The 17th Construction Squadron is an Australian Army sub-unit consisting of personnel drawn mainly from the Royal Australian Engineers. Originally formed in 1949, the squadron is currently part of the 6th Engineer Support Regiment and is based at RAAF Base Amberley. Personnel from the squadron have deployed on operations during the Vietnam War, in Namibia, East Timor, the War in Afghanistan and Iraq. The squadron has participated in the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program since 1997, and has also been called upon to provide assistance to the wider Australian community following natural disasters, including most recently in the wake of the 2010–11 Queensland floods.
History
Squadron origins (1949–1965) 17th Construction Squadron was raised out of the Eastern Command Maintenance Squadron on 20 September 1949 as a Regular unit, under the command of Captain E. Phillips. Upon formation it consisted of three troops: 8, 9 and 10. Squadron headquarters was located at Kingsford, New South Wales, along with the 9 and 10 Troops, while 8 Troop was located in the Moore Park area. The year later, Plant Troop was raised and moved to Woomera, South Australia.Grantham 1978, p. 27. It had initially been planned that the squadron would form part of a regimental formation known as the 4th Construction Regiment, but the regiment was never raised and the squadron was formed as an independent unit.Greville 2002, p. 30.
During the period between 1950 and 1965 the squadron carried out considerable construction and relief tasks both within Australia and overseas. It was involved in the construction of the Woomera Rocket Range from 1950 to 1954. In 1953 it was also involved in the site construction for project "Two Zero Zero", an atomic weapons test site. Between January and October 1953, the squadron worked to prepare the site ahead of the detonation of the first atomic weapon exploded on the Australian mainland, which took place in October 1953 under the guise of Operation Totem.Greville 2002, p. 471. In 1956, work was undertaken at Moorebank where the squadron constructed a pontoon harbour and also at Randwick where work on new soldiers' accommodation was completed.
In 1960, an element from 8 Troop was deployed to New Hebrides to help restore Port Vila after it was struck by a cyclone.Greville 2002, pp. 584–585. The following year, 10 Troop was detached to the command of the 24th Construction Squadron and deployed to Vanimo and Passam, Papua New Guinea, where they completed road building tasks and constructed a 300-ton wharf. In June 1963, the main body of the squadron deployed to Wewak, taking over from the 21st Construction Squadron, before returning to Australia in June 1964, having been replaced by the 22nd Construction Squadron.Greville 2002, pp. 525–527.
South Vietnam (1966–1971) The most significant part of squadron history was its involvement in the Vietnam War. The squadron was in South Vietnam from 1966 to 1971 and was involved in a wide variety of engineering tasks. The first to deploy was 8 Troop, which was initially based around Vung Tau, although they were later deployed to the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat in August 1966.Greville 2002, p. 670. At Nui Dat, elements of the squadron took part in the defence of the base during an attack the day before the Battle of Long Tan; amidst heavy indirect fire, three members of the squadron were wounded.Greville 2002, p. 744. 10 Troop relieved 8 Troop at Nui Dat in October, and in February 1967 the squadron's third troop, 9 Troop, was deployed to Vietnam.Greville 2002, p. 671. Early tasks undertaken by the squadron included clearing operations in support of the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment during Operation Leeton, and sustainment operations.Greville 2002, p. 699. The construction of helipads and land marking operations were common tasks carried out by Plant Troop. In 1967 the squadron completed a 300,000 gallon dam. This provided the Australian contingent with an alternate water supply.Greville 2002, p. 700. At Nui Dat the squadron set up a large quarrying operation in early 1968.
The squadron was also involved in the construction of the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group (1 ALSG) base amid the sand dunes at Vung Tau following its occupation in May 1966.Greville 2002, p. 666. Although a detachment of engineers from 1 RAR Group had commenced basic works to prepare the area prior to the lodgement, including a basic water supply and road construction, much work remained. Lacking basic facilities for logistic operations including unloading facilities, roads and hardstanding, 1 ALSG struggled to become operational and commence logistic support to 1 ATF forward at Nui Dat. Meanwhile, basic hygiene and stifling heat were also a significant problem.McNeill 1993, p. 230–231. Urgent work was required and the development plan included cutting and spreading the sand dunes, reclaiming large areas of swamp land, road construction, establishing accommodation, hardstanding, storage areas, workshops and vehicles parks, as well as extensive drainage works.Greville 2002, p. 679. Other tasks included winning construction resources, water purification and supply, electricity generation, survey, bridging and rafting, and civil aid.Greville 2002, p. 680. Helipads were also constructed to enable 1 ALSG to be resupplied by helicopter and for 2 Field Ambulance to receive casualties.Greville 2002, p. 684. Later, in April 1968 a quarry was also constructed at Vung Tau to supply crushed rock, gravel and fine sand for the pavement of roads, airfields, helipads and development of hardstanding.Greville 2002. p. 683.
Land clearing operations had been undertaken by 1st Field Squadron since the occupation of Nui Dat to improve base defences and observation. Later they were extended for tactical purposes to open up key routes within Phuoc Tuy by removing vegetation to deny cover and concealment to the Viet Cong, and also provided arable land for villagers as part of the Pacification program.Greville 2002, pp. 783–784.Parker 1972, p. 40. In March 1968, a dedicated Land Clearing Team was formed by 17th Construction Squadron elements at Nui Dat to supplement existing arrangements.Greville 2002, p. 787. One particular operation, codenamed "Cooktown Orchid" conducted in April 1968, saw a large element of Plant Troop deploy under infantry and armoured protection to clear undergrowth and trees in the foothills of the Long Hải Hills. Land clearance operations proved quite dangerous for the plant operators who were exposed to land mines and booby traps, as well as to attack by small arms and other direct fire weapons.Parker 1972, p. 41. During this operation one D8 bulldozer was destroyed, and a sapper injured when an RPG round hit the dozer he was operating.Greville 2002. p. 788. In 1969 the squadron continued with land clearing tasks within the 1 ATF area of operations. During the operation, numerous bunker systems were uncovered and the D8 dozers detonated many mines. In August 1969, 9 Troop assisted in replacing a sabotaged bridge with a floating pontoon bridge. The enemy had blown the bridge on National Route 51, south-east of Saigon. The troop, working with the US Engineers, took only 13 hours to re-open the road.
1970 saw the squadron heavily committed to Project 399,Greville 2002, p. 673. the civil aid program involving the construction of housing for Regional Force soldiers and their families throughout Phuoc Tuy province. The squadron built a total of 410 houses at sites such as Baria, An Nhuit, Dat Do, Ong Trinh and Duc Thanh. On 20 September the unit celebrated its 21st birthday. Later that year, John Sanderson was appointed Officer Commanding. It was at about this time that the unit adopted the "Little Bear" symbol and the motto, "A Little Bear will Fix It", which is well known on Norton's Bear Brand Tape. The little bear was created in the mid-1950s by Sydney cartoonist Syd Miller and has been in extensively since that time. Quarrying operations during 1970, with the squadron operating Hadfield and Aveling-Barford crushers at three sites.Greville 2002, p. 177. Throughout 1971 a number of major road projects were completed, as was a bridge over the Song Rai River.Greville 2002, p. 182. The squadron subsequently returned to Australia,Grantham 1978, p. 28. where it moved to Enoggera, Queensland.Greville 2002, p. 44. At the height of its involvement in Vietnam, the squadron consisted of 12 officers and 334 other ranks.Greville 2002, p. 674.
Enoggera and disbandment (1972–1973) The decade of the 1970s saw the demise of the squadron as the RAE was reorganised around a regimental structure. In February 1972, it was renamed the 17th Field Squadron, as part of 2nd Field Engineer Regiment, based at Enoggera.Greville 2002, pp. 43–44. While part of the regiment, the squadron completed construction works in Tully as part of the regiment's involvement supporting the Medium Tank Trials Unit.Greville 2002, p. 49. Public relations projects were also undertaken including work on Tully hospital, schools, golf and bowling clubs. In mid-1973, 17th Field Squadron merged with 7th Field Squadron, and the unit's designation fell off the Royal Australian Engineers Order of Battle. The unit remained disbanded until 1977.
Re-raised in Sydney (1977–1989)
In August 1977, the 17th Construction Squadron was re-raised at Gallipoli Lines, Holsworthy Barracks, as part of the 1st Construction Regiment. Upon establishment, the unit was placed under the command of Major John Koek. The squadron's first task saw it sent to Nowra, where it was tasked with constructing fuel storage tanks for the Royal Australian Navy. In addition to this, the squadron worked to restore the accommodation buildings that it had been assigned. Having established itself, during the first six months of 1978 the squadron completed a number of small construction tasks for surrounding units in the Holsworthy area, including new facilities for the 1st Field Engineer Regiment.Grantham 1978, pp. 28 & 31. An annual camp was also held at Gosper, New South Wales.Grantham 1978, p. 31. In 1979, the 17th Construction Squadron was placed on stand-by for service in Namibia.
During the early 1980s operational readiness planning took up a large slice of the squadron's effort. During this decade a large number of construction tasks were still completed, including the construction of the Holsworthy Range Road, the School of Military Engineering Museum upgrade and numerous Lysaght buildings. A detachment also supported 22nd Construction Squadron with the construction of facilities for the Special Air Service Regiment.
In 1982 8 Troop performed a small controlled demolition of the Woronora Weir at Engadine. When Severe Tropical Cyclone Isaac hit Tonga on 3 March 1982, killing 6 people and making 45,000 homeless, the entire squadron was deployed to Tonga for a two-week period to assist with urgent shelter and recovery efforts.
In 1985 the Squadron rebuilt the airfield at the army's Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
In 1987–88 over a six-month period the Plant Troop constructed a large earth filled dam on the upper Nepean River at the Bents Basin State Recreation Area.
The squadron participated in a major exercise with the 1st Construction Regiment at Singleton, New South Wales in 1988. This was the first occasion that the Transfield heavy girder bridge had been constructed on exercise. Also in 1988 9 Troop constructed the Holsworthy Range Control facility and facilities at Penrith.
Other works were undertaken overseas by detachments as part of the Defence Co-operation Program. Established in the early 1960s to engage with Southeast Asian nations, in the early 1980s the program was refocused upon the nations in the Southwest Pacific, where a number of construction projects were implemented.Shephard 1993, p. iii. During this time, projects were completed in several countries including: