Thunder Shakes the Ground

GUNNERS from 8/12 Regt RAA showed what they were made of during Exercise Thunder Run 2 at the Mt Bundy Training Area recently.
The unit deployed for a live fire exercise to train joint fires teams and gun troops up to danger-close practices.

Over two weeks the unit was put through the full range of conventional war fighting activities it could reasonably be expected to conduct in combat.

CO Lt-Col Julian West said one of the highlights of the exercise was firing danger close missions at night in support of dug-in infantry with 155mm HE rounds impacting 175m from his own troops.

“Two weeks isn’t a long time in the field, but under the leadership of hardworking junior NCOs, the regiment successfully conducted realistic and high-tempo joint fires coordination and execution by day and night,” he said.

Lt-Col West was also happy with the performance of the M777-A2 howitzer.

“The M777 is an excellent gun; it has a good rate of sustained fire providing consistent and accurate indirect fire support,” he said.
Detachment commander Bdr Adrian Broadhead said the unit had an active enemy probing and ambushing the gunners constantly.

“We had to pay attention, we had to make ourselves a hard target and know our drills and procedures,” he said.
Lt Nathan Small, 103 Bty command post officer, said the post-battle procedure immediately after an intense contact with the enemy was an eye opener.

“We trained a lot to conduct our correct processes during a quick attack, but dealing with casualties and handling back-loading and resupply, while still providing indirect fire support, was difficult at first,” he said.

“However, due to our robust training and operating procedures we quickly learnt to plan for this, execute and move on.”

Bdr Chris Saetta said the live fire and movement ended with danger close missions in support of 5RAR’s final activity, a clearance of an enemy main defensive position.

“We brought the rounds into 175m from 5RAR’s forming up point,” he said.

“The infantry boys weathered it really well – it created a lot of energy for the attack.”

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103 BATTERY ACTIVITIES

INTRODUCTION

The past 12 months have been an exciting time for 8/12 Regt with a new delivery platform in the M777A2 Howitzers, a new computation system in the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) and some solid gunnery training being carried out within barracks. 103 Bty has deployed on three field exercises, with two more planned for the remainder of the year. These have proven to be successful and have set the Regiment up for success for future field phases. Operational tempo has been high with deployments to both Tarin Kot and Kabul in Afghanistan within two separate rotations, and has provided excellent experience to share within the remainder of 103 Bty. The Bty is also supporting the 5RAR Ready Battle Group (RBG) which is designed to react quickly to any situation which may arise throughout the world. This has implications requiring a high level of readiness and certain restrictions on members of the RBG, and will continue for the remainder of the year. The Bty has been fortunate to be able to conduct a lot of its own training outside of the Regt. This has allowed a week of adventure training in Katherine, training at historic artillery sites around Darwin, and a Bty fishing day. These have all assisted in building 103 Bty to be successful in both the barracks and field environments.

FIELD EXERCISES

In the past 12 months, 103 Bty has deployed to the field in various exercises. Following the multi-Brigade Exercise Hamel 2012, 8/12 deployed to Cultana in late 2012 and again in early 2013, followed by a Regimental exercise to Mt Bundey in Jul. With the introduction of AFATDS into service and the new M777A2 Howitzers with digital capability, technical SOPs have required a substantial update to integrate the new equipment capability. These SOPs have been a focus of the Regiment with new systems and procedures being tested and proven throughout all field exercises. These exercises began as smaller, technical shooting serials which began integrating a more detailed tactical scenario. These tested the Regiment with not only technical gunnery, but robustness of tactical SOPs for all situations. The last exercise at Mt Bundey culminated in a live fire defence of the gun position – integrating small arms fire with F88 Steyrs, F89 Minimis, MAG58s, 66mm and 84mm rockets, 40mm HE and the guns in a direct and indirect role. This proved to be an excellent experience and gave the Regiment an understanding of how to integrate all assets into a deliberate defence of the gunline. The last live fire defence was conducted at Bty level with a Regimental live fire defence being planned for later in the year.

OPERATIONS

CTU-4

Combined Team Uruzgan – 4 (CTU-4) was a rotation which contained members from 103 Bty. The team was situated at Multinational Base Tarin Kot in Uruzgan Province and was the parent unit for the ATF rotation. ATF consisted of 7RAR, the Provincial Reconstruction Team and SFAT. CTU-4 acted as the headquarters for all operations within Uruzgan Province with the main job of deconflicting all callsigns on the ground and in the air within the Province. This included assets such as PTDS, Heron, Shadow and all Fire Support to subordinate callsigns. CTU-4 contained a significant US element with one soldier receiving a bronze commendation and the Regt 2IC receiving a Bronze Star from the US Army Commander.

ATAT-2

In October 2012, nine 103 Bty members deployed to Afghanistan as part of a 20 man team for the Artillery Training Advisory Team-2 (ATAT-2) in Kabul. This was the final ATAT rotation, and saw the fruits of the previous four years of labour the previous four rotations had expended. The tour had its ups and downs, but saw an endstate of the Afghan National Army (ANA) School of Artillery reaching a fully autonomous state in which it could operate with no coalition assistance. Previously ATAT consisted of a multi-national contingent with members from the Australian, British, Canadian and Mongolian Armies. By the time the mission was complete it was a wholly Australian team. This was an excellent opportunity to be involved with work that affects the whole ANA. The work that was completed allowed the ANA to go from an Army with no central learning centre which relied on whichever nation was teaching their own doctrine to the ANA Brigades to having an Artillery school providing soldiers able to return to home units to fire in support of ANA led operations.

GUNNERY TRAINING

This year, 103 Bty has had the ability to conduct a wide range of organic gunnery training. Due to the high operational tempo, this is an aspect of barracks life that has been lacking for the past few years. 103 Bty has organised a multitude of training in barracks, and has grasped opportunities to integrate local training areas with historically significant areas around Darwin. A highlight of the training was the recently run exercise Sphinx Run, which culminated with a deployment to East Point Reserve – a WW2 site rich in Artillery history which still contains the multitude of gun emplacements utilised for coastal defence. The Darwin Military Museum was involved and grasped the opportunity to see the guns in action.

TEAM BUILDING

103 Bty has conducted an array of activities throughout the past 12 months. The most notable of these activities was the 103 Bty Fishing Competition held in various places around Darwin Harbour. It provided all members of the Bty an excellent opportunity to unwind following Exercise Sphinx Run yet still maintain a healthy sense of competitive spirit. In May of 2013, 103 Bty conducted a week of adventure training at RAAF Base Tindal near Katherine. The activities included a day of sports and small team games to build cohesion within the Bty, followed by a move to Katherine Gorge for bushwalking, a view of the waterfalls within the national park and a round of abseiling run by the 1 Bde PTIs.

CONCLUSION

103 Bty has had an extremely busy year. The Bty has conducted extensive training in the past 12 months and has displayed a high level of professionalism throughout. The Bty has a strong sense of identity and has demonstrated this through unity and cohesion during training, but also during the more social activities. The Bty has been able to grasp the long history of its predecessors to develop into a sub-unit that is proud to call itself the 103rd.

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