THE Edinburgh RAAF base is now home to the Australian Army’s first response team to national security incidents and natural disasters.
More than 600 members of the Edinburgh-based 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) will make up the Ready Battle Group, marking the first time it is based in South Australia.
The Ready Battle Group will remain at the local base on standby to support “short notice contingencies”, while 1st Brigade members are deployed into known operational theatres.
Officers and soldiers from the battalion marked their transition to “ready” with a parade at Edinburgh on Thursday.
Commander of the 1st Brigade brigadier Matt Pearse said that 7RAR, as part of the 1st Brigade’s Ready Forces, would be relied upon over the coming year to support Australia’s national interests.
“The Ready Battle Group is about having a flexible, scalable and reliable option available to support the government and people of Australia in a time of need, whether responding to a security incident or a natural disaster,” he said.
“Soldiers of the previous Ready Battle Group, led by Brisbane’s 7th Brigade, have been retained on short notice to meet the demands of government both domestically and abroad since August 2018.
“I know the men and women of 7RAR will perform with the same dedication and sacrifice.”
7RAR commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Adam Gower said the unit brought skills and experience to the role of the Ready Battle Group.
“Many of 7 RAR’s soldiers have contemporary operational experience, including deploying to the Middle East Region in 2017, and more recently on Exercise Talisman Sabre where they successfully integrated with the Royal Australian Navy as part of the Amphibious Task Group,” he said.