Soldiers and officers of the Timor Leste Aviation Group 17 have returned home to Australia after a successful six-month deployment with the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in East Timor.
The Timor-Leste Aviation Group (TLAG) operates Australian Army Black Hawk helicopters in support of the ISF mission in East Timor, transporting troops, as well as assisting security and humanitarian activities.
Officer Commanding TLAG-17 Major John Walker said the group’s time in East Timor had been extremely rewarding and the team shared a real sense of achievement.
“The 48 men and women of TLAG-17 worked particularly well as a focused and professional team.
“I’m very proud of them and their efforts in contributing to the future of East Timor. They can all go home very proud of the part they have played,” Major Walker said.
The TLAG-17 personnel deployed to East Timor in February 2012 and were drawn predominantly from the 5th Aviation Regiment (Townsville, Queensland) along with 6th Aviation Regiment (Holsworthy, NSW), 1st Aviation Regiment (Darwin, NT), Army Aviation Training Centre, 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, and 9th Force Support Battalion (Amberley, Queensland).
The departing personnel have been replaced by personnel comprising TLAG-18, again drawn primarily from 5th Aviation Regiment.
The ISF is serving at the invitation of the Government of Timor-Leste to support local security forces to maintain a secure and stable environment.
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