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| © Commonwealth of Australia, image by Department of Defence |
Combat Support Unit rotation Five (CSU 5) returned to Australia this week (28 September) following a successful six-month deployment to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) as part of Operation SLIPPER.
CSU 5 was responsible for providing medical, transport, security and accommodation support to more than 2500 Australian and ISAF personnel, who operate at the Al Minhad Air Base (AMAB) in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Multi National Base – Tarin Kot and Kandahar in Afghanistan.
The unit’s Commanding Officer Wing Commander John Leo said CSU 5 successfully provided passenger and air-cargo-loading services, force protection for visiting dignitaries and medical services for all Australian and ISAF agencies at AMAB.
“The unit was extremely effective in managing a large array of medical issues including the emergency treatment of patients requiring aero-medical evacuations,” Wing Commander Leo said.
The 118 personnel who made up CSU 5 came from all Australian states and territories and were recruited from 41 separate Navy, Army and Air Force units.
Wing Commander Leo said, despite working in temperatures which regularly exceeded 45 degrees centigrade, the commitment by the CSU 5 Air Load Team ensured that no missions were delayed or cancelled because of air movement technical deficiencies.
“Australian Defence Force operations in the MEAO are very high tempo, which is demonstrated by the fact that CSU 5 loaded more than 15,000 passengers and almost six million pounds of cargo during their rotation across three airfields of operation,” Wing Commander Leo said.
CSU 5 was also responsible for accommodation and meals for over 9000 personnel who transited through AMAB over the six-month period.
“I am very proud of the CSU 5 team. They performed extremely well under difficult circumstances and I am pleased we were able to provide a range of services that Defence Force members from both Australia and Afghanistan rely on to do their jobs effectively.”
Operation SLIPPER is Australia’s military contribution to the international campaign against terrorism, maritime security in the Middle East Area of Operations and countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden.