North West defence in capable hands

Last week’s commemoration of the strafing of Broome highlights the town’s vulnerability to potential surprise attacks 70 years on, says WA Liberal Senator Alan Eggleston.

While attending the commemoration of the Japanese air attack on Broome last Saturday, the senator said the service highlighted the “lack of improvement to

defence capabilities” in the North West.

“The North West region is the biggest industrial complex in Australia, with major developments including the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast and Australia’s biggest ports in Dampier and Port Hedland needing protection,” he said.

“To protect the North West from possible future attacks, the Australian Defence Force needs to make the increase of its profile and upgrades to the region’s

defence infrastructure a priority.”

However, newly appointed Norforce commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Paul O’Donnell, who also attended the ceremony, said he was confident Norforce had been responding to that need since it was established 30 years ago.

Lt Col. O’Donnell arrived in Broome last week to meet with personnel and the community as part of his tour of the Kimberley and the Northern Territory.

Lt Col. O’Donnell joins Norforce from army headquarters in Canberra, having worked on the army’s force structure and capability development.

He previously served in Iraq and East Timor and also spent two years as an instructor at the US Army Infantry School in Georgia.

Lt Col. O’Donnell said, from a Norforce perspective, the regiment was created to respond to the need for a military presence in Australia’s north.

Norforce conducts surveillance operations across 1.8 million sqkm of the Northern Territory and Kimberley and plays a vital role in protecting Australia’s borders.

Lt. Col. O’Donnell said his focus during his three-year tenure as commanding officer would be to ensure Norforce operated as a “digitalised” unit and continued to train soldiers as “modern warriors”.

His other focus would be to establish strong relationships with local communities and to attract more indigenous people to a career with Norforce.