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| © Commonwealth of Australia, image by Department of Defence |
Five Australian soldiers were Wounded in Action as a result of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts during two separate incidents in Uruzgan Province on 23 and 25 September 2011.
On Friday 23 September, three soldiers from Mentoring Task Force – Three (MTF-3) were wounded when their Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV) struck an IED during a partnered Mentoring Task Force – Three (MTF-3) and Afghan National Army (ANA) resupply mission in the Karmisan Valley.
Director of Health, Headquarters Joint Operations Command, Group Captain Karen Leshinskas said the three wounded soldiers received immediate first aid and were evacuated by helicopter to the Role 2 Medical Facility in Tarin Kot.
“The soldiers were assessed as being in a satisfactory condition and have since returned to restricted duties,” Group Captain Leshinskas said.
On Sunday 25 September, two soldiers were wounded as a result of an IED blast while conducting a partnered MTF-3 and ANA foot patrol in the Mirabad Valley.
Group Captain Leshinskas said the two soldiers received immediate first aid at the scene and were transported to the Medical Facility in Tarin Kot.
“One soldier has been subsequently transferred to the Role 3 Medical Facility at Kandahar for further assessment and the second soldier has been discharged from the Medical Facility at Tarin Kot,” Group Captain Leshinskas said.
“Both soldiers have been medically assessed as being in a satisfactory condition.”
The soldiers have notified their next of kin. Defence’s immediate priority is to provide medical care to the wounded soldiers and support to their families, and no further information will be made available at this time.
The announcement of these casualties was delayed until the respective operations were concluded. Defence will not release further details for security reasons.
Thirty-four Australians have been Wounded in Action in Afghanistan this year and 199 soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan since 2001.
Any Australian Defence Force member who is serving in war-like conditions and is hurt as a consequence of action against the enemy is classified as having been ‘wounded’. An ADF member hurt in an incident that has not been the result of enemy action in war-like conditions is classified as having been ‘injured’.