DTN News: Air Force Heron Detachment Deployed To Afghanistan Assisting Australian Soldiers On The Ground

DTN News: Air Force Heron Detachment Deployed To Afghanistan Assisting Australian Soldiers On The Ground

Source: DTN News / Australian Department of Defence; issued Aug. 5, 2010

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 5, 2010: The Australian Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a key asset in the conduct of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the Afghanistan theatre of operations. The vehicles are flown by a small contingent of Royal Australian Air Force, and Australian Army personnel from the coalition airbase at Kandahar. They have been operating in theatre since July 2009 Heron missions principally support Australian efforts on the ground by providing intelligence information on insurgent activities directly to commanders in the tactical situation. Heron have the capacity to carry a number of capabilities on any single mission and can therefore provide a versatile array of information depending on the requirements of the customer. They are operated from a ground base control by trained pilots and can withstand a range of weather conditions. Heron is a medium altitude asset that is designed to compliment the other reconnaissance assets in theatre. Information is analysed and processed in real time. The commander has the benefit of not only having eyes and ears on a target but also a wide range of specialist imaging and sensory information to build a more accurate picture of the battlespace.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

DTN News: Australian Weapons Found In Hands Of Taliban, WikiLeaks Reveals

DTN News: Australian Weapons Found In Hands Of Taliban, WikiLeaks Reveals

Source: DTN News / The Sydney Morning Herald by Rafael Epstein (NSI News Source Info) SYDNEY, Australia - August 1, 2010: Australian weapons and equipment have repeatedly been discovered among Taliban stockpiles, raising fears that Afghan troops trained by Diggers have been pilfering military supplies. Documents released by the WikiLeaks website show that in the past six years International Security Assistance Force troops have uncovered Australian mortar shells, a hand-grenade and other equipment when defusing roadside bombs and capturing Taliban weapons stores. Australian soldiers have trained hundreds of Afghan army soldiers, and work alongside Afghan police. Last December a NATO patrol found Australian equipment in a Taliban weapons cache, alongside AK-47 rifles and materials to make roadside bombs. The equipment found is used by Australian soldiers to ensure their safety during offensives, and if used by insurgents it could disrupt the distinct advantage held by NATO troops. The Defence Department has asked the Herald not to publish any details identifying this equipment. The department is reviewing the tens of thousands of WikiLeaks documents and did not respond directly to the reports about Australian weapons, other than saying ''an important part of this review will be determining whether there are force protection implications for our personnel''. Last year the US found there were incomplete records for about a third of $US4 billion ($4.4 billion) worth of US-purchased weapons used by the Afghan military. US soldiers training Afghan forces have repeatedly complained about pilfering, with one US officer reported as saying: ''It's not, 'Let me teach you your job'. It's more like, 'How much did you steal from the American government today?' '' Defence sources with experience of training in Oruzgan province doubted that Australian weapons were going missing. Such reports are ''probably a load of crap'', said one source. ''There may be a misunderstanding about what is being reported.'' Sources said Afghans usually use their own weapons, not Australian munitions, when trained by Australian troops. The Taliban have been found to have used rifles, mortars and other weapons made in the US, Russia and China.

*This article "Australian Weapons Found In Hands Of Taliban, WikiLeaks Reveals - The Sydney Morning Herald by Rafael Epstein" & link to read in originality form....click here.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

Related News;

* Video: WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange talks to RT *Burden of war in Afghanistan shifts even more to the US Los Angeles Times Xinhua - Daily Mail - New York Times - The Guardian - Wikipedia: Afghan War Diary

DTN News: Australia's Role In Afghanistan

DTN News: Australia's Role In Afghanistan

Source: DTN News / Military World

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 30, 2010: Australia has approximately 1,090 defence personnel working in Afghanistan, as part of Operation SLIPPER. In April, 2009, the Australian Government announced an additional 450 troops would be sent to Afghanistan. When they arrive, Australia's contribution will be approximately 1,550. Primarily, Operation SLIPPER contributes to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). There are also about 800 personnel deployed in other parts of the Middle East, providing support for Operation SLIPPER. **(Uruzgan Province) Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force 1 - About 440 Australian personnel. MRTF1 is engaged in construction works in Uruzgan Province and is also helping to train the Afghan National Army. It is mainly comprised of engineers and mechanised infantry and cavalry. **(Uruzgan Province) Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) - Up to 330 Australian personnel. The SOTG provides security and protection to members of Mentoring and Reconstruction Force 1. It consists of commandos, members of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) and support personnel. **(Kandahar) Air Force Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) - Up to 75 Australian personnel. The CRC is based at Kandahar Airfield and controls southern Afghan operational airspace. **(Kandahar) Force Level Logistic Asset - About 60 Australian personnel. This unit provides logistical support to ADF operations throughout Afghanistan, from a national logistics asset in Kandahar. **(Across Afghanistan) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment. 30 Australian personnel. This unit operates the SCANEAGLE UAV, a remote-controlled aircraft used for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. **(Kandahar) Rotary Wing Group (RWG)- About 65 Australian personnel. The RWG operates two CH47D medium lift helicopters for Kandahar Airfield. The helicopters provide combat support, quick response force and medical evacuation missions.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

Africa: Burundi Ex-Rebels Start To Disarm

Africa: Burundi Ex-Rebels Start To Disarm

(NSI News Source Info) April 19, 2009: The head of the last major rebel group in Burundi has handed over his weapons at a ceremony marking the end of an armed struggle against the government. Agathon Rwasa, of the Forces for National Liberation (FNL), gave his arms to African Union troops overseeing the peace process. This handout picture relased by the Government Communication Information Service shows the leader of Burundi's last active rebel group Agathon Rwasa (L) as he arrives on May 30, 2008 at the Bujumbura international airport escorted by several AU sodiers. Rwasa said on April 18, 2009, at a demobilisation ceremony in Rubira that he has renounced his movement's "armed struggle" after more than 13 years of civil war. "This ceremony signifies that we renounce the armed struggle and that we will now focus on political struggle," said Rwasa, the head of the National Liberation Forces, the Central African nation's last active rebel group. Up to 20,000 FNL rebels are due to be disarmed next week and some will be integrated into the security forces. The FNL is expected to be registered as a political party next week. Ethnic conflict in Burundi has led to the deaths of about 300,000 people in the past decade. End of turmoil? Agathon Rwasa handed over his arms at a ceremony in Rubira, about 20km (12 miles) west of the capital Bujumbura, where more than 3,000 of the rebels were gathered. Government officials and South African mediators were also present. Mr Rwasa described the day as a landmark in the history of his movement and for Burundi. Burundi's army will absorb more than 2,000 former rebels. Other members of the FNL are due to be disarmed next Tuesday before being taken to demobilisation centres. Mediators have said that 3,500 former rebels will be integrated in Burundi's security forces - 2,100 into the army and 1,400 into the police force. Lt-Gen Derrick Mgwebi, special envoy for South African chief mediator Charles Nqakula, said on Friday that integration would happen when the government has been told by mediators that "the FNL combatants are officially disarmed". "There is a light at the end of turmoil," he added. The Burundi state and the FNL signed a peace agreement in 2006 that ended two decades of ethnic war, but tensions have remained high. The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge spoke to villagers near the assembly area and most said they were happy that the ceremony had taken place. However, some are worried that so few of the rebels are being integrated into the security forces. One villager, who was not named, said: "We wonder what will become of the rest. They all know how to shoot and have fought for the movement but we hear they are being sent away without receiving anything. We don't know how all of this will end."

Australian Troops Kill Taliban Commander / Australian Military Says Senior Taliban Commander Killed

Australian Troops Kill Taliban Commander / Australian Military Says Senior Taliban Commander Killed (NSI News Source Info) January 12, 2009: Australian Special Forces have killed a senior Taliban insurgent in southern Afghanistan, the military said Sunday. The Australian Defence Force said Mullah Abdul Rasheed was involved in bringing foreign fighters, improvised explosive device (IED) experts and potential suicide bombers into the restive area. "Rasheed was a senior commander in the Baluchi Valley and was believed to be responsible for Taliban operations in the area resulting in the deaths of Coalition Force members and Afghan civilians in recent months," it said in a statement. "He had been identified as a primary IED facilitator, responsible for coordinating IED emplacement in Uruzgan province." The Australian military said its special forces troops ordered the attack following the receipt of all necessary approvals from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operating in Afghanistan. In a statement, the ISAF said that Rasheed was killed on January 7. On a visit to Australia's 1,000 troops in Afghanistan Saturday, defence force head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said special forces had killed a long-hunted Taliban leader but did not name the commander. "They went into an area (where) this guy was the leader. They got him," he told Australian Associated Press. Rasheed is believed to be the organiser of the rocket attack that struck a remote patrol base in the Baluchi Valley just over a week ago, killing Australian Private Gregory Sher. The soldier, whose funeral was held in Melbourne on Sunday, was the eighth Australian serviceman to die in Afghanistan.