AASAM — the Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting — marked its 29th year by filling its ranges to capacity in a challenging competition that spanned almost three weeks.

Words Captain Felicity Hamblin, and Sergeants Brian Hartigan and Damian Griffin
Pics Sergeants Brian Hartigan and John Waddell

Exercise Chong Ju is an annual live-fire exercise designed to give the Army’s next generation of combat leaders a taste of the combined affect of air and land assets ranging from Abrams tanks to F/A-18s on the battlefield. The scenario involved an attack on an enemy position with friendly forces breaching natural and man-made obstacles to move through to clear the objective, followed by a withdrawal and reorg in anticipation of an enemy counter-attack.

Words and pics Sergeant Brian Hartigan

Australia, Japan and the US conducted the first ever ground exercise involving the three nations – Exercise Southern Jackaroo – in Australia from 18 to 26 May 2013. The exercise was seen as an important step forward in trilateral defence cooperation.
Exercise Southern Jackaroo saw Australian Army, Japan Ground Self Defense Force and US Army personnel participate in skills-based live-fi re training and adventurous training, at Puckapunyal and in Melbourne.

Words and pics Sergeant Brian Hartigan

The Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade recently completed a Combined Arms Training Activity (CATA) at the Townsville Field Training Area, with the aim to enhance its ability to prosecute foundation warfighting – that is, to operate, fight and win as a potent and versatile combined-arms formation executing joint land combat against a near-peer threat. CATA was the first time Army’s future Multi-role Combat Brigade (MCB) deployed, operated and fought against a near-peer threat in a high-intensity-conflict scenario. Furthermore, CATA witnessed the first time that the Armoured Cavalry Regiment (ACR) component of Army’s Plan Beersheba/MCB force modernisation program was exercised.

Words Captain David Cowan
Pics Leading Aircraftman Oliver Carter

Words NZDF
Pics Lance Corporal Alexander Quiles, USMC, and Major Aidan Shattock, NZDF

Words and pics Brian Hartigan

Words Captain Scott Klima

WEAPONS OF THE ADF:

Part 6 - Fighting Aircraft

Pics ADF

RIP

Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird MG was killed in action on 22 June 2013 while operating as a member of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. The SOTG and the Afghan Provincial Response Company were conducting a partnered operation to disrupt an insurgent network operating in the Khod Valley, which was known to have direct influences on insurgent activity in Uruzgan province.

Plus our regular columns;

• The Big Picture - ARH Tiger
  
• Heads up - latest snippets from Australia, New Zealand and around the World
• Military Fitness by Don Stevenson
• Just Soldiers by WO1 Darryl Kelly
• Frontline Africa by Damien Mander
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• Q Store
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