[Australia]: Operation Quickstep

[Owen]

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OPERATION QUICKSTEP​

ENCRYPTED AND CLASSIFIED​

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Objective:	1st: Evacuations of Australian and other citizens from Thailand. 2nd: Intervention against the pro-monarchist forces in Thailand and the Congo.
Date:	20 December 1999 - Present
Location:	Thailand
Status:	Australian and other citizens evacuated from Thailand. Insurgency ongoing.

BELLIGERENTS​

Australia Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy Australian Army

Chakri Dynasty Imperial State of the Congo

COMMANDERS AND LEADERS​

Quentin Bryce (Governor-General) Kim Beazley (Prime Minister) John Faulkner (Minister for Defence) Admiral Chris Barrie (Chief of the Defence Force) Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould (Chief of Joint Operations) Air Marshal Ray Funnell (Chief of Air Force) Vice Admiral David Shackleton (Chief of Navy) Lieutenant General Peter Cosgrove (Chief of Army)

Rama IX (Head of the Chakri Dynasty) Omari Gowon (Emperor of the Congo) Hamisi Falana (Chief of Defense) Muhammed Onwudiwe (Chief of the Army) Zakia Akinyemi (Chief of the Navy) Tamu Alakija (Chief of the Air Force)

STRENGTH​

Royal Australian Air Force: Air Command: Maritime Patrol Group: No. 92 Wing: No. 10 Squadron (50x Regular Personnel, 2x Lockheed AP-3C Orions each with 8x Mark 46 Torpedoes and 48x Sonobuoys) Support Command: Surveillance and Control Group: No. 44 Wing (Air Traffic Control): Hat Yai Flight, No. 452 Squadron (35x Regular Personnel) Combat Support Group: No. 395 Expeditionary Combat Support Wing: No. 323 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron (500x Regular Personnel, 20x Land Rover Perentie 6x6, 6x Titan General Purpose Fire Trucks) Australian Army: Forces Command: 1st Division: 6th Combat Support Brigade: 2nd/30th Training Group (250x Regular Personnel)

Chakri Dynasty: 80,000x Troops 250x Infantry Fighting Vehicles

CASUALTIES AND LOSSES​

None

None

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Bossza007

 

[Owen]

At Fleet Base East in Sydney, the ships HMAS Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Ballarat, Kanimbla, Manoora and Success and the submarines HMAS Farncomb and Dechaineux would load up their full complements, including the listed Army and Navy personnel and equipment. They would depart Sydney Harbour at the crack of dawn bound for the Gulf of Thailand taking transit route QF -> QG -> QH -> PI -> OI -> OJ -> OK. They would be ordered to stop about 80km from Bangkok and 40km from Pattaya City. Indonesia would be alerted that they were peacefully passing through Indonesian territorial waters.

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Meanwhile the Air Force would also prepare and move assets into position. 6 F-111C Aardvarks would make their way from RAAF Base Amberley to RAAF Base Cocos Islands taking QG -> PG -> OH. They would be supported by 150 personnel who would be transported by RAAF Boeing 707s from No. 33 Squadron. 4 AP-3C Orions would also make their way from RAAF Base Edinburgh to RAAF Base Cocos Islands taking PF -> PG -> OH along with 120 personnel who would be transported by Boeing 707s as well. 4 of those Boeing 707s and 150 support personnel would be moved to RAAF Base Darwin as well as 6 C-130J-30 Super Hercules and 150 support personnel from RAAF Base Richmond would be moved there. 100 personnel from No. 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron and 100 personnel from No. 3 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron would also be transported from RAAF Base Amberley and RAAF Base Richmond respectively to RAAF Base Darwin.

A 24-man Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) medic team, consisting of civilian doctors, nurses and allied health professionals from state health departments across the country would also be assembled and would be based out of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital. Whilst not deployed yet, they would make preparations to deploy an EMT Type 1 field hospital in case.

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Bossza007 Kelly the Mad

 

[Owen]

By now the Australian fleet would have arrived in the Gulf of Thailand. Operations would now begin to evacuate Australians. The 3 Westland Sea Kings from HMAS Kanimbla would take 20 SASR Operatives each from the ship to U-Tapao-Pattaya City International Airport where Australian citizens were told to gather and await aircraft out of the country. Once they landed at the airport the SASR operatives would begin securing the airport from threats. They would begin checking the Australian citizens there, checking their passports and organising them. Once the airport was secured the all clear would be given to the Air Force to proceed. From RAAF Base Darwin, 4 Boeing 707s would begin taking off bound for Pattaya City International Airport taking transit route PH -> OI -> OJ -> OK arriving in 4 hours. This would be repeated continuously until all citizens were evacuated with refuelling in Darwin.

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Meanwhile the 3 Westland Sea Kings from HMAS Manoora would take 20 2nd Commando Regiment operatives each across to Phuket International Airport taking route OK -> NJ, a much longer distance but within the range of a Westland Sea King. Once they arrived they would do the exact same thing there, securing the airport, checking passports and giving the all clear for the Air Force. This time it was 4 Lockheed C-130J-30 Super Hercules from RAAF Base Darwin bound for Phuket International Airport taking route PH -> OI -> NJ. They would be configured with seating. Many people would have already left Phuket on still operating commercial flights but for those who didn't the Air Force was coming. This would be repeated continuously until all citizens were evacuated with refuelling in Darwin.

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The order of precedence for a free flight from Thailand to Darwin would be:
1. Australian citizens and permanent residents
2. New Zealand citizens and permanent residents
3. Pacific Island citizens
4. Citizens of the United States, United Kingdom or the Commonwealth
5. All other citizens besides Congolese, Thai, Chinese or Turkish citizens

The other 2 Lockheed C-130J-30 Super Hercules would take off from RAAF Base Darwin bound for Don Mueang taking route PH -> OI -> OJ -> OK. Whilst the runway was destroyed, the C-130J was a versatile aircraft that would land in the available large patches of grass at the airport. These two would be configured in aeromedical evacuation. 10 personnel from No. 3 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron would be onboard with capacity for 50 patients each. They would be tasked with airlifting the people who were injured at the Don Mueang missile attack to the National Critical Care and Trauma Centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital. This would be done regardless of citizenship. This would be repeated continuously until all injured people were evacuated with refuelling in Darwin.

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Bossza007 Kelly the Mad

 

[Owen]

Almost all Australians, New Zealand and Pacific Islanders who wished to leave Thailand had now been evacuated by the RAAF. Additionally, thousands of US, UK, Commonwealth and other citizens would have been evacuated also. They would take flights onwards from Darwin back to their home countries. The C-130Js would've evacuated hundreds of injured people from the destroyed Don Mueang International Airport and would be flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital, taken by St John Ambulance Northern Territory from the airport to the hospital. Most people would be discharged now with minor injuries, Australians would head back to their homes and other citizens would be granted temporary visas until they departed Australia. The Air Force would begin winding down their operations and so would the Navy. The threat from the Congo would minimise and the only threat was rebel forces in Thailand to which the next stage of the operation would move to.

All Special Forces on the ground would be returned by their Sea Kings to their respective ships, either HMAS Manoora or HMAS Kanimbla. The ships would begin heading back to Fleet Base East, Sydney. They would be refuelled by HMAS Success as necessary. All F-111s would return to RAAF Base Amberley from RAAF Base Cocos Island. All Boeing 707s would also return to RAAF Base Amberley and the C-130Js would return to RAAF Base Richmond. The only forces still in the operation were the AP-3C Orions, two would head back to RAAF Base Edinburgh but two would head to Thailand to Hat Yai Air Base as per the agreement with the Thai Government along with 50 support personnel, taking transit route: OH -> OI -> OJ. In addition the following units would be moved to permanently station at Hat Yai Air Base, in temporary accomodation to begin with but follow by a more permanent accomodation:

• 2nd/30th Training Group, Australian Army
• No. 323 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
• Hat Yai Flight, No. 452 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (Air Traffic Control)
• Hat Yai Clinic, Joint Health Command
• Joint Investigation Office Hat Yai, Australian Defence Force Investigative Service

Forces would be transported by Boeing 707s for personnel and C-130Js for equipment taking transit route: QG -> PH -> OI -> OJ.

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Bossza007

 

[Owen]

The forces would now permanently settle themselves at Hat Yai Air Base. This would be the first permanent Australian deployment since the closure of RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia. Whilst the base remains Thai, it would now have more Australians there than Thais. The Operation would be declared over though, as Thailand was capable of holding off the rebellion for the time being, but the base was on heightened alert for attacks from the rebels with the 200-man Rifle Company Hat Yai from the Australian Army and the RAAF Police from No. 323 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron. AP-3C patrols would continue as apart of Operation Resolute.

Bossza007