Commanding a Joint Deployment
WGCDR Kelly Byrne is currently deployed to Timor Leste as Commanding Officer of the National Command Element. In the following article he outlines some of the experiences he has had so far during this deployment.
WGCDR Kelly Byrne welcomes Bishop Ricardo da Silva.
I retired from the RNZAF in 1993 after 25 years service, and a couple of very enjoyable overseas tours of duty, but without having had the opportunity of participating in a tri-Service operational deployment. I re-enlisted in the RNZAF again in late 2005 and an opportunity arose earlier this year to deploy to Timor Leste as Commanding Officer(CO) National Command Element (NCE) – a position somewhat different from my preceding position as OC Ops at Woodbourne. As CO NCE I have administrative command over all personnel of the NZDF deployed on Operation KORU. This does not include operational control of D Company 2/1 RNZIR and Task Group MANU.
Many of you will have been deployed to Timor Leste before and it will come as no surprise to you that Operation KORU is a very Army-centric deployment. I still need my fill of aeroplane talk on a regular basis though and get this fix by heading off to the No.3 Squadron Detachment (Task Group MANU); although for some reason they seem to want to talk mainly about helicopters. Task Group MANU is doing the RNZAF proud in Timor Leste. The whole team has bonded together well and the Aussies continually pass on their admiration for the professional and can-do attitude being shown by all members of the unit. The unit and their capability will be sorely missed when Task Group MANU returns to New Zealand later this month.
These ‘blue’ interludes aside I am mainly dealing with New Zealand Army personnel. This is probably less of a shock for me than it would be for other RNZAF COs since I started out as an Army officer before converting to the RNZAF back in 1975!
I have taken up the opportunity to get out with the very professional D Company 2/1 RNZIR as they carry out their regular training programmes and their operational patrolling.
My first experience with them was to team up with a rifle section on a late Saturday night patrol around the less salubrious parts of Dili – it was a great insight into effective Junior Non Commissioned Officer command to see the confidence and skill shown by the Section Commander as he deployed and controlled his troops in the relatively benign environment while keeping the team continually alert to the possibility of that ‘one ugly moment’. It was hard not to be impressed at this display.
My more recent experience with D Company was attending and participating in a grenade throwing practice at Metinaro. I’d last thrown a grenade in 1970 and the grenade drills (and grenade) seem to have changed somewhat since then. I’m happy to report that the CQMS did a fine job of re-qualifying me at Kiwi Lines with his well laid out training package and 30 minutes of throwing rocks at a 200 litre drum alongside his office! Throwing two grenades the next day beat the hell out of 30 minutes of rock throwing!
The opportunity to see all three Services working together on operations has been a rewarding experience. I suspect that many of us in the NZDF tend to become rather focussed on our own units and Services in NZ, but having the opportunity to command and contribute to a tri-Service operational deployment is an opportunity I have thoroughly enjoyed and is one that I would recommend to anyone in the RNZAF.