Defence Minister Stephen Smith has released a series of fact sheets concerned with Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan.
Australia’s military contribution includes around 1,550 Australian Defence Force personnel who are deployed within Afghanistan; 1,241 are deployed in Uruzgan Province and around 300 in Kabul, Kandahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan.
These numbers vary depending on operational requirements and shifting seasonal conditions.
830 personnel provide support from locations within the broader Middle East Area of Operations, including our maritime commitment.
Below is a breakdown of where and how Australians are serving in Afghanistan.
• Combined Team – Uruzgan (861)
Australia contributes 861 ADF personnel, 21 Australian Federal Police (AFP) personnel and nine civilian personnel to Combined Team - Uruzgan.
Included are HQ Combined Taskforce-Uruzgan (70 ADF); Mentoring Task Force (724 ADF); Provincial Reconstruction Team (around 30 civilians and 67 ADF).
• Enabling Support Uruzgan (62)
Australian contributes 62 ADF personnel to Enabling Support in Uruzgan (62) including 17 ADF personnel providing Garrison Support; 17 operating the ScanEagle UAV; and 28 ADF personnel managing accommodation and infrastructure needs.
• Special Operations Task Group (318)
The ADF’s Special Operations Task Group contributes significantly to security in Uruzgan Province by targeting the insurgent network in and around the province.
• Force Communications Unit (119)
Australia contributes 119 personnel across the MEAO to provide communications between all ADF elements of Coalition forces in Afghanistan, and links back to Australia.
• Force Support Unit (141)
Based across the Middle East Area of Operations, 141 personnel provide logistic support to deployed ADF elements.
• Rotary Wing Group (64)
Australia provides 64 personnel, located in Kandahar, to operate two CH-47D Chinook Helicopters in support of ISAF operations for eight months of each year.
The Rotary Wing Group recently returned to Australia.
• Heron Detachment (41)
Forty-one personnel, located at Kandahar and in Uruzgan province, operate Heron UAS in support of Australian and Coalition Forces in Regional Command (South).
• Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 – Afghanistan (50)
Located in the Afghan capital city Kabul, the headquarters comprises around 50 personnel who provide national command of ADF deployed within Afghanistan.
• ADF Personnel Embedded with Coalition Headquarters (151)
151 personnel are embedded across a number of Coalition headquarters throughout the MEAO, mainly in Kabul and Kandahar, providing critical, specialist staff effort in support of operations.
• Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 (92)
Located in the United Arab Emirates, the headquarters comprises 92 personnel and provides national oversight for Operation SLIPPER.
• Air Component (287)
Australia provides two AP-3C Orion aircraft for overland and maritime surveillance and three C-130J Hercules aircraft for troop and equipment transportation.