When Australian Defence Force personnel flew to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to help with the elections it called for some critical thinking.
Teams arrived in the country in early June to find that providing support would bring challenges, such as locating and securing fuel for the helicopters around the Central, Northern and Milne Bay provinces.
PNG logistic chain manager, Major Ed Bennett, said logistics support was vital to all operations and for aviation, that footprint could become quite large and complex. Keeping the supply footprint small while still providing everything required for up to four fixed wing aircraft, four Black Hawks, three New Zealand Iroquois helicopters and 200 personnel was a daunting task.
“We needed to tap into the host nation’s contracting support but that certainly didn’t come without significant challenges in terms of accommodation, rations, fuel, transport and security,” Major Bennett said.
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| Australian Army BlackHawk |
The helicopters flew in their own fuel to the more remote locations, but contractors coordinated deliveries in areas closer to Port Moresby where road access could be used. When the local contractor option was not available or not possible, airlifts via Hercules or road convoys were the only solution.
Major Bennett said a Refuelling Point Aviation Team was deployed into the village of Tapini in the first operational deployment of its type since East Timor in 1999.
“Every problem was confronted, assessed, and a solution found,” he said.
“I can say the operation in terms of logistics has been largely successful due to flexibility locally.”
The PNG elections were held from June 23 to July 6 with support from the ADF and New Zealand Defence Force.