Winding Down

Australia’s Chinook operators discuss the final RWG deployment in their own words

After 11 rotations since February 2006, Rotary Wing Group – Eight (RWG‑8), the Australian Army Aviation detachment in Afghanistan, held a small ceremony at Kandahar Airfield in mid-September to mark the completion of its five-month mission. It was to be the last time Australian Chinooks flew in Afghanistan, as the group has left the theatre for the final time.

“The commitment is over,” commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel James Brown said. “The Americans will be mainly withdrawn by the end of [2014]. Our government made the decision to withdraw by the end of this year. This deployment that we’ve been on was always going to be about six months, so we’re at the natural end of our mission. Essentially all we’re doing is not reinforcing; we’re just not coming back.