Operation Slipper
Introduction
Operation Slipper is a term originally used by the Australian Department of Defence to refer to Australian Defence Forces (ADF) and anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean from October 2001 onwards. For a period it was used publicy for ADF activities in Afghanistan alone. In July 2007, the Defence Update 2007 once again described Operation Slipper as “the ADF’s contribution to the international coalition against terrorism.”
Consequently Operation Slipper overlaps with three ADF operations towards Iraq from the beginning of 2003 to the present:
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Operation Bastille, 23 January – 18 March 2003: “pre-deployment of forces to the Middle East, acclimatisation and in-theatre training”
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Operation Falconer, 18 March: “combat operations to disarm Iraq”
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Operation Catalyst, 16 July 2003 – present: “stabilisation and recovery operations”
Operation Bastille was formally part of Operation Slipper, but Iraq operations under Falconer and Catalyst were not.
However, Operation Slipper subsequently shared a number of command and logistic support elements with Operations Falconer and Catalyst, and continues to do so.
The Department of Veterans Affairs formal Determination of Warlike Service for Operation Slipper in 2005 indicates that the purpose of Operation Slipper is the “US Led Response to International Terrorism”, and that the boundaries incorporate the entire Arabian Peninsula, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and all or most of the Gulf states, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Syria, Turkey, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhistan.
Operation Slipper Specified Area, 2004 – ongoing
- Operation Slipper<br /> http://www.vrb.gov.au/images/slipper-area.gif<br />
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs
Government sources
Operation Slipper, Department of Defence, Australia
Official Defence website, regularly updated, principally dealing with post-2005 deployment. Limited information, but the Operation Slipper Media Releases page is useful.
Operation Slipper, Determination of Warlike Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, 7 December 2001.
“Specified Area number one is bounded by the following geographical coordinates:
48 00N 81 00E
48 00N 35 00E
12 00N 35 00E
12 00N 81 00ESpecified area number two includes the Diego Garcia land mass and territorial waters, plus airspace of Diego Garcia out to 250nm radius (from Reference Point 07 18.6S 072 24.6E).”
Note: This Determination was subsequently revoked after June 2004 and replaced by determinations with geographical boundaries that do not include Diego Garcia.
Analysis
Operation Slipper, Wikipedia
Organised around three phases of ADF activities in Afghanistan and in the Persian Gulf from 2001 to 2007, with further material on Diego Garcia.