The War on Terror and Afghanistan
2001 - Ongoing
On 11 September 2001, terrorists used hijacked civilian airliners to destroy the World Trade Centre in New York and to damage the Pentagon in Washington. Americans reacted with disbelief and anger at this attack. The United States and its allies formed the International Coalition Against Terrorism and launched a war against Afghanistan, the main stronghold of the Islamic terrorist group, Al-Quaida, the group responsible 9/11. The Taliban government of Afghanistan, which supported Al-Quaida, was overthrown. Afghans and US and Coalition allies entered the capital, Kabul, on 13 November 2001.
The idea of terrorism is very old. Today the fear is that terrorists will soon wield much more than daggers: not only guns and bombs, but chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons. Or, as the hijackers of 11 September 2001 showed, weapons as humble as daggers – in their case, craft knives – can be used to turn the complex infrastructure of civilised society against itself: a civilian airliner can also be a devastating weapon of destruction.
Australia has provided military support to the coalition under the ANZUS treaty. This has included SAS and regular Army troops in Afghanistan itself; Boeing 707 refuelling aircraft based in Kyrgyzstan; and F/A-18 Hornets based at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. In addition, RAN frigates Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Newcastle and amphibious troopships Kanimbla and Manoora provided support to the coalition.
ADF Personnel Wounded in Action
| Year | Afghanistan | Other | Total |
| 2002-2004 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 2005 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
| 2006 | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| 2007 | 21 | 6 | 27 |
| 2008 | 26 | 2 | 28 |
| 2009 | 37 | 0 | 37 |
| 2010 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Total | 120 | 28 | 147 |
ADF Personnel Deployed to Afgahistan and Killed In Action
- SGT Andrew Russell, SASR, died of wounds sustained when his patrol vehicle struck a anti-tank mine on 16 February, 2002.
- TPR David Pearce, 2/14 LHR QMI, was killed when his ASLAV was struck by an IED on 8 October, 2007.
- SGT Matthew Locke, SASR, was killed by Taliban insurgent small-arms fire on 25 October, 2007.
- PTE Luke Worsley, 4RAR(Cdo), was killed by Taliban insurgent small-arms fire on 23 November, 2007.
- LCPL Jason Marks, 4RAR(Cdo), was killed by Taliban insurgent small-arms fire on 27 April, 2008.
- SIG Sean McCarthy, SASR, was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was struck by an IED on 8 July, 2008.
- LT Michael Fussell, 4RAR(Cdo), was killed when struck by an IED during a dismounted patrol on 27 November, 2008.
- PTE Gregory Sher, 1st Commonado Regiment, was killed in a rocket attack on 4 January, 2009.
- CPL Mathew Hopkins, 7th Battalion, The Royal Aust. Regiment, was killed during an engagement with the Taliban on 16 March, 2009.
- SGT Brett Till, Incident Response Regiment, was killed by an explosion during a route clearance task on 19 March, 2009.
- PTE Benjamin Ranaudo, 1st Battalion, The Royal Aust. Regiment was killed as a result of an IED on 18 July, 2009.
* Figures provided by the Department of Defence - www.defence.gov.au
