Australian elite SAS Soldier killed on Seventh tour of Afghanistan.

SAS death in Afghanistan raises workload question


Alison McMeekin,
Daily Telegraph
July 03, 2012 4:14PM


UPDATE: Australia's 33rd soldier to die in Afghanistan will be remembered as a ''soldier's soldier'', but his death has raised questions about the operational tempo of the Special Air Services Regiment (SASR) in the conflict.


The 40-year-old soldier was killed after being shot in the chest by insurgents.


He was on his seventh tour of Afghanistan and had taken part in six different operations.


Australian Defence Association director Neil James said the elite SAS regiment had suffered a disproportionate number of casualties compared to the rest of the Defence Force, because there were no alternatives.


''One of the reasons people are having to do, in our opinion, too many tours, is there aren't enough of them and the reason there aren't enough of them is the defence budget is too small,'' Mr James told AAP.


The price of years of government under-investment was being paid by ''a very small part of the national family who are doing most of the country's war fighting'', he added.


Well at least the Labor Party and their Green Loon Peace pals are not actively supporting the Muslim Terrorists the way they supported the North Vietnamese Communists during the Vietnam war ANV.


Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, said it was ''probably unusual'' the trooper was on his seventh tour of duty, but he was confident Australian soldiers were not being asked to do too much.


''It's an issue we need to keep a sharp eye on,'' he said.


General Hurley, said the 40-year-old special forces soldier – who he described as “a soldier’s soldier” – was killed during an operation in the Chora Valley region of Oruzgan province yesterday morning, local Afghan time.

The experienced soldier was shot during an engagement with insurgents while on a mission with Afghan National Security Forces to target an insurgent commander.


General Hurley said the patrol’s advanced first aid officer provided immediate assistance and continued attempts to resuscitate him until he was evacuated to a medical facility in Tarin Kowt.


“Despite best attempts by all, attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful,” he said.




Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley and Minister for Defence Stephen Smith address the media after news of the 33rd Australian solider killed in Afghanistan. Picture: Brad Fleet
Source: Northern Territory News


The soldier’s family were told overnight of his death, and have asked that at this stage, his personal details not be released.


General Hurley said the soldier enlisted in the Army in 1990, and then joined the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment – the SAS – in 1995.


“His colleagues describe him as a highly professional operator who earned great respect within the special operations community over many years of service,” he said.


“On behalf of the Army and the Defence community I extend my deepest sympathy to the soldier’s family, his comrades and his mates.


“I know that these words can not ease the overwhelming grief they feel today but I hope they can find comfort in the knowledge that this soldier served his country with pride and with distinction.”


It is Australia’s 33rd fatality in Afghanistan since 2001.

General Hurley said while “every combat death” was deeply felt by all members across Defence, “our men and women remain committed to our mission in Afghanistan”.


“This man was a soldier’s soldier and I know that the members of the special operations task group will ensure his service and sacrifice will not be forgotten,” he said.


Australian leaders have paid tribute to the 'extraordinary work' of the veteran SAS commando.


Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was with General Hurley at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin to make the sad announcement, said the loss of another Australian soldier was “a dreadful blow for our nation”.


“And I know Australians today will stop, will pause, will reflect and will mark with respect the loss of this brave soldier and will honour his service and his sacrifice,” she said.


The PM said she understood “many” Australians would again question Australia’s mission in Afghanistan.


“To Australians, I want to say this: this is a tragic and incredibly difficult day,” she said.


“We are all absorbing tragic news. But this tragic incident is part of what we are doing in Afghanistan because that mission is so important to our Australian nation.


"We went there to make sure that Afghanistan would not continue to be a safe haven for terrorists. That continues to be our mission which has a defined purpose and a defined timeline so we will continue our mission in Afghanistan even as we grieve this loss.”

Koran Burning: Australian Diggers under attack in Afghanistan by Islamic Sociopaths Inc.for NOT Burning the Koran.

Diggers' 'Koran burning' sparks riot
Ian McPhedran From:
The Daily Telegraph
September 18, 2010 12:00AM

AN AFGHAN man is dead and relations between Australian troops and local villagers are on a knife edge following a violent protest sparked by a rumour that Diggers were burning copies of the Koran.
The soldiers were conducting a regular burnoff of rubbish and documents in a pit outside the secure blast walls of forward operating base (FOB) Mirwais in the Chora valley, north of the main base at Tarin Kowt, on Thursday when all hell broke loose.
Suddenly an angry mob of 100 local men was on the rampage and raining rocks down on the soldiers as they retreated back into the base.
Somehow word got around the village that troops were burning copies of the Koran.
"They were doing a burn in the pit and the suggestion spread that they were burning the Koran," a source said.
The dispute, just two days before local parliamentary elections, escalated from rock throwing when a man brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle allegedly aimed the weapon at troops in a guard tower.
An Afghan soldier attached to the Australian force deployed at the base used maximum force and shot the protester, following the army's rules of engagement.
The gunman was taken away before troops could check his condition, but according to sources he died from his wounds. No soldiers were injured in the melee.
According to intelligence reports the protest was sparked by the high-profile plan by American pastor Terry Jones to burn copies of the Koran outside his Florida church on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
He backed away but was unrepentant yesterday.
The Department of Defence was yesterday unable to comment on the protest.
* NEW footage has been released of the battle between Australian and Taliban soldiers that ended with the death of Lance Corporal Jared Mackinney.

The five-minute video shows Diggers and Afghan soldiers pushing through canals and lightly wooded areas as they respond to an attack from the Islamist militants.
The August 24 video was shot by one of Lance Corporal Mackinney's colleagues through a camera strapped to his helmet.

Australia’s Finest laid to rest, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney’s wife gives birth hours after Funeral of her Husband

Technorati Tags: Lance Corporal Jared Mackinney,Mirwais,Chora valley,Tarin Kowt,Koran,Terry Jones

Trooper Jason Brown, Home.

Another Australian Soldier is killed in Afghanistan,Trooper Jason Brown, 29, a member of the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.
While he was fighting for Australia the disgraceful anti Australian pro UN, Labor Gillard government is busy importing into Australia its 150th plus, boatload of mainly Afghani Muslim males of fighting age into Australia,who knows how many of these "asylum seekers" are in fact responsible for the deaths of Australian and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They will be placed on social security for life, provided with free housing, medical and dental and they will be naturally lifetime Labor voters, after all they are not likely to bite the hand that feeds them and their yet to arrive first cousin child brides,boyfriends and extended families under the family reunion scam. 

Madame Gillard we know who is paying you, but please tell us, who are you are working for ?

Trooper Jason Brown,Another Australian killed in Afghanistan, whilst Australian Government continues to import into Australia Muslim “asylum seekers”

Trooper Jason Brown,Another Australian killed in Afghanistan, whilst Australian Government continues to import into Australia Muslim “asylum seekers”

 
Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan
Daily Telegraph
August 14, 2010 11:01AM
AN Australian special forces soldier has died in Afghanistan, taking the number of Australian soldiers to have died in Afghanistan to 18.
Acting Defence Force chief Lieutenant General David Hurley named the soldier as Trooper Jason Brown, 29, a member of the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.
Lieutenant General Hurley on Saturday said Trooper Brown was shot overnight while assisting in a "disruption operation" in northern Kandahar.
Several insurgents engaged the coalition troops using small arms, and Trooper Brown suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
He received immediate first aid and was evacuated by helicopter to Kandahar, but died.
Lieutenant General Hurley expressed "deep regret" at the death.
Another Australian Soldier is killed in Afghanistan,Trooper Jason Brown, 29, a member of the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.
While he was fighting for Australia the disgraceful anti Australian pro UN, Labor Gillard government is busy importing into Australia its 150th plus, boatload of mainly Afghani Muslim males of fighting age into Australia
They will be placed on social security for life, provided with free housing, medical and dental and they will be naturally lifetime Labor voters, after all they are not likely to bite the hand that feeds them and their yet to arrive first cousin child brides,boyfriends and extended families under the family reunion scam.

Madame Gillard we know who is paying you, but please tell us, who are you are working for ?

Technorati Tags: Trooper Jason Brown,Afghanistan,SAS,Kandahar

Australia’s Finest: More Dead and Injured Aussie Diggers make their way back home from Afghanistan.

 

God Bless these truly Great Australians and their Families

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Australia,Afghanistan,Diggers,Australia's Finest

Afghanistan:100 Taliban taken by Austyralian "Combat Team Tusk"

Australians take 100 Taliban

By IAN McPHEDRAN in Tarin Kowt
The Sunday Telegraph
April 25, 2009 06:57pm

AUSTRALIAN soldiers have killed more than 100 Taliban fighters and disrupted vast enemy networks in two of the biggest and most successful operations of the six-year Afghanistan campaign.
Details of the offensive were revealed during a secret visit to Afghanistan for Anzac Day by Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon who was accompanied by News Limited.

Operation Aabitoorah or Blue Sword began on March 19 in the northern Helmand province, south of the Australian base in Oruzgan Province and involved Dutch, British, American, Australian and Afghani forces.

The second, called Operation Shak Hawel or Mysterious Area, was fought by troops from the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force between April 3 and 15 around Patrol Base Buman in the Chora Valley north of Tarin Kowt.

More than 200 diggers or almost half of the battle group led by Darwin based Lieutenant Colonel Shane Gabriel took part with an Afghan National Army battalion.

During the biggest battle on April 12 dozens of Taliban fighters perished as they attempted to defeat the diggers from Combat Team Tusk in the fertile green belt.

"They tried to stop us doing what we wanted to do and they came off second best,'' Lt Colonel Gabriel told News Limited.

Troops from the task force have been engaged in numerous heavy fire fights during offensive patrols to mentor and instruct their Afghan comrades.

Mr Fitzgibbon received full details of the operations and spoke to the troops during a secret two-day tour of Australian bases in the lead up to Anzac Day at Tarin Kowt where Vietnam war hero and Victoria Cross holder Keith Payne was the guest of honour.

Mr Fitzgibbon became the first Australian minister to venture "outside the wire'' flying in a Chinook chopper low along the fertile valleys to forward operating bases framed by snow capped peaks, to judge the progress for himself.

Australian commander Major General Mark Kelly said Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) troops from the Perth based SAS Regiment and Sydney based Commando Regiment operated deep inside a Taliban stronghold for 26 days during "Blue Sword".

He said the number of enemy dead was not a measure of success, but he told News Limited that the tally was in excess of 80.

"It is a significant achievement by our soldiers over an extended combat mission.

"It has really disrupted the insurgent network in this part of regional command south,'' General Kelly said.

The specialist diggers were attacked by roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenades, mortars and small arms fire and despite the intensity of the action just one Australian, Sydney based bomb disposal expert Sergeant Brett Till, was killed and four others wounded including one who lost his legs.

In addition to the number of enemy casualties, including bomb maker and leader Mullah Abdul Bari, the Australians uncovered numerous weapons caches and up to 14 improvised explosive devices in a day.

Mr Fitzgibbon, who toured Australian built hospitals and schools as well as fighting bases, said the latest operations were a major setback for the Taliban.

He said it was vital for the Australian people to understand these intense and deadly operations and just how dangerous and challenging the job was for the diggers.

"We are making real progress in Afghanistan.

"I wish to thank every man and woman in the Australian Defence Force who is making a contribution to what is a very important campaign,'' Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Commander of Regional Command South Dutch Major-General Mart de Kraif said the operation had disrupted insurgent activities including the drugs trade.

He said Australian special-forces troops had applied massive pressure to the insurgent leadership.

Australian Labor Party pilfers Australian Soldiers pay packets while they fight Taliban

Malcolm Turnbull ups pressure on Joel Fitzgibbon over SAS pay

Christian Kerr
The Australian
February 25, 2009

OPPOSITION Leader Malcolm Turnbull continued to target beleaguered Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon in question time this afternoon over the SAS pay bungle as the Liberals sniff blood. Members of the elite special services squad have been hit with debt recovery notices of up to $50,000 for overpayments of allowances.

The soldiers have also been threatened with disciplinary action and warned of expulsion from their unit if they complain about the bungle. Mr Fitzgibbon stumbled on the issue in parliament yesterday. And, desperate to land blows against the Government after a week where his own party was wracked by infighting and a series of poor performances in Newspoll, Mr Turnbull has moved to increase the pressure on Mr Fitzgibbon. "Mr Fitzgibbon is blaming everybody but himself for this appalling SAS pay scandal," Mr Turnbull said this morning.

"Joel Fitzgibbon's incompetence has undermined the morale of the SAS. It has undermined the morale of the entire ADF. "He has by his incompetence allowed a situation to continue where soldiers, troopers in the SAS, are having their pay docked, some are getting no pay, so while they are taking the fight up to the Taliban they are having to worry whether they can meet their mortgage payments."

Mr Turnbull described the matter as an "extraordinary example" of ministerial incompetence, saying any bookkeeper could clear the matter up in a couple of hours. "He is the minister. He could have fixed this up long ago. He said he would. He hasn't," Mr Turnbull said. He stopped short of calling for Mr Fitzgibbon to be sacked, but instead put the pressure on the Prime Minister saying it was a matter from him.
Opposition defence spokesman David Johnston sought an undertaking in senate estimates this morning that no soldier who had approached politicians would be penalised. Head of the Defence Forces Air Chief Marshal Houston told the committee nothing was more important than the welfare of personnel.
"You have my undertaking that there will be no retribution," he said, referring to an email from a regimental sergeant-major warning soldiers against taking the issue outside the chain of command. "You have my word that we will not pursue these people in any way."

This typical of the Australian Labor Party,(ALP) during the Vietnam war they and their financiers the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) actively supported, morally and financially, the North Vietnamese. Organizing some of the most disgraceful and violent demonstrations and physical attacks upon Australia's returned servicemen as they attempted to regain their civilian lives after service in Vietnam.

The ACTU's and their political party the Australian Labor Party (ALP) knew no depths in their attempts to "punish" Australia's finest who had the courage and patriotism to serve their country in Vietnam, from preventing supplies from been loaded onto ships and aircraft to physical assaults upon defence service personnel on the streets of Sydney to the Australian Deputy PM and Communist,the late Dr Jim Cairns hosting in Sydney Town Hall a North Vietnamese delegation all seated beneath the Communist Flag of North Vietnam.

“We (Labor) are situated in the political spectrum next to the Communists, and they will stand for many things for which we also stand. We cannot therefore oppose those things."
Former Deputy Labor PM and Communist Dr Jim Cairns (c)
at Sydney Town Hall with Labors best friends, two days after Australia's most sacred day
ANZAC day. April 26 1975

These Socialist Labor scum, and their financiers, the Marxist based ACTU, have Australian soldiers blood on their hands, stealing their pay packets whilst they risk life and limb in Iraq and Afghanistan is simply just another attack on Australia's finest, in a time they and their families need support the most.
I remember when the first ship sailed to Iraq, Labor put out a press release alleging that the crew were crying and that the moral was so low on board because none of the crew believed in the cause, How would the Labor party know? I hear you ask,they claimed they had a crew member on board who was the son of a Labor supporting family and he was keeping them informed via email, updating them on the ships progress and the moral of the crew.

So we had a situation where Saddam's cheer squad here in Australia, the ALP , ACTU and the Greens (Former Communist Party) had one of their "men" on board an Australian Naval ship on its way to Iraq keeping Saddam's pals and sympathisers updated on the daily activities aboard ship. In the first Gulf War the then Labor Government led by PM Bob Hawke, ordered Australian service personnel not to wear their uniforms off base, because they had received representations,demands, from Sydney's (occupied territories) Muslim controlled south west Sydney suburbs, that they found it offensive seeing Australian military personnel on the streets of Sydney and suburbs given they were about to attack their hero, and fellow Islamic leader Saddam Hussein.


UPDATE

Soldier's pay was $0.0, says SAS wife

Matthew Franklin and Mark Dodd
The Australian
February 27, 2009

THE wife of a Special Air Service Regiment soldier has accused Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon of misleading parliament, backing claims that army bungling over an overpayment led to another soldier being given a paypacket marked $0.0 last month.

Directly rejecting Mr Fitzgibbon's version of a pay dispute that has dominated parliament this week, the woman, who asked not to be named, said she had personal knowledge that despite denials by the army and the minister, the soldier's pay packet on January 22 had been entirely docked over disputed claims that he had been overpaid.

The claims came as the Opposition warned that army officials had launched a witch-hunt against soldiers who publicly complained

about threats of disciplinary action if they leaked details of the pay dispute, which also triggered demands that Kevin Rudd sack Mr Fitzgibbon for incompetence.

But the army denied claims that it had required soldiers to sign declarations they had not flouted the chain of command by leaking information about the affair.

The furore centres on a 2007 Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal decision granting upgraded special forces pay and allowances.

Defence officials incorrectly assumed its special forces soldiers all qualified for the new allowances, but later discovered many did not have the qualifications to match their pay.

They launched a retrospective debt-recovery program aimed at about 380 SAS soldiers. On Wednesday, Deputy Opposition Leader

Julie Bishop produced but would not table a pay packet showing a soldier had been docked his entire pay.

Mr Fitzgibbon hit back yesterday, telling parliament he believed he had found a copy of the man's pay packet, indicating he had been paid $2749, which went into two different bank accounts.

"Either the Opposition are very dumb and cannot read the pay slip properly or they are misrepresenting the facts," said Mr Fitzgibbon, who declared all pay recovery efforts had been frozen.

Later, Defence officials conducted a briefing in which they also insisted the man had been paid. They were unwilling to have their names attributed as sources of the information.

However, last night Ms Bishop showed The Australian a copy of the pay packet at issue, proving it read that the man's "entitlement (includes adjustments this fortnight) for pay day 22 January 09" was $0.0.

The woman who contacted The Australian last night said: "I heard from his mouth. I heard him state that he received $0." She also disputed Mr Fitzgibbon's claim in parliament on Wednesday that no one had contacted his office to complain about the pay issue except for one woman who had refused to leave her contact details. "I was that woman," she said. "And I did leave my name and phone number."

Last night, a spokesman for Mr Fitzgibbon said the woman had given her name and contact details to a staffer in the office of Defence Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon.

Earlier, in question time, Opposition frontbencher Bob Baldwin asked Kevin Rudd whether he was aware that SAS soldiers had been grilled by their superiors and required to sign statements saying they had not leaked a recent email threatening disciplinary action if soldiers went outside the chain of command over the pay scandal.

The Prime Minister did not answer the question directly, instead noting that Defence Force chief Angus Houston had guaranteed no one would face such action.

Defence officials repeated this pledge in their subsequent media briefing. But they said soldiers had been requested to report whether they thought their pay had been incorrectly assessed.

They also said they would conduct an audit to tally the number of soldiers affected by a computerised pay bungle. It would be finalised by April 27.

No doubt Australia's Dear Leader, Kevin 07, aka Kevin "I have never been a socialist" Rudd., would have Australian soldiers believe that they were well off, in as much as Dear Leader did not send them a demand for outstanding Union Fees for the privilege of risking life and limb.