Australian Army
From Freepedia
| |||||||||||||||||
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.
The Australian Army is commanded by the Chief of the Army (CA), who is responsible to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF).
As well as ground troops, approximately 80 Leopard tanks and artillery, it also operates helicopters: Blackhawk, Chinook, and has taken delivery of the first of 22 Eurocopter Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (with the last of the UH-1 Iroquois serving with distinction in Aceh for humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake before removal from service.) Recently plans have been announced to procure 59 M1A1 tanks.
Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, but only in World War II did Australian territory come under direct attack.
The history of the Australian Army can be divided into two periods:
- 1901-47, when limits were set on the size of the regular army, the vast majority of peacetime soldiers were in the reserve army units of the Australian Citizens Military Force (also known as the CMF or Militia), and Australian Imperial Forces were formed to serve overseas, and
- post-1947, when a standing peacetime infantry force was formed and the CMF (known as the Army Reserve after 1980) began to decline in importance.
The army has been involved in many peacekeeping operations, usually under the auspices of the United Nations. The biggest one began in 1999 in East Timor. Other notable operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville and in the Solomon Islands, which are ongoing as of May 2004. Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province, Indonesia, Operation Sumatra Assist, ended on 24 March 2005.
Contents |
The Army Today
For equipment, see Modern Equipment and Uniform of the Australian Army
Statistics
| Australian Army statistics | |
| Personnel (Regular Army) | 25,200 |
| Personnel (Army Reserve) | 17,200 |
| Main Battle Tanks | 71 Leopard 1 |
| Infantry fighting vehicles | 113 ASLAV |
| Armoured Personnel Carriers | 700 M113 |
| Land Rovers | |
| Artillery | 376 |
| Aircraft | 132 |
Current deployments
The Australian Army currently has significant forces deployed on two major operations:
- Operation Catalyst - Australia's commitment to the Coalition forces in Iraq. The army's contribution includes:
- Al Muthanna Task Group; this is a battlegroup consisting of a headquarters, infantry company, armoured squadron and training team, with a total of 450 personnel. This has two tasks:
- Provide a secure environment for the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group (JIRSG)
- Assist in the training of local Iraqi Army units so that they are able to take over the internal and external defence of their country
- Australian Army Training Team; this encompasses 55 personnel providing logistic training to the new Iraqi Army.
- Embassy security detatchment; this provides security protection and escort for staff at the Australian Embassy in Baghdad, and consists of 100 personnel.
- Al Muthanna Task Group; this is a battlegroup consisting of a headquarters, infantry company, armoured squadron and training team, with a total of 450 personnel. This has two tasks:
- Operation Slipper - Australia's commitment to the War on Terror. The army contribution is primarily concentrated in Afghanistan and consists of a Special Operations Task Group of personnel from the Special Air Service Regiment, 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and Incident Response Regiment.
- In addition to these, small numbers of personnel are deployed on various operations around the world, including Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands, and on peacekeeping duties with the Multinational Force and Observers and the United Nations.
Historical Australian Army Units
- Australian Citizens Military Force/Australian Army Reserve (1901– )
- Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
- Australian Imperial Forces
- First Australian Imperial Force (1914–19)
- Second Australian Imperial Force (1939–46)
- Pacific Islands Regiment (1944-1975)
- Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (1951-1973)
- Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (1962-1972)
Conflicts Involving the Australian Army
- Boer War
- World War I
- World War II
- 2nd AIF
- CMF
- Pacific War (1942–45)
- Malayan Emergency
- Korean war
- Indonesian Confrontation
- Vietnam war
- Gulf War
- U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
- 2003 invasion of Iraq
Articles on Conscription and National Service
Sources
- CNN - Australian hostage freed in Iraq (June 15, 2005)
- Department of Defence - Operation Falconer
- Office of the Defence Minister - Australian troops to start coming home (April 17, 2005)
External links
- Website: http://www.army.gov.au
- recruitment: http://www.defencejobs.gov.au
