RAAF Completes 'Eye on the Sky' Mission

(July 13, 2009) -- In almost two years of operations in Afghanistan, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) members have managed and de-conflicted 196,000 coalition aircraft movements, making the airspace some of the world's busiest.

The statistic marks an impressive contribution to coalition operations by the RAAF.

The operators of the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at Kandahar Airfield have successfully concluded their two year mission in support of the International Security Assistance Mission (ISAF) and have handed control back to the United States Air Force (USAF).

During a ceremony to mark the end of operations on 9 July 2009, the CRC Commanding Officer Wing Commander Stuart Briese formally handed over operations to the USAF 451st Air Expeditionary Wing.

The CRC took over tactical command and control of the airspace in Afghanistan from the USAF on 5 August 2007. During this time the CRC provided de-confliction of the airspace and directed combat aircraft in support of ground troops by providing air battle management across Afghanistan.

The Chief of Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant General Mark Evans, said the CRC made a significant contribution supporting the coalition operations in Afghanistan.

"As the lead command and control agency responsible for the Air Surveillance and Air Battle Management in Afghanistan, the Royal Australian Air Force be extremely proud of the efforts of their people and be proud of the success of their mission", Lieutenant General Evans said.

"They managed operations that were sustained 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and were manned by only 35 personnel at any one time."

The CRC comprised RAAF Air Combat Officers, Air Surveillance Operators, and Communications Electronic Technicians, including specialist support staff which combined to a deployed strength of approximately 70 Australian personnel and a USAF communications team.

This is the second time that 41 Wing has deployed operationally; the first was in response to the Malayan emergency in the 1960s.

The Chief of Air Force, Air Chief Marshall Binskin is proud of the contribution from all CRC detachments.

"The members of the CRC detachments performed an admirable job under harsh and dangerous conditions. They were well supported by their families and friends back home," he said.

Source : Australian DoD