Force Support Element Rotation Three Heads Home

More than one hundred soldiers in the Force Support Element (FSE) rotation three have returned to Australia following a successful seven month deployment in the Middle East.

Comprising of members from 23 Army units across Australia, FSE 3 provided theatre logistics and the reception, staging and on-forward movement of Australian Defence Force personnel in the region.

Their efforts included combat service support across eight locations in five countries including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officer Commanding FSE 3, Major (Maj) Ash Crosby, said the men and women of FSE 3 have reason to be proud of their achievements.

"Rotation three members have trained and equipped more 2100 ADF personnel to go forward and perform a variety of operations across the Middle East," he said.

"In addition, they provided superior remediation and redeployment effects to dependent units in the Middle East."

"Our standout achievement was the retrograde and closure of Camp Baker at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan after nearly ten years of operation."

The camp closed on October 22, 2015, following the completion of the Australian-led 205th Corps Advisory Team (205 CAT) mission.

Eight Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, two Mac trucks, one 20-tonne trailer, 68 aircraft pallets and 135 personnel were flown out of Kandahar Airfield as part of the retrograde.

FSE 3 personnel also moved more than 1200 tonnes of cargo and dispatched 5200 bags of mail.

During the Transfer of Authority parade, Maj Crosby thanked his FSE 3 members and their families for their contribution to operations.

"Your support has enabled the execution of Australian and Coalition tasks which are playing an important role in the Middle East," he said.

Officer Commanding FSE 4, Maj Christine Pope paid her respects as well.

"FSE 3 maintained a very high tempo and provided excellent combat service support to the task groups across the Middle East," she said.

"We are hoping to sustain and improve on what they’ve been able to deliver."

FSE is a supporting element within the Joint Task Force 633, providing the sustainment functions for Australian Defence Force's operations in the Middle East including Operations Okra (Iraq), Highroad (Afghanistan) and Manitou in the maritime domain.