23 April 2024
Special Operations Command recovery task group conducted an exercise on the Yolla offshore gas platform in Bass Strait at the beginning of April.
Exercise Iron Atlantis supported the development and preparedness of Army's Special Operations Command recovery task group in complex maritime environments.
Task group Captain L said the exercise was an excellent example of how the command integrated into the joint force to support Australian interests.
“Iron Atlantis was a complex maritime operation supported by joint assets such as RAN’s multi-role aviation training vessel (MATV) Sycamore, which enabled us to force project to the Yolla offshore energy platform,” Captain L said.
“Our operators and clearance divers were able to conduct several mission profiles from the Sycamore, allowing us to test and validate capability under different conditions and scenarios.”
The exercise is one of several domestic and offshore crisis-response activities that the recovery task group prepares for.
Special Operations Command Group’s Major P said the collaboration and trust between services and industry enabled the capability.
“Special Operations Command applies elements of national power to support Australian interests and it’s our relationship with allies, partners, and other government departments and agencies that enables us to operate so effectively,” Major P said.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have these relationships, which allow us to work across the whole of government in order to strengthen capability and develop resilience against strategic shock.
“It’s equally important to demonstrate the command’s asymmetric capabilities are ready to support the maintenance of the rules-based international system at short notice.”
