Page 18 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

18 LAND FORCES 2021
JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
WESTERN AUSTRALIA WANTS MORE FROM ARMY
Speaking amid the panoply of Land Forces hardware, Paul Papalia, West Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry (and a 26-year RAN diver veteran), deplored the minimal Army presence in the state; something he had recently raised with Army Chief Lieutenant-General Rick Burr.
JULIAN KERR | BRISBANE
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SAS and they used to exercise up there quite regularly. “Now that there’s a refocus on the defence of Australia, Army must address operating in Western Australia. Units don’t necessarily have to be based there but they have to operate there, there are no train lines you can throw ar- moured vehicles on or use for logistics support, it’s all got
to be either trucked or shipped or flown in.
ABOVE: A Pilbara Regiment G-Wagon Special Reconnaissance Variant on patrol in the Little Sandy Desert.
WE EXPECT a capability of some description, you expect a com-
mitment by the ADF to operate in and become familiar with and be capable of defending the most valuable bit of real estate in the country but apart from SAS basing, Army’s presence is limited to the Pilbara Regiment,” he commented to ADM.
“They’re a reserve unit, they’re very capable but like all the regional force surveillance units they’re not at full strength and they’re under-gunned in terms of having much more than reconnaissance capability.
“There’s only one unit in Australia that is familiar with the Pilbara and that’s the Pilbara Regiment, not even the
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