The Sound of Iroquois Returns to Timor Leste

Background to the Return of the Iroquois

Expeditionary Support Squadron (ESS) personnel ‘hot fuel’ (engines running) an Iroquois. WN-07-0036-70-tn.jpg.

In May 2006, violence erupted in the streets of Dili. The news broadcast vivid pictures of Dili burning and the streets full of people running riot. The Timorese government asked a number of nations to send troops to assist in the restoration of peace and security. New Zealand responded quickly with the NZ Army deploying and, working with their Australian counterparts, quickly brought some level of security to the town.

On 19 March 2007, the Government announced the decision to deploy two No. 3 Squadron helicopters and 32 personnel. The Prime Minister stated ‘this increase in New Zealand’s commitment...comes ahead of what is expected to be a particularly volatile period in the lead up to, and following, elections in April.’

On 25 April, ANZAC Day, the sound of the Iroquois once again returned to Dili. The first rotation’s No.3 Squadron Operations Flight Commander SQNLDR Tim Evans sums up No.3 Squadron’s activities in Timor Leste over the three months he was there.

On the morning of 23 April a C-130 departed Ohakea. Its ultimate destination was Dili, Timor Leste. Onboard was an Iroquois and eighteen No. 3 Squadron and support staff. Two days later on ANZAC Day, the Iroquois was flying over Dili as part of the ANZAC Aviation Task Group, later renamed the Timor Leste Aviation Group (TLAG).

Deployment

The announcement that we were going set numerous units around the NZDF into full scale planning mode. The initial guidance was to deploy as soon as possible. No. 3 Squadron itself was in a position to deploy within about 2-3 weeks, however, we were granted a few extra weeks to prepare simply because the forces already in theatre weren’t well placed to accommodate us in such a short time frame.

The deployment consisted of 32 personnel from the following areas: 10 aircrew, (including an Air Liaison Officer); 15 maintenance personnel, (including a Machinist, Safety and Surface, a Supplier and an Armourer); two Communications personnel; an Adjutant; an Operations Officer and three refuel personnel.

The plan involved the first aircraft deploying on Monday 23 April, with the second aircraft, and remaining personnel, arriving three days later. One other C-130 load was also required to deliver freight.

No.3 Squadron’s maintenance hangar after some improvements are added. WN-07-0036-72-tn.jpg.

Fortunately, we were deploying into an established camp, thus there was no requirement to supply the accommodation and additional support required if we were to be self-sufficient. Had this been the case, the deployment size would nearly have doubled.

Camp

No. 3 Squadron is based at the HPOD in the centre of Dili. This is an Australian camp that has an aviation detachment of four Blackhawk and three Kiowa aircraft, an infantry company and a logistics company - all up about 300 people. In addition, there is a full surgical, medical and dentistry hospital. So in we came - the camp commander pointed to an empty hangar, and a new accommodation building, and said ‘all yours’.

This was a bit of a new concept – a big hangar and air-conditioned containers, and not a ration pack in sight. Awesome. As for the meals, the Australians were moaning about the quality, but we thought they were fantastic. The only problem was that we were; 1) Kiwi, 2) Air Force, and 3) surrounded by 300 Australian Army soldiers. As predicted our approach to life was somewhat different, but soon they just shrugged our behaviour off with mutterings of @#&$ Kiwis. The camp commander was heard to tell his people a number of times to go and join us if they didn’t like their way of doing business. Most of this was, of course, just ANZAC banter and overall we fitted in very well with the Australians.

Taskings

So what are we doing there? Essentially our task group works under the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) providing helicopter support to the NZ and Australian military personnel. The highest priority job is providing 24/7 Aero-medical evacuation coverage to ensure that injured or sick personnel in outlying areas are able to be transferred to the hospital quickly. During rotation one, we conducted six of these missions, some very serious, and all of them at night.

Local children crowd an Iroquois. WN-07-0036-73-tn.jpg.

Another interesting tasking involved the use of our Nitesun (30 million candle-power spotlight) to provide illumination of towns and villages during ground operations. The rest was standard utility type operations such as re-supplies, and troop movements. We were also there during a number of elections, and provided a lot of support to this process by delivering election material and officials to hard-to-reach areas. Although we were generally flying to similar places, it was made more interesting by the ‘hot and high’ conditions which have a marked effect on the Iroquois performance.

Maintenance

The maintenance workload remained relatively steady over the three months with only minor rectifications and scheduled servicings to deal with. There were of course a couple of exceptions to this rule, which included an engine change on one aircraft.

The other major event for the maintenance team was the requirement to carry out an in-field phase servicing. With some careful preparation, long hours and few distractions, this servicing was completed in nine days instead of the typical four weeks it takes back in New Zealand; an achievement that was a testament to the dedication of all those involved.

Observations

A number of things were highlighted on an operation like this, especially working alongside a different Service and a difference country. While our aircraft are not the newest, our Kiwi ingenuity and excellent training raises the overall capability such that our operational effectiveness far exceeds the expectation of most observers. Our small size, the ’can-do’ attitude, provide a great deal of flexibility that allowed us to satisfy the customer’s requirements, often making us the Squadron of choice. Finally, the initiative and hard work shown by our personnel was second to none, and this produced remarkable results – one merely has to look at the improvements made in the work space to see testimony to that.

So that’s the low-down on our Timor Leste activities. Everything continues to run smoothly over there, with the 3rd rotation getting ready to rotate into theatre towards the end of October. The Squadron is expecting to continue its part in providing a secure environment in which the Timorese people can rebuild and get on with life, until at least May 2008.