Operation Slipper

Operation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The operation commenced in late 2001 and is ongoing. ADF participation included two major activities centred on Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

First phase
Australian participation in Afghanistan included a Special Forces Task group and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing 707 air-to-air refuelling aircraft from No. 33 Squadron. These aircraft and associated support personnel operated from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan and provided support to coalition aircraft operating in Afghan airspace. Two RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft flew maritime patrol missions in support of maritime interdiction operations in the Persian Gulf. These aircraft were temporarily retasked to Operations Falconer and Catalyst in 2003.

RAAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft were also involved in providing logistic support for deployed forces. The Special Forces were involved with the establishment of the US-led coalition's first Forward Operating Base (Camp Rhino) southwest of Kandahar in November 2001, followed by the capture of Kandahar International Airport in December 2001. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in December 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn. Following this date until 2005 Australia’s total contribution to efforts in Afghanistan was a single officer attached to the Coalition’s mine clearing force.

All three squadrons of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002. The dates of these deployments were:
 * 1 Squadron Group, SASR – (October 2001–April 2002)
 * 3 Squadron Group, SASR – (April 2002–August 2002)
 * 2 Squadron Group, SASR – (August 2002–November 2002)

A Troop from the New Zealand Special Air Service was attached to each Australian SAS Squadron Group. It's unclear whether the New Zealand SAS Troop was rotated at the same times as the Australian units.

Second phase
An Australian Special Forces Task Group was re-deployed to Afghanistan in August or September 2005. This Task Group consisted of elements from the SASR, 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando), the Incident Response Regiment and logistic support personnel. As well as heavily modified land rovers, the Special Forces Task Group was also equipped with some Bushmaster infantry mobility vehicles. A detachment of two CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the 5th Aviation Regiment was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2006 to support the Special Forces Task Group. The Australian Special Forces Task Group was withdrawn from Afghanistan in September 2006 and the helicopter detachment returned to Australia in April 2007.

Third phase
A Reconstruction Taskforce based around the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment with protective elements from the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 2nd Cavalry Regiment began arriving in Orūzgān Province in southern Afghanistan in early September 2006. The Australian Reconstruction Taskforce formed part of a Dutch-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, operating as part of the Dutch-led Task Force Uruzgan and based at Forward Operating Base Ripley, outside of Tarin Kowt.

A 300-strong Special Operations Task Group was deployed to support the Reconstruction Taskforce in April 2007, including a Commando company-group, elements of the SASR, and an integral combat service support team. In addition to radar crews, logistics and intelligence officers, and security personnel, this brought the number of Australian personnel in Afghanistan to 950 by mid-2007, with further small increases to 1,000 in mid-2008, 1,100 in early 2009 and 1,550 in mid-2009. These increases have occurred in spite of opinion polls indicating that public support for the deployment is decreasing, with a poll released in September 2008 finding that a majority of those surveyed were opposed to Australia's continued military involvement in the country.

In early 2009 a number of Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) were embedded into the Afghan National Army battalions serving in the 4th (ANA) Brigade, 205th Hero Corps, in Uruzgan as part of the Australian mission to mentor and partner the ANA within the province. Consequently, the RTF was renamed the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force. On 16 January 2009, Trooper Mark Donaldson, a member of the SASR, was awarded Australia's highest gallantry medal, the Victoria Cross for Australia. Donaldson was awarded the medal for exposing himself to enemy fire to protect injured Australian troops and then rescuing an Afghan interpreter under heavy enemy fire during a contact on 2 September 2008.

As of 2010 a modest Australian force remains in Afghanistan where they are involved in counter-insurgency operations in Uruzgan province in conjunction with Dutch and other coalition forces. MRTF was again renamed to the Mentoring Task Force in early-2010, and is now based around a combined arms battalion-sized battle group, it consists of motorised infantry and cavalry force elements supported by engineers, as well as coalition enablers including artillery and aviation assets. The Rotary Wing Group flying CH-47D Chinooks, the Force Logistics Asset and an RAAF air surveillance radar unit are currently based in Kandahar. A further 800 Australian logistic personnel are also based in the Middle East in support of Operation Slipper, but are located outside of Afghanistan. Detachments of maritime patrol and transport aircraft continue to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, based out of Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

Current order of battle
As of March 2011 approximately 1,550 Australians were deployed to Afghanistan.
 * National Command Element
 * Mentoring Task Force 2 (MTF-2)
 * Headquarters, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR)
 * 4 x Combat Teams including infantry, cavalry, engineers and offensive support
 * 5 x Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams
 * Force Communications Unit IV (1st Combat Signal Regiment)
 * Logistics and support units
 * Detachment, 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (operates ScanEagle UAVs)
 * Special Operations Task Group
 * Elements of the SASR, 1 CDO, 2 CDO and the Incident Response Regiment
 * Rotary Wing Group (including two CH-47D Chinooks helicopters).
 * Detachment, 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (16 gunners attached to the British Army)
 * RAAF Control and Reporting Centre (Kandahar International Airport)
 * Two AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and three C-130 Hercules transports
 * Personnel embedded with various coalition units
 * Force Level Logistic Asset (Kandahar International Airport)

Scheduled departure of Australian forces
At the end of October 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott traveled to Afghanistan with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for a special ceremony at the Australian base in Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan. He told a gathering of troops and Afghan leaders that "Australia's longest war is ending. Not with victory, not with defeat, but with, we hope, an Afghanistan that is better for our presence here." Afghan forces were scheduled to take over running of the camp in mid-December.

Persian Gulf
Since October 2001 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has maintained a continuous presence in and around Iraqi territorial waters as part of Operation Slipper and subsequent operations. There were four major rotations of RAN ships to this area of operations between December 2001 and March 2003. The primary focus of these rotations was to conduct Maritime Interception Operations as part of a US, Australian and British force enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions against Iraq. The first rotation consisted of Her Majesty's Australian Ships (HMAS) Sydney, Adelaide and Kanimbla. These ships were followed in February 2002 by HMA Ships Canberra, Newcastle and Manoora and again in July 2002 by HMAS Arunta and Melbourne.

Detachments from the Army's 16th Air Defence Regiment provided point defence to the Kanimbla and Manoora during their deployments. One of the final Operation Slipper rotations was in November 2002 with HMA Ships Anzac and Darwin.

HMAS Kanimbla departed from Sydney, Australia on 20 January 2003 again bound for the Persian Gulf under the mission objectives of Operation Bastille. On arriving in Bahrain on 16 February she reverted to the original mission objects of Operation Slipper (that of enforcing UN Sanctions against Iraq). On 20 March 2003, HMA Ships Kanimbla, Anzac and Darwin participated in the combat phase of the 2003 Iraq War, codenamed Operation Falconer.

During these operations the Australian ships pioneered a number of techniques that increased the effectiveness of Maritime Interception Force operations leading to them intercepting and boarding about 1700 vessels during the period. Four Australian naval officers commanded the multinational force at various times during the course of the operation.

Diego Garcia
A detachment of four Australian F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft provided air defence for the US military base on the island of Diego Garcia during the campaign against the Taliban. The initial detachment was provided by No. 77 Squadron RAAF between December 2001 and 10 February 2002. This detachment was replaced by a detachment from No. 3 Squadron RAAF which was deployed between 10 February 2002 and 20 May 2002. No further Australian units have been deployed to Diego Garcia.

Casualties
Operation Slipper is notable for the first Australian combat deaths since the Vietnam War, and to date all casualties have occurred during operations in Afghanistan. 40 Australian soldiers have been killed and 256 wounded, the majority since October 2007. Another Australian was killed while serving with the British Army.

Cost
The cost of Operation Slipper has represented the largest operation expenditure for most of it's operational life. Below is the yearly expenditure on Operation Slipper of the Australian Defence Force.