About This Unit
The 1st Joint Support Unit was raised on 1 July 1997 with the primary mission of providing support to the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters. Whilst the unit's role and tasks were clearly defined and logical, nobody expected in the near term to see this unit fully committed (at short notice) to any single operation. Such a commitment would almost certainly mean that the lion's share of the 1st Division would have to be deployed - and that seemed very unlikely at the time.
In mid-1999, 1JSU was fully committed, not to an operation but to a large multinational exercise called Crocodile '99. The lead-up to this activity consumed a vast amount of time and resources from the fledgeling Unit, yet in our near region something else was going on. Something far more urgent and life-threatening to our neighbours and WWII allies in East Timor. The events in East Timor were gaining a momentum of their own, yet yet the ADF had to give a "business-as-usual" appearance to the world. The exercise was to continue as planned and this meant that half of 1 JSU was in Rockhampton with tonnes of equipment in late August whilst the other half were conducting the final testing on the brand-new Parakeet equipment which had just been delivered. The unit was like the proverbial duck throughout this period, giving the impression on the surface that it was floating easily upstream against the rushing water, yet underneath the feet were paddling furiously. Finally, just two weeks before the first elements of the Unit were to leave for Timor, orders were given to return to Enoggera and begin preparation for operational deployment. So began the Unit's first real test, one that I belive it has passed with flying colours.
Some of the first soldiers into East Timor on 20 September 1999 and the last INTERFET soldiers to leave in March 2000 were from 1JSU. During this 6 month period, the soldiers of 1 JSU, performed tasks which ranged from highly technical (CIS support and EME repair) to basic life support (resupply, cooking, rubbish disposal, sanitation etc) from the uplifting task of providing support to the local community to the soul-destroying task of body recovery; from high profile Close Personal Protection tasks to the unpalatable task of burning human excrement; from clearing buildings to patrolling the streets of Dili; from mail and rubbish runs to relocating Falantil Freedom Fighters. Each and every task was completed diligently and without complaint, even though the Unit was often stretched well beyond its means. Despite the conditions and seemingly insurmountable workload, the thing that struck me most about 1JSU in East Timor was the camaraderie and the spirit that remained in the unit. Everyone took their work very seriously but could always find something to laugh about when the tension became too great. The memories of the hardships encountered in East Timor pale into significance when we think of the plight of the wonderful people who we had been sent to protect.
LTCOL Roger Joy
Commanding Officer 1st Joint Support Unit
December 1999