Portal:Military history of Australia/Military history of Australia news/Archive

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The following list is an archive of news events listed on the Military of Australia Portal.

24 June, 2008 - The last members of the Australian Overwatch Battle Group (West) leave Iraq, ending a three year deployment. Read more...
16 March, 2008 - The Australian Government announces that the wrecks of the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran and HMAS Sydney have been found off the coast of Western Australia. The ships sank after a battle in 1941.Read more...
22 February 2008 - HMAS Glenelg, the 14th and final Armidale class patrol boat, is commissioned at Adelaide. Read more...
12 February 2008 - A rifle company from 3 RAR, HMAS Perth and 70 police officers are dispatched to East Timor following the attempted assassination of East Timor's president and prime minister. Read more...
21 January 2008 - The Royal Australian Air Force's C-17 fleet delivered on time and on budget. Read more...
18 December 2007 - The remains of Lance Corporal (LCPL) John Gillespie, a Medical Assistant, formerly of 8th Field Ambulance, were repatriated from Hanoi to Australia. Read more...
15 November 2007 - The first two Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) arrive in Australia. Read more...
7 July 2007 - The first of the Australian Army's M1A1 Abrams-equipped tank squadrons is declared ready for operational service and the last Leopard 1 tanks are retired. Read more...
5 June 2007 - The remains of Private Gillson and Lance Corporal Parker two members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment lost during the Vietnam War are repatriated. Read more...
17 May 2007 - The flying operations of the Royal Australian Navy's 6 Sea King helicopters are suspended temporarily following the discovery of a minor fault. Read more...
11 May 2007 - The last two Fremantle class patrol boats HMAS Townsville and Ipswich are decommissioned in Cairns. Read more...
24 April 2007 - Two soldiers were wounded and one ASLAV was destroyed when a patrol from the Overwatch Battle Group (West) was involved in an incident where an Improvised Explosive Device was detonated as the vehicles moved past. Read more...
10 April 2007 - Prime Minister John Howard announces his intention to deploy a 300-member special forces task group back to Afghanistan to help counter the expected Taliban summer offensive. Read more...
6 March 2007 - The Australian Government confirmed that it would order 24 F/A-18Fs for the RAAF, at a cost of A$6 billion over 10 years (including training and support), as an interim replacement for the aging F-111s. Read more...
30 January 2007 - All Armidale class patrol boats are to be placed on operational restrictions due to a recurrence of fuel system defects, similar restrictions were last in place in September 2006. Read more...
10 February 2007 - HMAS Broome is commissioned in Broome becoming the eighth Armidale class patrol boat to enter service. Read more...
16 January 2007 - Three ASLAV's from the Security Detachment Iraq attacked by anti coalition forces during a patrol in Baghdad. No Australian personnel were injured. Read more...
4 January 2007 - HMAS Toowoomba departs Fleet Base West bound for the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst, Toowoomba will replace HMAS Warramunga. Read more...
28 December 2006 - HMAS Tobruk departs Sydney bound for the Persian Gulf, her mission is to deliver Australian military stores and equipment to soldiers in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Read more...
4 December 2006 - The first of four RAAF C-17 Globemaster III arrives in Canberra, ACT. The Globemaster will be operated by No. 36 Squadron RAAF.[1]
29 November 2006 - An Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying 10 soldiers crashes in to sea while attempting to land on HMAS Kanimbla, killing 1 person and injuring 8 more. One person is currently missing.[2]
26 November 2006 - A soldier identified only as Sergeant A from 4RAR becomes the first member of the ADF to be awarded the Star of Gallantry (Australia's second highest military award), for actions during Operation Slipper Australia's contribution to the International Coalition against Terrorism.
18 November 2006 - 50 Australian soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment are deployed to Tonga following riots in the country's capital.
2 November 2006 - HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Newcastle sail for Fiji in response to a possible coup in the country
7 October 2006 - HMAS Geraldton is decommissioned in Darwin, leaving only 4 Fremantle class patrol boats in service.
22 September 2006 - The first 18 of Australia's 59 new M1A1 Abrams arrive in Melbourne.
16 September 2006 - HMAS Westralia is decommissioned and her replacement, HMAS Sirius, commissioned at a ceremony at Fleet Base West.
8 September 2006 - Department of Defence signs a contract with Lockheed Martin to supply long range AGM-158 JASSM missiles to equip Australia's fleet of F/A-18 Hornet.
4 September 2006 - Minister for Defence Dr. Brendan Nelson announces that an additional 38 soldiers and 4 Bushmaster IMVs will be deployed to Iraq to reinforce Overwatch Battle Group (West).
30 August 2006 - Four sailors onboard HMAS Maitland were injured after inhalation of what is believed to have been toxic fumes.
30 August 2006 - HMAS Ballarat returns to Sydney after a 6 month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
24 August 2006 - Prime Minister John Howard announces that the Australian Army will raise two new battalions; 7 RAR and 8th/9th RAR to accommodate an additional 2600 new soldiers.
14 August 2006 - Four Australian personnel are injured when three rockets were fired into the International Zone Baghdad.
13 August 2006 - HMAS Anzac assists in the evacuation of a seriously ill crew member from a Japanese fishing vessel, the Azuma Maru, located in the Southern Ocean, 220 miles south west of Cape Leeuwin.
29 July 2006 - The latest Armidale class patrol boat HMAS Pirie is commissioned in Port Pirie, South Australia.
26 July 2006 - The Al Muthanna Task Group is redesignated Overwatch Battle Group (West).
8 July 2006 - Fremantle class patrol boats HMAS Gawler and HMAS Geelong are decommissioned at HMAS Coonawarra.
19 June 2006 - Australian Government announces the purchase of an additional 34 MRH-90 helicopters to replace the Navy's Sea King and Army’s Black Hawk helicopters. Taking the total order of the MRH-90 to 46.
31 May 2006 - An Australian ASLAV serving with the Al Muthanna Task Group is damaged by a suspected improvised explosive device in southern Iraq.
25 May 2006 - Australian soldiers begin arriving in East Timor to quell recent unrest and return stability. 1,800 Australian Defence Force personnel are involved in this deployment, designated Operation Astute.
21 April 2006 - Private Jake Kovco becomes the first Australian military fatality of the Iraq War.
21 April 2006 - HMAS Armidale rescues 17 stranded Australian and United States citizens on the remote Islands of Tofua and Kao, in Tonga. The group had been unable to leave the island of Tofua for several days due to severe weather conditions.