RAAF lift Vietnamese peacekeepers to South Sudan

Australian Defence Force continues to support the United Nation’s peacekeeping efforts in the South Sudan with a RAAF C-17A Globemaster deploying a Vietnamese military field hospital to the UN mission in South Sudan yesterday.

CAPTION: Personnel from the Vietnamese People’s Army take the opportunity to look at a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Photo by Corporal David Gibbs.

ADF has worked alongside regional partners, most recently Vietnam, to contribute to the mission.

The Globemaster departed Ho Chi Minh City for Juba, South Sudan, on 2 October.

This support is being provided as part of Australia’s ongoing Defence Cooperation Program with Vietnam, which has supported Vietnam’s peacekeeping capability since 2011.

Deputy Chief of Joint Operations Major General Greg Bilton, who attended a farewell ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, said the deployment was an important part of the Defence Cooperation Program between the two nations.

“By providing this strategic air-lift capability to the Vietnamese People’s Army, the ADF is not just supporting the UN Mission, but also enhancing military-to-military interoperability within the region,” Major General Bilton said.

“Alongside the C-17, the ADF is also providing Vietnam with specialist peacekeeping and English-language-skills training.”

An ADF contingent of around 25 personnel are currently deployed to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), known as Operation Aslan.

The personnel include a number of UNMISS headquarters staff officers, aviation and logistics support and a military liaison officer.

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