How crucial, Brigadier, have the Australian SAS been to the overall operation in Afghanistan?
BRIGADIER MIKE HANNAN: The Australian SAS have provided a niche capability. A very specialised capability to the Coalition forces. And this has been recognised as important by the Coalition Commanders, by several Coalition Commanders. The nature of their capability is one that’s not necessarily available to the Coalition through the other forces within the area. That’s not to say there are not good Special Forces in most armies, but the Coalition wasn’t necessarily configured with all of those capabilities in Afghanistan. The Australian troops certainly provided that capability, and provided it to a very high standard. The expression of support for what they’ve done, by Coalition Commanders at all levels, has been overwhelming. QUESTION: The Minister for Defence today said that one of the reasons for them coming home is their job had finished. But the way he’d described it was that there were no more tier one targets. Can you give us a definition of tier one targets? BRIGADIER MIKE HAN
Related Questions
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