BF2S Forums Has Australia sent enough troops to Timor?

tupla_s wrote:

Link's broken

fixed!

I want someone to say that many African countries are like gang bangers with countries of their own, but I don't want to say it because people will say I'm a Mexican/African bashing meanie face. lmao. >D

Last edited by Xietsu (2006-05-29 02:57:46)

There are still enough troops left in Australia to defend against an American attack.

So the answer is no.  Pls send more troops kthx.

Cougar wrote:

There are still enough troops left in Australia to defend against an American attack.

So the answer is no.  Pls send more troops kthx.

Lmao dont have to worry about USA attacking us, George & Johnny are in bed together.

Got to watch our backs from the New Zealander though they may try to steal our rugby trophies.

mcminty wrote:

I know the politically correct answer would be to do what we are doing (help them), but if they burn down our attempts to help them, then let 'em figure it out by themselves....


Mcminty.

Totally understand that. Its like giving a homeless person a dollar just to see him go spend it on some more heroin.

Hmm this is a tough one.

I think the level of troops sent is currently sufficient however I believe the ROE needs to be looked at. Currently Australian troops are working to stop lawless gangs, looters, arsonists etc however I do not think this will happen with thier hands tied by peacekepper ROE.

Military personal are trained to fight, shoot and kill. They are not police to settle fights etc via negotiation. I went into TI after transferring from Army Reserve to Army Regular during our last "visit" and after talking to many troops who had been there longer than myself many of the guys were frustrated and felt that they could "do nothing but watch" as lawlessness continued.

I am out of the service now and by no means condone a shoot first ask questions later policy but I find myself wondering if Australian Regular troops are the "right" answer.

A comment was made in Question Time (Australian Parliment, televised session) about Air Force pilots being trained to "shoot hostile aircraft down, not shoot warning shots". This also stands true for the Army, I was never trained as a crowd controller otherwise I would work in a bar/nightclub where the "scenery" is better. I was also never trained to shoot a person in the leg to stop them. I was trained to protect myself and those of my brother troops and innocents to the fullest extent, if our weapons were to be used they were used to kill.

The job of being a peacekeeper is not an enviable one at all, its frustrating, lonely and frightening. You are constantly on edge, wondering what will happen next. I think the longer our troops are in TI the more chances of "mistakes" happening. It wont be long until some freshly trained soldier gets a big enough fright that he takes his F88 and opens it up. Then he will face the condemnation of killing when it is what he is trained to do.

Ultimately what Im driving at I guess is if you are prepared to send troops into a hostile situation be prepared to accept the consequences.

I know I havent really answered the original question very well but these are just some of my thoughts and concerns over the issue.

P.S. I originally posted this in another thread but it appears that it was deleted or moved

Well as far as Im aware we bought all our stuff home.

I was an M113 driver (originally a reserve unit so yes we had all the old toys) so its kinda hard to leave something like that behind. I did hear rumors the same however I never saw anything that confirmed this.

my brother was what you would call a "Store-man" spent his entire time there sitting at a desk ordering things, but I guess someone has to do it, what he told me was that they were told to throw it in a fire and burn as much as possible to save bringing it back. But this is just one man saying it, liked to know if any other people can confirm what he was telling me. He also said the worst thing was as they threw stuff in the fire, parent were throwing their children in after the stuff, which scares the hell out of me.

I agree with you about a soldier trying to be a peace keeper, you arnt trained for it  and we should send in more Federal police etc to help on that front, so do we let our troops loose to first end the violence then bring in the law? or will that just incite more violence?

ok ok heres what i think

i think that aus should have some trained MP's in east timor now, more mps not more soldiers just MPs...

JG1567JG wrote:

As an American we would love to come and help but people would just call us names and accuse of war crimes and torture.  They would think we were there for gold or diamonds or what ever precious resource that is in E. Timor.

I do wish your soldiers luck in their mission and thanks for a little help in Iraq.

Now, come on. I really think the US State Department has a lot more pressing things to worry about than a small riot (relatively) in a small nation next to a fairly big nation who can take care of it and then a lot more.

No kidding.

anzus wrote:

Got to watch our backs from the New Zealander though they may try to steal our rugby trophies.

What Rugby Trophies?

The Poms have the world cup.
Tri-Nations is in sitting at the NZRFU in Wellington.
So is the Bledisloe cup.
Super 14 trophy is sitting next to the Super 12 trophy at Jade Stadium.

HOLD ON - MAYBE WE NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT OUR TROPHIES.........

Seriously i think we need to be there (yes NZ has troops there too).

Got to agree with 4_Phucsache - it cant be a pleasent job but if we leave the situation alone it can only deteriorate.

vedds wrote:

anzus wrote:

Got to watch our backs from the New Zealander though they may try to steal our rugby trophies.

What Rugby Trophies?

The Poms have the world cup.
Tri-Nations is in sitting at the NZRFU in Wellington.
So is the Bledisloe cup.
Super 14 trophy is sitting next to the Super 12 trophy at Jade Stadium.

HOLD ON - MAYBE WE NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT OUR TROPHIES.........

Seriously i think we need to be there (yes NZ has troops there too).

Got to agree with 4_Phucsache - it cant be a pleasent job but if we leave the situation alone it can only deteriorate.

I by god we love you NZers, we have been together through thick and thin and I love how we can still hang shit on each other and be friends. Cheers mate.

Last edited by anzus (2006-05-29 04:01:13)