As the first bombs fell over Iraq
today, Australia's military chiefs sat huddled in a secret war room
buried metres beneath defence headquarters in Canberra.
Behind the high razor-steel fences of the Defence Signals
Directorate, Defence Minister Robert Hill joined the chief of the
military General Peter Cosgrove for a brief tour of the ADF's
Command and Control Centre.
From here the military can contact and direct Australian forces
anywhere in the world, including teams of Special Air Service
commandos operating deep inside Iraq.
Entry requires passage through two security desks and the
surrender of mobile phones and laptops.
Behind banks of computers and video screens, military personnel
and a scattering of civilians and defence scientists filtered
information rolling in from around the world - a process known as
"deconflicting".
"They need to work out what the senior commanders need to know
and de-conflict that information," a senior ADF spokesman said.
"It just means making sure everything is right."
Under clocks marking time in the Middle East, Christmas Island,
London and the US, the control centre boasted wall-size maps of
Iraq and video conferencing facilities, and screens marked
"secret".
From here the ADF controlled operations in East Timor in 1999,
as well as the
interception of asylum seekers and the "war on
terror" deployment to Afghanistan.
"This is a huge command post," General Cosgrove said.
"This is an absolute beehive.
"They're processing information, they're sending it on.
"With satellite communications, we can speak to (the troops)
whenever we want."
The war room, called the "the pit" by its inhabitants, will
provide information to senior officers, including General Cosgrove
and centre commander Major-General Ken Gillespie 24 hours a day.
In practice, General Cosgrove and a handful of senior officers,
as well as Defence Secretary Ric Smith, will receive daily
briefings from around 0430 AEDT each morning and will in turn brief
the government.
Those mid-morning briefings at Parliament House will include
Prime Minister John Howard and senior ministers on the National
Security Committee of cabinet.
Also in the war room were teams of lawyers ready to advise on
the legality of combat missions in Iraq under Australia's tight
rules of engagement.
"There are teams of lawyers here 24 hours a day, relating to
lawyers in the field, who are relating to other lawyers in allied
forces," Senator Hill said.
"From a planning point of view I really think the performance
here has been excellent.
"That leads to the forces in the filed having confidence in
what's happening here."
AAP rft/sb/ph/bwl