Defence Update

The personnel are involved with 16 warships, 110 aircraft and a large number of wheeled and tracked vehicles. The ships include destroyers, frigates, a submarine, a heavy lift ship, an amphibious ship and landing craft. The aircraft engaged are F/A-18 fighters, F-111 strike/reconnaissance planes, maritime patrol aircraft, transport aircraft and helicopters.

The surveillance phase through July saw the first deployments of ADF units to the north, and included major logistics and support functions, as well as many of the ADF’s combat elements, including reservists. In the operational phase over almost two months, 15,740 ADF Regular and Reserve personnel are being deployed. The overseas contingents number about 2540, and come from the United States, the United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Kangaroo 95 is the longest and most complex exercise ever undertaken by the Australian Defence Force, and is part of the pattern of regular exercises which involve the ADF in its role of providing for the security of Australia and protecting its people and interests. The Kangaroo series, which originated in 1974, now constitutes the ADF’s principal joint (multiservice) and combined (multinational) exercise. K95 is designed to test the ADF’s capabilities against a short warning conflict scenario threatening northern Australia. This essentially involves the simulation and exercising of capabilities against such a threat.

A short warning conflict embraces the types of conflict which could be sustained with those military capabilities which are now available in the region or which are likely to be introduced within a few years. Short warning does not imply any precisely fixed expectation of the warning time in which conflict could arise.

The 1994 Defence White Paper introduced two concepts which it considered should be addressed. They seek the capabilities required to meet a possible short warning conflict as measured against the military capabilities currently held in our region or expected to be reached in a few years, and also enhancing regional engagement. This is understood to have created a dilemma for ADF planners. This was resolved by having a very ambitious and complex multifaceted exercise which also includes bilateral aspects.

K95, however, is a low intensity engagement. While it will contain some elements of air defence, it will not exercise the intensity of an air war using highly capable fighters and bombers. These days such exercising is left to the Pitch Black series which are largely based in the Northern Territory. There is no formal state of war, and therefore all the peacetime legislation in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland involving the civil and military authorities will apply.

It involves close liaison with various State Governments and their departments, including the police and civil defence agencies. In essence K95 aims to demonstrate how the Australian Defence Force, if Australia should end up in a conflict, would operate in an integrated way within its structure, and within the civil and political spheres.

As indicated earlier, the Kangaroo exercise will involve multinational and bilateral elements. The bilateral aspects come about largely because of sensitivities in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) about exercises with more than one other country. We will therefore see Malaysian, Singaporean and Australian forces combining in a Regional Command Post Exercise as part of K95.

The major play will be what is named the Field Training Exercise, involving Australia, the USA, Papua New Guinea and other countries. However some activities will be segregated with only Indonesian and Australian involvement. The protection of major assets such as townships, mining centres, airfields, ports and energy and communication links has been assigned over time mainly to ADF Reserve forces, particularly the Army Reserve. This role will be exercised again in K95, and will include the 8th Brigade, which is largely based at Adelaide, and the 11th Brigade, which mainly draws its personnel from Brisbane and Townsville.

In explaining the concepts on which K95 is based, Captain Jim Gault, RAN, the Director of Joint Exercises and Planning, said an important factor in the exercise was that the various units engaged do not know just what activities they would be called upon to perform. “By and large it’ll be a ‘free play’ exercise in which a lot of aspects will be tested,” he said.

These include the use of ADF Special Forces both with the defending Blue Force, and the attacking Orange Force. The traditional bogey, Kamaria, has been dropped as it was perceived that too many people associated it with Indonesia. Captain Gault and his staff of 24 will also switch during the exercise from planners to umpires.

Although not disclosed it would surprise if the usual amphibious operation is not conducted. The US Navy is committing an amphibious ship, and there will be a US Marine Corps element. The ADF’s Lead Joint Commander for K95 is Air Vice Marshal Gary Beck, the Air Commander Australia. The Maritime and Land Commanders are acting in support. Given the large movements and concentrations of personnel, the ADF is making environment protection a major aspect of the exercise. This will have a high profile.

Kangaroo 95 Moving Into Top Gear