Colonel
Darren Huxley DSC
CO MTF - 2 |
 |
On the 17th of
May 2010, under the pseudonym Battle Group
Tiger, personnel from 27 different units and
headquarters across all three services of
the Australian Defence Force concentrated in
Darwin for operational service in
Afghanistan. On the 5th of June the 5 RAR
led Battle Group started its Mission
Specific Training and between the 1st and
10th of September it completed a Mission
Rehearsal Exercise as its final preparation
for combat. In the space of four months the
5 RAR Battle Group completed three
collective field activities; 19 individual
courses or training activities; had up to
three weeks of leave (if lucky), and
prepared approximately 1200 personnel for
potential service in the Middle East. It was
a whirlwind of preparation, particularly for
the administrative staff, with Glen Snijders
(Chief Clerk) and Noel Allport (QM) drowning
in paperwork and equipment respectively.
The 5 RAR Battle Group deployed on Operation
Slipper as a Task Group of the Australian
Middle East Joint Task Force 633 and was
assigned under NATO operational control to
Combined Team Uruzgan; a newly established
coalition headquarters commanded by a U.S.
Army 06 – Colonel Jim Crieghton. The Battle
Group officially commenced its mission as
the second Australian Mentoring Task Force
(MTF-2) on the 21st of October 2010 – taking
over in Uruzgan Province from the 6 RAR
Battle Group.
MTF-2 operated in three major regions within
Uruzgan: Combat Team Delta, initially under
the command of MAJ Roy Henry and WO2 Dave
Allen, then MAJ Marek Janiszewski and WO2
Andrew ‘Dusty’ Miller, patrolled the
Dorafshan bowl, the Baluchi Valley and
journeyed to all reaches of the Chora
district. Combat Team Bravo, led by MAJ B.J.
Pearce and WO2 Grant ‘Buck’ Rogers, then WO2
Stephen Logan, initially conducted
operations in the Dorafshan bowl but then
settled down to the good life in the Mirabad
Valley. Combat Team Charlie, commanded by
MAJ Dave French and WO2 Shane StClair, then
WO2 Leslie Hapgood, roamed the Deh Rawud
district and forayed into the lively Tangi
and Tagaw Valley as often as they could.
Between the 21st of October 2010 and the
25th of June 2011, MTF-2 conducted 12 major
operations in conjunction with its coalition
and Afghan partners. It designed and
assisted in the construction of five company
sized patrol bases and provided oversight
for the Afghan National Army’s construction
of an additional two bases. It re-supplied
up to nine Australian bases every month by
ground convoy and almost everyday by air,
and administered, equipped and commanded in
excess of 1000 personnel at the height of
operational activity. It mentored,
indirectly, in-excess of two and a half
thousand Afghan soldiers in everyday
military tasks from the functioning of a
Brigade Headquarters to the routine of a
rifle section. Under the CS and CSS team
leaders of majors Mick Spruce (7 RAR), Grant
Chambers
(1st Armd Regt) and Nick Buemer it advanced
the 4th Afghan Brigade to new levels of
capability and gave them significant
confidence in their own operational
independence. Finally, on the 25th of June
2011, the MTF-2 flag came down from its pole
in Tarin Kot and the 2 RAR Battle Group took
up the mantle of the third Australian
Mentoring Task Force.
Three brave Australians gave their lives in
support of the MTF-2 mission and five were
severely wounded. A number of other
courageous personnel either suffered minor
wounds or endangered their own lives to save
or assist others. Whilst the sheer volume of
individual actions prohibits a full account
of our tale here, all personnel displayed
courage, commitment and loyalty befitting an
Australian unit at war.

Headquarters 5
RAR / MTF-2 at Multinational Base Tarin Kot,
Afghanistan.
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