Australia's First Victoria Cross in 40 years.

[Ian]

Aussie special forces crush Taliban leaders in Afghanistan

AUSTRALIAN special forces operating deep inside Taliban territory in southern Afghanistan have inflicted severe damage on the insurgency's leadership, the army's head of special operations said yesterday.

In a rare briefing summarising 524 days of combat since the special forces returned to fight in Oruzgan province, Major General Tim McOwan pledged no let-up in the assault, despite the onset of the Afghan winter.

And he had this message for the Taliban: "We will find you. We will hunt you down. Your time is limited."

Elite SAS operatives and commandos operating in gruelling conditions had killed four Taliban leaders and captured seven others, he said.

A further 180 lower-ranking insurgents had been captured and handed over to the Afghan authorities, Major General McOwan said.

"These are successes not just for the SOTG (special operations task group) but for the hard-working poor civilians of Afghanistan and for the fledgling democracy itself," he said.

Major General McOwan revealed that in early October the special forces killed a high-level Taliban commander, Mullah Korsullah Shakir, who was implicated in manufacturing bombs and attacks on Afghan civilian and coalition troops.

"We know the loss of these individuals has had a dramatic impact on the resilience of the Taliban networks," he said.

His upbeat appraisal of military success in Oruzgan stands in contrast to the overall security picture in Afghanistan.

Faced with the resurgent Taliban, the Afghan conflict has got bloodier every year since 2005, with the death toll for coalition troops at 273 for this year alone, compared with 232 last year.

The cost has been high among the SOTG forces, which sustained six of the seven Australian combat fatalities since 2001.

Not so well known is the number of Australian special forces soldiers wounded -- about 50, including some with life-threatening injuries.

Major General McOwan detailed the heroism of Australians in Afghanistan. One SAS trooper deliberately drew enemy fire to save wounded comrades before dashing 80m over open ground raked by machinegun fire.

The display of heroism came on September 2, during the ambush of a joint US, Australian and Afghan Humvee convoy that was returning to base after inflicting 13 Taliban kills a day earlier.

"In order to regain the initiative several SAS soldiers reacted to the ambush without regard to their own safety," Major General McOwan said.

"One soldier, whom I shall refer to as Trooper F (Trooper Mark Donaldson), moved between positions of cover to engage the enemy, using anti-armour weapons as well as his personal weapon.

"The soldier deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire on several occasions in order to draw fire away from those soldiers who were already wounded in the initial heavy fire."

During an attempt to move the convoy away from the heavy enemy fire, a severely wounded Afghan interpreter fell from a truck. "Trooper F saw he had fallen and was lying to the rear in the open in ground being raked by machinegun fire," Major General McOwan said.

"Without prompting and without regard to his own safety, Trooper F went back to recover the wounded Afghan. He ran across about 80m of fire-swept and exposed ground, drawing intense and accurate machinegun fire from the entrenched enemy positions."

Trooper F lifted the wounded man on to his shoulders and carried him back to the vehicles before applying first aid and then returning to the firefight.

The Taliban ambush resulted in nine Australian soldiers being wounded, the most in a single action since the Vietnam War.

[Kev in Deva]

AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS FOR AUSTRALIA

16 January 2009.

8248070 TROOPER MARK GREGOR DONALDSON.

For most conspicuous acts of gallantry in action in a circumstance of great peril in Afghanistan as part of the Special Operations Task Group during Operation SLIPPER, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

Trooper Mark Gregor Donaldson enlisted into the Australian Army on 18 June 2002. After completing Recruit and Initial and Employment Training he was posted to the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. Having successfully completed the Special Air Service Selection Course in April 2004, Trooper Donaldson was posted to Special Air Service Regiment in May 2004.

On 2 September 2008, during the conduct of a fighting patrol, Trooper Donaldson was traveling in a combined Afghan, US and Australian vehicle convoy that was engaged by a numerically superior, entrenched and coordinated enemy ambush. The ambush was initiated by a high volume of sustained machine gun fire coupled with the effective use of rocket propelled grenades. Such was the effect of the initiation that the combined patrol suffered numerous casualties, completely lost the initiative and became immediately suppressed. It was over two hours before the convoy was able to establish a clean break and move to an area free of enemy fire.

In the early stages of the ambush, Trooper Donaldson reacted spontaneously to regain the initiative. He moved rapidly between alternate positions of cover engaging the enemy with 66mm and 84mm anti-armour weapons as well as his M4 rifle. During an early stage of the enemy ambush, he deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to draw attention to himself and thus away from wounded soldiers. This selfless act alone bought enough time for those wounded to be moved to relative safety.

As the enemy had employed the tactic of a rolling ambush, the patrol was forced to conduct numerous vehicle manoeuvres, under intense enemy fire, over a distance of approximately four kilometers to extract the convoy from the engagement area. Compounding the extraction was the fact that casualties had consumed all available space within the vehicles. Those who had not been wounded, including Trooper Donaldson, were left with no option but to run beside the vehicles throughout. During the conduct of this vehicle manoeuvre to extract the convoy from the engagement area, a severely wounded coalition force interpreter was inadvertently left behind. Of his own volition and displaying complete disregard for his own safety, Trooper Donaldson moved alone, on foot, across approximately 80 metres of exposed ground to recover the wounded interpreter. His movement, once identified by the enemy, drew intense and accurate machine gun fire from entrenched positions. Upon reaching the wounded coalition force interpreter, Trooper Donaldson picked him up and carried him back to the relative safety of the vehicles then provided immediate first aid before returning to the fight.

On subsequent occasions during the battle, Trooper Donaldson administered medical care to other wounded soldiers, whilst continually engaging the enemy.

Trooper Donaldson?s acts of exceptional gallantry in the face of accurate and sustained enemy fire ultimately saved the life of a coalition force interpreter and ensured the safety of the other members of the combined Afghan, US and Australian force. Trooper Donaldson?s actions on this day displayed exceptional courage in circumstances of great peril. His actions are of the highest accord and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the Special Operations Command, the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.

Personal biography of Trooper Mark Gregor Donaldson, VC

Mark Donaldson was born in Waratah, Newcastle, NSW on 2 April 1979. He spent his formative years in northern NSW where he graduated from high school in 1996.

Trooper Donaldson enlisted into the Australian Army on 18 june 2002 and entered recruit training at the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka, NSW. He demonstrated an early aptitude for soldiering and was awarded the prizes for best shot and best at physical training in his platoon.

Subsequently he was allocated to the Royal Australian infantry corps and posted to the school of infantry at Singleton, NSW, where he excelled in his initial employment training. At the completion of this training he was again awarded best shot and best at physical training, as well as the award for the most outstanding soldier in his platoon.

He was posted to 1st battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Townsville, QLD in November 2002. It was during this time that Trooper Donaldson decided to pursue his ambition to join the special air service regiment.

In February 2004, he successfully completed the Special Air Service Regiment selection course and was posted to the regiment in may 2004. He was then posted to I Troop, 3 Special Air Service Squadron. Since that time he has been deployed on operations to East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

On 12 August 2008, Trooper Donaldson was wounded in action whilst conducting night time operations in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. He recovered from his minor wounds and continued on the deployment.

Trooper Donaldson was involved in an incident on 2 September 2008 in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan that resulted in him being awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. He was invested by her Excellency the Governor-General of Australia at Government House, Canberra on 16 January 2009. Trooper Donaldson remains posted to the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth, WA.

Trooper Donaldson is married to Emma and has a daughter Kaylee. His parents are deceased.

Significance.

The Victoria Cross is the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and is Australia's highest military honour.

It is awarded to persons who, in the presence of the enemy, display the most conspicuous gallantry; a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice; or extreme devotion to duty.

History.

The Victoria Cross was created by Queen Victoria in 1856 and made retrospective to 1854 to cover the period of the Crimea War.

Until the Victoria Cross for Australia was created in 1991, Australians were eligible for the Victoria Cross and other awards under the Imperial system of honours.

The Imperial Victoria Cross has been awarded to ninety six Australians. Ninety one received the Victoria Cross while others serving with Australian forces and five Australians received the award while serving with South African and British units.

Australians were first recognised for their gallantry in the Boer War and more recently during the Vietnam War.

Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross in the following conflicts:

* 6 in the Boer War 1899-1902

* 64 in World War I 1914-1918

* 2 in North Russia 1919

* 20 in World War II 1939-1945

* 4 in Vietnam 1962-1972

Nine of the crosses awarded in World War I were for Australians at Gallipoli.

Victoria Cross for Australia.

The Victoria Cross for Australia was instituted in the Australian honours system by Letters Patent on 15 January 1991.

It replaced the British or Imperial Victoria Cross however; a Victoria Cross for Australia has not yet been awarded.

Past recipients.

Ninety six Australians have been awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross. No recipients had been awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.

The first Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross was Captain Sir Neville Howse VC KCMG CB KStJ during the Boer War (1900). He also served in World War I and later as Commonwealth Minister for Health, Defence and Repatriation.

The most recent recipient of the Victoria Cross was Warrant Officer Keith Payne VC OAM for gallantry during the Vietnam War (24 May 1969). Under heavy enemy fire Payne instigated a daring rescue of more than forty men, many of them wounded, and led the party back to the battalion base.

Kevin in Deva.