A C-130J Hercules aircraft of No 37 Squadron completed one of the most complex humanitarian air drop mission conducted by the Air Force in more than a decade. The Hercules detachment deployed to Joint Task Force 633 at Al Minhad Air Base was rapidly reinforced with extra crews from 37 Squadron in response to a humanitarian crisis on Mt Sinjar in Northern Iraq. A large group of civilians, most from the Yazidi minority, had fled to Mt Sinjar to escape attacks from the terrorist organisation, known as Islamic State (IS). The mission delivered 10 bundles of critical supplies to people trapped on Mt Sinjar by encircled IS forces. The Air Force C-130 was one of 16 aircraft from a number of nations who responded to the humanitarian disaster. In the following months additional air drops were conducted on Mt Sinjar and the besieged town of Amerli. 

F/A-18F Super Hornets, KC-30A, E-7A Wedgetail and Air Force support personnel deployed to the Middle East to form the Air Task Group on Operation OKRA with the main contingent departing on this day. The mission of the Air Task Group was to contribute to international efforts to disrupt and degrade operations of the terrorist group known as Islamic State.

The Minister for Defence, the Hon Senator Marise Payne, announced the return of Australia’s six F/A-18F Super Hornets marking the end of Australia’s successful air strike operations in Iraq and Syria. Since October 2014, Hornet pilots and support personnel had made a significant contribution at the request of the Iraqi government, in support of the Iraqi Security Forces. The strike aircraft, deployed as part of the Air Task Group, conducted more than 2,700 sorties against Daesh targets in both Iraq and eastern Syria.