Added to the ADF footprint are the 1,150 US Marines currently based in Darwin in the dry season, a number which is also set to increase, along with a greater US Air Force presence, as recent the bilateral agreement between the Australian and US governments comes into effect.
Yet there are challenges associated with an increase in numbers of personnel and equipment in Australia’s north, not least with current infrastructure limitations.
The climate too is not kind to complex equipment, particularly during the wet season, where humidity is a real issue and rains can make roads impassable for extended periods of time in the remote training areas.
ADF footprint Of the three services, Army has by far the largest footprint in the Top End, thanks largely to the 1st Brigade and 1st Aviation Regiment, based at Robertson Barracks on the outskirts of Darwin.
NORFORCE is also based in Darwin and, according to Defence figures there is a total of almost 3,800 Army personnel permanently stationed in the Northern Territory. Seventy per cent of Army’s Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks are with the 1st Armoured Regiment at Robertson Barracks along with 77 percent of the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH).
Army’s Plan Beersheba may alter these numbers as it restructures into three multi-role combat brigades (MCBS), which will share a relatively common structure containing most elements of the combined arms team, with the probable exception of the main battle tanks.
These will be supported by two reserve brigades and other ‘enabling’ brigades such as 16 Aviation Brigade, 17 Combat Support Brigade an 6 Command Support and Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (CS&ISTAR) Brigade. Aside from the Tigers which are based in Darwin anyway, elements of these units will be regular visitors to northern Australia as 1 Brigade cycles through its ‘readying, ready and reset’ cycle.
In terms of numbers of personnel, Air Force has the next largest presence with almost 1,100 people split between RAAF Darwin and Tindal, near Katherine.
Tindal is home to the F/A-18A/B Hornets of 75 Squadron, the RAAF’s forward-deployed fighter squadron, and is therefore home to one fifth of the RAAF’s air combat capability.
Although Darwin does not have any permanently-based aircraft it is home to support personnel and the RAAF’s forward-deployed radar unit, 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit (MCRU).
Both Darwin and Tindal are regularly used for exercises, notably the biennial ‘Pitch Black’ air defence exercise, which this year saw over 80 aircraft and personnel from seven countries based in the NT for a three-week period.
The NT is of course also home to the Delamere air weapons range and the Bradshaw Field Training area, which are used extensively during Pitch Black, Arnhem Thunder and other air defence exercises. They are also used regularly by US forces and the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
Navy has almost 700 personnel in the Top End, most of which are associated with Armidale Patrol Boat (APB) operations from HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin. See P26 for more on the Navy presence in the NT.
Darwin is the major base for the Armidales, with 70 per cent of the fleet based at HMAS Coonawarra and engaged on border protection duties, which has seen a high operational tempo over recent years. The Darwin patrol boats are augmented on a regular basis by Cairns-based vessels, which use HMAS Coonawarra as a staging base to and from their patrol areas.
The waters of the NT are also used for major naval exercises, the most recent of which was Exercise Kakadu in early September. Eight ships and 26 aircraft from five countries took part in the event, which is Australia’s largest maritime exercise.
US presence During a visit to Australia in 2011, US President Barack Obama used an address to Parliament to announce that, as part of the US ‘Pivot to Asia’ posture and upgrade of its security partnership with Australia, that an eventual 2,500 Marines would be deployed to Darwin, the first time since the Second World War that US ground forces would be stationed in Australia in large numbers.
The agreement also increases the number of US Air Force aircraft deployed to the NT for exercises.
Beginning with an initial rotation of 200 personnel in April 2012 which demonstrated the feasibility of the deployment and following rotation, beginning in April 2013. Numbers were increased to 250 for this second rotation, which demonstrated the feasibility of live fire exercises at Bradshaw. During this rotation the Darwin-based Marines were joined for Exercise Koolendong (see P30 for more on this exercise) by the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the amphibious warfare ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which saw the Bell-Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft operating in Australia for the first time ever.
Last year the decision was taken to increase the rotation to 1,150 personnel, to be accommodated at both Robertson Barracks and RAAF Darwin was further bolstered in April by the arrival of five Sikorsky CH-53E Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopters.
The rapid increase in the Marines’ footprint required the rapid construction of extra prefabricated facilities at both Darwin and Robertson Barracks, undertaken a short notice by NT-based Sitzler, in partnership with GHD.
Because of the short notice, the facilities had to be built during the wet season and construction took place between October 2013 and February this year.
USMC presence is planned to grow to a full Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) over the next couple of years, complete with fixed-wing air support and armour.
The Marine rotations take place over the dry season and with once a ‘critical mass’ is achieved it may lead to the permanent location of vehicles and equipment in Darwin for use by each rotation in turn.
During US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s visit to Australia in August, he and Defence Minister David Johnston signed a Force Posture Agreement to further increase US presence in the North.
“Pursuant to the Force Posture Agreement, approximately 2,500 US Defence Force personnel will come to primarily the Northern Territory, to exercise on the vast open Commonwealth Exercise Grounds, military exercise grounds that we have in the Northern Territory,” Minister Johnston said. “They’ll inter-operate with Australia; they’ll do things that they want to do, go through exercise activities that are important to them. We’ll assist them, we’ll provide, obviously hospitality. Can I tell you, the Darwin Chamber of Commerce is elated with 2,500 hungry Marines in their city.”
Challenges Whether the forthcoming Force Structure Review will see any significant change to the number of units or personnel based in the NT remains to be seen, but there are some significant challenges to accommodate even the extra Marines due to rotate through Darwin in the near future.
The major problem is available infrastructure, which is barely adequate to cope with exercises such as Pitch Black, where the influx aircraft and personnel take up all available parking space at Darwin and Tindal and on-base accommodation, even the infamous ‘Tin City’ at Darwin, is also fully subscribed.
There are concerns of urban encroachment on military bases in the north, particularly in Darwin, and this will restrict future expansion.
Anyone who has tried to book a hotel room or hire a car in Darwin in the dry season can attest to how expensive it can be to stay even for short durations and many local companies engaged in Defence work find it difficult to retain skilled staff.
The climate also hinders operations during the wet season, making Delamere and Bradshaw difficult if not impossible to fully utilise for several months each year. Like other Defence bases across the country there is also the pressure of an ageing estate, which will need repair and/or replacement funding to remain both effective and safe.
Having said that, NT government officials unveiled several proposals at the 2013 ADM Northern Australia Defence Summit in Darwin last October, aimed at attracting investment for major Defence infrastructure projects.
Included in the proposals was a second deepwater port East of Darwin to accommodate Navy’s two LHDs, complete with vehicle loading ramps and a Defence/industry hub.
Major infrastructure works are already planned, in order to accommodate some of the new equipment that is being acquired over the next few years. Darwin and Tindal for example, will be upgraded to support Air Force Joint Strike Fighters and the wharf at HMAS Coonawarra will need to be extended to accommodate the Armidale replacement patrol boat, which is likely to be larger than the existing vessel.
Some of this, including funding for the upgrade of Tindal for JSF operations has already been approved and the White Paper and DCP will provide further answers to the questions.
Regardless of whether the numbers of ships, tanks, trucks, aircraft or people increase or not, Northern Australia will be the main focus of force posture for many years to come and a significant proportion of the Defence budget will continue to be invested in the NT.
