Tag Archive for 'ADF'

Terrorist Group Arrested In Australia Planned to Attack ADF Military Base

Published on August 4, 2009 in Australia in the News. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Australian authorities sure have been good over the past few years in breaking up these terror plots.  Personally I am surprised that one of these Al Qaeda off shoots hasn’t been able to launch an attack in Australia yet:

Four suspects accused of planning to carry out a terrorist attack on a military base in Australia were arrested in early morning busts across Melbourne on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police executed 19 search warrants in nine Melbourne neighborhoods as part of the investigation into the group, which is suspected of having ties to Al-Shabaab, a Somali insurgent group with ties to al Qaeda, authorities said.

The suspects planned to storm the Australian base with automatic weapons and carry out a “sustained attack on military personnel until they themselves were killed,” said Tony Negus, deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

Details about the suspects began to emerge Tuesday afternoon, with police confirming that a 25-year-old man from Glenroy was charged with conspiring to plan a terrorist act. He was expected to appear in court later in the day, authorities said.

A fifth man, a 33-year-old already in custody on other matters, was being interviewed, police said.

Some 400 officers took part in the pre-dawn raids, foiling the alleged terror plot, police said. Investigators have been looking into the group for more than six months, officials said.  [CNN]

Kudos to the Australian authorities for a job well done.

Australian Soldiers More Likely to Be Killed By Stupidity at Home Than By the Taliban

Published on May 27, 2009 in Australia in the News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

This is sad but true:

OUR finest soldiers are deployed to the heat of battle in warzones worldwide.

But it is in the heat of a drinking session that they are more likely to become a casualty.

Top
brass are so alarmed by figures showing how many troops are injured and
killed in accidents well away from the front line that they have warned
soldiers against “irresponsible stupidity”, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“The
concept of work hard, play hard must not be confused with irresponsible
stupidity which can creep into non-operational and off-duty
activities,” Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, told Army News.

Since 2006 more than eight times the number of Australian soldiers have died accidentally or from natural causes than in war.

The
injury rate for troops, on and off duty, is more than 40 times greater
at home than it is at the front. A total of 2612 have been badly hurt
by accidents or illness compared with about 70 wounded in Afghanistan
since April 1, 2006.  [The Daily Telegraph]

ADF Advocates for Military Expansion

Published on April 18, 2009 in Australia in the News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Australian Defence Force officials are now advocating for a military expansion:

AUSTRALIA needs an army of 12 battalions, up to 200 advanced combat aircraft and 18 submarines to prepare for future strategic challenges including the rise of China, a new study warns.

Professor Hugh White, visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, said this would be expensive but not unaffordable, requiring around 2.5 per cent of GDP, up from the current two per cent.

Professor White, principal author of the 2000 Defence White Paper, said most people understood that China’s rise was transforming Asia, but few acknowledged the obvious consequences for Australia’s security.

He said that in the upcoming 2009 White Paper, set to be released before the end of the month, the Government could choose to hedge its bets and defer key announcements.

But he said in a paper released yesterday that the least the government should do was commit to building a defence force able to achieve strategic objectives set out in the 2000 White Paper.

Prof White said there was a big gap between present forces and the tasks they were supposed to be able to perform and that gap would only grow.

“Even with eight battalions, Australia would today be hard-pressed to deploy more than about 3000 troops to a major crisis in our region for a short deployment of up to a few months,” he said.

He suggested a minimum of 12 battalions, each with around 800 troops.

Professor White said the navy needed to be structured to deny Australia’s sea approaches to an enemy, requiring a force with fewer surface ships and more submarines.

Australia now has six highly capable Collins class boats which reach end of life around 2025.

“In my view, Australia should soon start steadily to expand the submarine force to 12 boats, and eventually to 18,” he said.

Professor White said the RAAF traditionally enjoyed a significant margin of superiority over regional air forces, with current plans to maintain that superiority through buying 100 advanced Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

He said improving regional capabilities meant the arbitrary figure of 100 was almost certainly too low and the government needed to consider buying up to 200.

Professor White said China was set to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy, ending the era of uncontested US primacy.

The US had various options ranging from acquiescence to meeting the challenge head-on. To meet the challenge, the most obvious approach would be to build a regional coalition, including Australia, to balance China’s power.

But in any conflict, he said, Australia would face the uncomfortable choice of siding with the US, with our future utterly dependent on the outcome, or standing aloof in the certain knowledge that we would then be on our own in an uncertain region thereafter.  [AAP]

What is interesting is how much less Australia pays for defense compared to the United States.  According to the article Australia is currently spending 2% of GDP on defense where America spends currently 4.2% of GDP.  What I wonder is if the ADF does get a extra money for their expansion who are they going to recruit to fill the ranks with the current recruiting crisis they are currently going through.  If you can’t fill the force you have now, how are going to fill an expanded force in the future?

Bikie Gangs Threaten to Steal ADF Weapons

Published on April 7, 2009 in Australia in the News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I have to wonder how real this threat really was?:

MILITARY facilities are in lockdown across southwest Sydney over fears bikie gangs may try to break in to weapons armouries.

The security alert at Holsworthy army base has been elevated to “safe base charlie” since Friday – at around the same time bikie laws were being brought in to effect – The Daily Telegraph has learned.

Security at all other Defence Force sites around Liverpool, including the Moorebank weapons storage facility, has also been raised.

A Defence Department spokesman last night confirmed security at all Defence sites in southwest Sydney that held weapons – likely to include machineguns, mortars and rocket launchers – had been raised because of the “bikie threat”.  [The Daily Telegraph]

For those that don’t know the bikie gangs here in Australia are pretty prolific and one of the biggest crime syndicates in the country.  The Australian police have been increasingly cracking down on the bikies which not everyone was happy about.

Joel Fitzgibbon Linked to Chinese Operative Helen Liu

Published on March 27, 2009 in Australia in the News. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

This story just amazes me that the Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon would do something as irresponsible as this:

THE woman at the centre of national security issues involving Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon was under investigation for her links to the Chinese Government.

Intelligence officials had noted wealthy Chinese-born, Sydney-based businesswoman Helen Liu’s contact and activities with senior officials in the Chinese government, Fairfax reports.

The contacts were picked up in normal monitoring of Chinese activity in Australia, the reports say.

Defence Intelligence and other security officials say they are also concerned Mr Fitzgibbon’s decision to sublet a Canberra residence from Ms Liu might be a security risk.

A 2002 World Federation of Chinese Association’s report praised Ms Liu for keeping Chinese officials informed about political developments in Australia, saying she has “good relations with state leaders” and passed on to relevant authorities in China details about policies and activity directed towards China.

Ms Liu’s lawyer, Donald Junn, has declined to answer questions about Ms Liu’s alleged connections with the Chinese government or its intelligence agencies.

“They (Defence officials) would be the first to know that you have to have some firm indication, if not direct evidence, to make what is a most serious allegation,” he told Fairfax. [AAP]

Fitzgibbon even allowed her to pay for his trips to China and he failed to tell anyone about this:

DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has confirmed he took two trips to China paid for by Chinese-born businesswoman Helen Liu that he failed to declare to parliament.

Mr Fitzgibbon has been at the centre of a political storm involving his relationship with his department following claims department officers spied on his relationship with Ms Liu.

Earlier, questioned about the relationship, Mr Fitzgibbon said he had only exchanged small gifts with Ms Liu and her family.

A spokesman later said: “The minister has not accepted any gifts that would require a declaration on the members’ interest register.”

But later on, the minister’s office said in a statement that following an exhaustive review, Mr Fitzgibbon had identified two occasions of sponsored travel which have not previously been declared to the registrar of members’ interests.

“I have taken immediate steps to declare this sponsored travel to the clerk of registrar of members’ interests,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“These trips were paid for by Ms Helen Liu either personally or through her associated commercial interests.

“I failed to disclose those trips. This was a mistake and for that I apologise.”  [The Australian]

Even if she isn’t a Chinese spy this just looks entirely inappropriate and someone in his position should know better.  Really a shocking story and I would be amazed if Prime Minister Kevin Rudd decides to keep him in his current position.

Australian Military Three Times As Obese As US Military

Published on February 23, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , .

It looks like the claim that Australia is the world’s fattest nation is now beginning to carry over to the Australian Defence Force:

THE Australian military has revealed 7500 of its 53,000 troops are now classified as obese.

Official figures show one in seven members of the defence force is overweight – more than three times the ratio recorded last month by the US military.

The ADF has admitted obesity has become “an issue” for personnel and has commissioned its specialist research centre, based at the University of Queensland, to investigate possible causes.

The study will look at the impact of changes to recruiting standards in 2006, when fatter recruits were admitted to “broaden the selection pool”.  [The Sunday Telegraph]