16 August 2022
One Year since ADF Deployment to Kabul
As we remember the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, today we mark a year since the deployment of a brave contingent of Australian Defence Force personnel for the evacuation operation.
This was no ordinary deployment. In the face of extreme danger, brave soldiers from Townsville’s 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, along with other attachments, put themselves in harm’s way to rescue others.
Despite the images of chaos being beamed around the world – pictures of men, women and children clinging to aircraft trying to escape the Taliban, and the ever-present threat of terrorist attack – our men and women answered the call to service without question.
The selfless actions of those who deployed enabled the rescue of 4100 people – Australian citizens and refugees – from a life of oppression at the hands of an illegitimate government. While the Afghan people may have lost their city and country, our ADF ensured that they did not lose their lives.
The scale of the difficulty of the operation cannot be overstated. This was a scenario for which there was no playbook and very little lead time.
The risk of injury or death was very real, brought into sharp focus by the tragic loss of 13 U.S. service personnel killed in an explosives attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport. I honour their sacrifice today.
So to every single ADF member who deployed: you should be extremely proud of your efforts in those challenging weeks. You put your nation, and the lives of those who you were tasked to rescue, ahead of your own. It’s why you are so deserving of the Operational Service Medal bestowed upon you earlier this year.
I acknowledge it’s not always easy to look back and reflect. Some of the memories may be ones you’d rather forget. But it’s OK not to be OK – just make sure you surround yourself with the support you need.
To know our ADF is made up of men and women who serve us with such distinction is something we should all be very thankful for.
On behalf of a grateful city and nation, thank you.
ENDS