Australia Gearing Up for the G20 Summit

Australia is gearing up to host the 2014 G20 Leader’s Summit which will be held in Brisbane on 15 and 16 November. The city has transformed as a result of the security arrangements necessary to accommodate the world’s most powerful people. Approximately 2000 Australia Defence Force (ADF) personnel from across all three of the nation’s military branches have been committed to supporting the event, and are postured to provide key support roles to the Queensland Police Service and a raft of other government agencies (OGAs).

The ADF has participated in a number of training exercises in Brisbane leading up to the summit. These training scenarios and mission rehearsals are necessary in order to hone the integration of the ADF’s command and control (C2) elements with the Queensland Police Service and other agencies providing security to the G20.

Major General Stuart Smith, commander of ADF support to the G20, said each situation tested a different aspect of the G20 C2 structure.

“While Defence is playing only a supporting role in G20, we need to be ready to respond to a wide range of possible scenarios,” General Smith said.

“Most importantly, the ADF needs to be able to work in cooperation with the Queensland Police Service and a variety of other government organisations. This means we need to understand how each operates, and adapt accordingly.”

Operators from the 2nd Commando Regiment’s Tactical Assault Group – East (TAG-E) have been kept exceptionally busy rehearsing a number of full-mission profiles (FMP) ahead of the event. TAG-E is Australia’s most elite and critical counterterrorism capability, whereby the structure, design, and training allows it to deal with domestic terrorism threats that are beyond the scope of state and territory law enforcement.

The FMPs would have been tailored around the mission of the Tactical Assault Group, which is to recover a location, facility, means of transport or other object, prevent acts of violence, and/or protect persons from acts of violence in order to resolve a terrorist incident.

The TAG-E will be on an exceptionally short notice to move in the event that they are formally requested to provide support in the event of a terrorist incident.