15 September 2009
By Judith Martin
Ten years ago this month New Zealand sent more than 1000 soldiers, sailors and airmen to anarchy-ridden East Timor in an effort to make, and then keep, the peace.
It was this country’s largest deployment since the Korean War in the early 1950s. Kiwi troops arrived to find Dili burning, the city’s wells clogged with corpses, and thousands of refugees fleeing their tormenters. In total some 6000 tri-Service personnel deployed over three years.
The operation brought together soldiers from throughout the New Zealand Army who faced, on their arrival, a high threat level and desolate conditions. Five soldiers died during the deployment, including Private Leonard Manning, New Zealand’s first combat casualty since the Vietnam War.
Timeline
1975 December
Indonesia invades Dili and East Timor’s second largest town, Bacau.
1976 July
Indonesia makes East Timor its 27th province after a campaign of guerrilla warfare.
1999 May
Indonesia agrees to hold a referendum on giving East Timor autonomy within Indonesia.
June
The United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) is established to conduct the referendum. New Zealand supplies five military liaison officers and 10 civilian police.
August
The referendum is held, resulting in an overwhelming vote against autonomy within Indonesia.
September
Vengeful militia begin murdering and raping, and systematically burning every village in East Timor, including the capital Dili. Hundreds of thousands of East Timorese flee to escape their tormenters. Interfet (International Force East Timor) is formed.
- Terrified refugees, under attack by militia, storm the Unamet headquarters
- September 20 1999: The first elements of Interfet fly into Dili. Special Forces troops, including NZ SAS personnel secure the city’s airport and sea port.
- Two RNZAF C130 Hercules aircraft assist with the initial deployment
- HMNZS Te Kaha sails with the Interfet Naval task force from Darwin, escorting transport ships carrying heavy equipment and supplies
- HMNZS Endeavour sails into Dili to deliver urgently needed aviation fuel and diesel.
- HMNZS Canterbury deploys at short notice to serve with Interfet, escorting an Australian Navy transport ship
- A National Support Element is established in Darwin
- The first elements of the RNZAF’s No 3 Squadron fly into Dili. A month later the detachment is increased in strength from 89 to 115 personnel, operating six helicopters
- Victor Company, 1 RNZIR, deploys into Dili, secures the western sector, and detains about 20 militiamen
October
Remaining Indonesian troops withdraw from Dili
- NZ troops secure the southern town of Suai, establish a base and begin patrolling.
- The rest of 1 RNZIR deploys into Suai, with the battalion taking responsibility for the whole Cova Lima district. More than 1100 New Zealanders are now serving with Interfet.
- The Army’s Forward Surgical Team Light (FST) is established. It is manned by medical personnel from all three Services and civilians. Military casualties and some local people are treated.
- UNAMET is replaced by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) which is established to organise East Timor’s transition to statehood. NZ military liaison officers become United Nations Military Observers.
November
November 30 WO2 Tony Walser dies in a vehicle accident.
2000 February
Interfet ceases operations and most of its remaining personnel transfer to UNTAET.
- New Zealand forces continue to patrol Suai
April
SSGT Billy White dies in a vehicle accident.
May
NZ Batt 2 arrives in east Timor for a six month tour of duty.
July
A large group of militiamen ambush a NZ patrol, shooting and killing Private Leonard Manning. It is New Zealand’s first combat casualty since the Vietnam War.
September
Militia attack the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Atambua in West Timor, killing three UNHCR workers. Three RNZAF Iroquois helicopters with soldiers providing security evacuate the remaining UN staff.
November
NZ Batt Three arrives in East Timor.
2001 March
Private Boyd Atkins drowns while on leave.
May
NZ Batt Four arrives.
November
NZ Batt Five arrives.
2002 May
NZ Batt Six arrives.
November
NZDF personnel begin arriving home.
15 November
the New Zealand flag is lowered at the Forward Operating Base at Suai in the Cova Lima district, signalling the end of the mission.
The NZDF is continuing to work in what is now known as Timor-Leste, helping to create a stable and secure environment to enable the country to move towards full democracy.
-Historical information courtesy of John Crawford, NZDF historian.
Dili was a burning melee when LTCOL John Howard stepped off the aircraft into the East Timor capital city 10 years ago.
Militiamen had wreaked havoc, setting fire to virtually every building, and removing the roofs from those that wouldn’t burn.
The port was clogged with thousands of refugees trying to leave, and about 80,000 refugees had fled to the hills high above the smoking city. Shops were being looted, dogs were feeding on the corpses of murdered East Timorese.
Then a Major, LTCOL Howard and a small team of soldiers did reconnaissance in Dili before being joined by the remainder of Victor Company. It was late September 1999, and by the final days of the month the entire Company was in place and patrolling. The Australian Army had inserted a brigade into Dili, and Victor Company was attached at 1 RAR.
“We spent the first couple of weeks patrolling, and sorting out who was who within Dili, and who was occupying what buildings. My soldiers were tasked with all sorts of awful jobs, including clearing out a well in which about 20 bodies had been thrown.”
The Dili power station was secured as was a food warehouse. Humanitarian aid was handed out wherever possible and, with the large number of troops converging on the city, the situation became relatively stable.
Three weeks later, in an air mobile operation involving Australian Black Hawk helicopters, RNZAF Iroquois and Australian heavy landing craft Victory Company was transferred to Suai in the south, which was to become the New Zealand troops’ area of operation.
New Zealand armoured personnel carriers were in use throughout the operation, and they patrolled day and night, as did soldiers on foot, working to encourage stability, and repatriate the refugees who had fled to West Timor.
LTCOL Howard says looking back on his time in East Timor the experience was ground breaking for an Army which had not seen operations at that level for many years. “It was professionally exciting and demanding, we were doing what we had trained for and it was working. Not without hurt, but it was working. The challenges were real and with us every day and night.
“I look back now with immense professional and personal pride on the efforts and achievements of our Company and Battalion. The young riflemen who were with me in Victor Company are now senior NCOs in the Army. I see them putting their experiences to use in Afghanistan now, and it reinforces to me that our individual and collective training is the foundation of who we are as soldiers.”
A Man Down: Batt Two’s Experience in East Timor
Twenty-seven days of relentless, drumming rain is one of the most vivid memories LTCOL Evan Williams has of his time in East Timor.
But the most vivid, and the one he still thinks about regularly, is losing one of his men in New Zealand’s first combat casualty since the Vietnam War.
LTCOL Williams, now the Army’s Military Secretary, was Officer Commanding of Bravo Company, NZ Batt Two, which arrived in East Timor in May 2000. The company took over the Tilomar area of operations, and began running three patrol bases; one at Tilomar, one at Junction Point Echo and one in the north at Belulik Leten.
His group of about 150 troops endured the rain, and the consequent isolation, for nearly a month. Roads were washed away, re-supplies were scarce, and the action his platoons saw at first was mainly criminal-based such as thefts and illegal tree harvesting. They thought they were in a for a long and tedious haul.
Then, on 24 July on the peak of a steep hill known as Feature 799 (Foho Debilulik) Private Leonard Manning was shot by militia, dying instantly. The soldiers with him withdrew under heavy fire and were pursued down the hill by the militia.
LTCOL Williams says the incident happened very quickly, and threw the Company into an operation that lasted four days to contain the armed militia responsible for the ambush, and reduce the threat they obviously presented to not only his troops but to the East Timorese people.
For some time he did not know if Private Manning was alive or dead, although he suspected the latter, given information received from the soldiers involved. His Company Sergeant Major, WO 1 Phil Burgess found Private Manning’s body at 5.30pm, 5 hours after he had been shot. Regardless of his own feelings, LTCOL Williams knew there was a family back in NZ that had been told that their son was missing in action. “I did not want them going to bed not knowing one way or the other”
The shock of Private Manning’s death reverberated around his colleagues and the rest of the Company, and the news quickly reached New Zealand.
Many of the younger soldiers were stunned at losing someone they knew so well. It was fortuitous LTCOL Williams’ father, COL “LG” Williams, a Vietnam veteran and SAS officer, had given his son sage advice about handling the after-effects of a combat death.
“My father had lost several soldiers in Vietnam, and we had spoken about the best way of dealing with that loss. He advised and mentored me through those days.”
The advice he offered was that a commander must plan for combat death, expect it and prepare people for it.
“Because part of the challenge will be managing the shock. If you talk about the likelihood of losing someone on operation you can manage the shock when or if it does happen. As a leader you have to separate yourself from it—your soldiers expect that of you.”
LTCOL Williams says his officers and soldiers had some frank discussions to deal with the natural inclination to seek revenge.
“There is a tendency to seek revenge, and you have to turn that revenge into determination. You have a job to do, and you must be professional. It was imperative we maintained our values and standards. That way we would deny the militia the ability to achieve their intent, which was to continue their reign of terror on the people of East Timor.”
He maintained contact with Private Manning’s parents—he still keeps in regular touch with them— and told them all the details he knew at the time. “The strength of the Manning family over this period was inspirational to me and to the Company. It gave us the determination not to let Len’s death be in vain and helped us re-focus”
The militia contact, and Private Manning’s death, signified a distinct sea change and escalating threat level in the Company’s area of operation (AO). “We realised we were focussing on a different, more determined and better trained threat,” said LTCOL Williams.
With the help of 1 NZSAS personnel with their expert tracking capabilities, and a change in the overall operational plan, the Battalion Group started including ‘Green’ or conventional operations to compliment its ‘Blue’ role.
“We were determined we weren’t just going to patrol around our FOBs (forward operating bases). We were mindful the civilian population were very worried and unsettled that a soldier had been killed.”
The change in tack proved worthwhile and significant gains were made.The militia, he said, realised “they were not in a congenial environment.”
“We managed to get on top of the situation and I believe we left our AO as secure as we found it.”
What was learned through the experience?
“We learned that you can’t train primarily for peacekeeping. You have to train high (i.e. develop war-fighting skills) but be able and willing to operate at a lower level. We need to be always able to elevate our response to a situation in keeping with our Rules of Engagement and to be comfortable in doing so.”
Despite the tragedy of losing a young soldier, he says it wasn’t easy to leave East Timor when his deployment here ended.
“When you invest your heart and soul in a region for six months, and put that many months of blood, sweat and toil into a piece of ground and its people, leaving is a significant emotional detachment. I was looking forward to seeing my family, but you do form bonds with a place and its people, and that’s hard to walk away from.”
East Timor - Nothing to Worry About
Colonel Charles Lott knew he had nothing to worry about when he began the logistics task of feeding, equipping, and making operational New Zealand’s 1000 troops to East Timor three years ago.
Nothing being the operative word. “There was nothing there (in East Timor) - nothing that would assist the task we had here in New Zealand. No sea port, no useable airfield, and one road that was impassable at that time of the year. No electricity, no telephones, no fuel supply and no guaranteed water. We had to be self-sufficient in East Timor because our supply chain was 6500 kilometres long.”
The New Zealand Defence Force had done a lot of preliminary planning as the East Timor deployment had been predicted for some time. When the Government decided to commit New Zealand forces, it meant four weeks of often 20-hour days for Colonel Lott and his five key staff.
Aircraft and ships were chartered to carry equipment to East Timor, and 110 containers were packed, and loaded onto vessels that left from Wellington. Securing aircraft was a feat, with New Zealand at the behest of the market as non-governmental organisations throughout the world tried to get food and supplies in to the people of East Timor.
“We had a very small team, and we had to ensure that in no way did the logistics of the mission hold up or impede the mission itself. The aim was that New Zealand forces would get to their allocated area of operations, secure it, then get out and contain other areas. They had to go in self-sufficient.”
The logistics operation included delivering 32,000 food ration packs, 120 vehicles, and, by air, a further 15 vehicles and six helicopters. Colonel Lott says he envisaged East Timor would be like Somalia was when the New Zealand Defence Force deployed there several years ago
“And I was pretty well correct. There was no infrastructure, no sewerage, and the threat was still there. We didn’t know if our landing would be contested and our troops would have to fight to get on to the beach. We told the master of the first vessel we sent out from New Zealand that we couldn’t really give him a destination. When he was near Darwin he got more instructions.”
United States forces helped move containers from HMAS Tobruk to shore, and RNZAF C130 Hercules did about 38 sorties in the early days, with air staff flying 12-hour days.
Colonel Lott said he was mindful throughout the planning and execution of the logistics operation that if a mistake was made “someone was bound to get hurt”. “If the ammunition didn’t arrive on time, that sort of thing. It was always hanging over you.”
He says the establishment of a national support element in Darwin was excellent.
“It meant we could buy goods from the local market and get them over there much easier. We didn’t know until our troops got there that we’d have a company of Canadians (soldiers) and platoon of Irish soldiers and groups of Pakistani soldiers drawing off us for a while.”
There were some communication breakdowns, and many lessons learned. “ Theoretically the proportion of fighting personnel and logistics personnel should be 70 percent on fighting, and 30 percent on logistics. We were light on logistics and regretted it. We also learned the value of reliable goods and services, as opposed to cheap and unreliable, was incalculable.”
“Looking back, we know we planned it, got it in, and sustained it. And that is what we always set out to do.”
When the turmoil of East Timor erupted in 1999, the Army had not yet coined its ethos phrase Courage, Comradeship ,Commitment and Integrity.
Those values were very much apparent however, with several New Zealand Defence Force personnel being recognised for the courage and commitment they displayed.
Colonel Neville Reilly was serving with the United Nations Mission to East Timor when the referendum which sparked most of the mayhem was held. It fell to him and his group of military liaison officers to liaise with the Indonesian Military to find out what was going on throughout the country, and try to pre-empt any violence.
“There was a lot of concern within the community that it would not be a free ballot. There was supposed to be registration, education about the ballot, and then the vote, all without intimidation. It was very hard to tell what was going to happen. We had heard about threats of violence, but we were unarmed, and there wasn’t a lot we could do.”
As soon as the referendum was announced the trouble began. It happened slowly at first, escalating to a situation where the militia forces were running rampant and several UN staff were in considerable danger.
Colonel Reilly, unflappable and quietly spoken, set to on a personal mission which would later see him presented with a significant bravery award, the New Zealand Gallantry Star.
He was asked by the UN to ensure the safety of their mission. To do this he travelled unarmed to provide support to UN staff, and to help them plan escape routes should they be forced to evacuate their premises.
He was in the Headquarters of UN Mission with other UN staff when it was stormed by hundreds of refugees who feared for their lives and thought the UN could provide security for them.
“I felt very confident in our UN military observers. Naturally we were worried, but there was so much to do you didn’t have time to dwell on that.”
The citation which accompanied his nomination for the NZ Gallantry Star said he “often ventured with complete disregard to his personal safety to provide support to displaced UN staff. On one specific occasion he drove five kilometres through militia-controlled territory to rescue a colleague who was trapped by militia forces attacking the house in which he was hiding.”
Colonel Reilly’s diplomacy and Indonesian language skills were said to have been very useful in assisting with the arrangements for the safe evacuation of some 2000 people.
After his deployment to East Timor Colonel Reilly went on to lead New Zealand’s first Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan. He has recently returned to New Zealand after three years as the NZ Defence Attache is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Of his time in East Timor, he says what he remembers most is “how well people worked together in very difficult circumstances.”
“Everyone, including all the New Zealanders, had a galvanised approach to do the best they could. People often work very well together in times of adversity. And they definitely did in Timor.”