"terror Squad Swoops On Airport"
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"terror Squad Swoops On Airport"
Terror Squat swoops on airport
By Vanessa Burrow
Warrnambool’s “The Standard” Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Secuirty at Warrnambool’s airport was stepped up yesterday when the Australian Fedral Police sent it’s regional security team to the city for routine patrols.
The eight-member counter terrorism Regional Rapid Deployment (RRDT) included an officer with bomb appraisal training and a four-and-a-half-year-old labrador that can detect more than 19,000 explosive elements.
Planes and hangers were scoured and passengers’ luggage checked in what was the team’s second operation since it was established by the Federal Government on January 1.
Team leader, protective service officer Gavin Hall, said the routine deployment would educate airport operators and reassure the Australian public of the safety of regional airways.
“It provides uniformed presence at regional airports to give the community and passengers travelling a sense of security in their aerodromes,” he said.
Explosive Detection Canine handler Warren Hawkins and his charge Ziggy were doing their best to achieve that goal yesterday by searching for any hazardous substances at the airport.
Protective service officer Hawkins said his hard-working labrador trained every day and was rewarded with food.
“He doesn’t get a bowl, he has to work to get his food,” he said.
“It’s a good fun job – I get paid for playing with a dog,” he laughed.
Warrnambool airport reporting officer, John Franc, who was employed by the city council to care for the facility, said he was impressed by the RRDT team’s thoroughness.
“People definitely don’t realise what potential there is for danger (at the airport) and these fellas show everybody the authorities are on top of what’s going on,” he said.
The officers will be in Warrnambool for several days and plan routine and intelligence-led deployments at many of Australia’s 146 regional airports.
Three teams operating from the Sydney, Perth and Brisbane airports will join the Melbourne-based RRDT from July at a cost of $20.7 million over five years.
(The photo attached shows the dog sniffing around the prop of a seneca (probably the only twin that’s even been there in the last week) while one officer is checking the nosewheel and three officers are standing a line watching.)
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SNIFF AND GIGGLE...
To give some perspective on how quiet this airport is- there is only one operator who actually has a base on the aerodrome- this operator has a C152 and a C172 (of which neither was flying last week, when I wanted to hire an aeroplane…any aeroplane out of Warrnambool). I believe that the only other operator is Sharp Aviation operates a service that uses Warrnambool as a drop-off point on the way through to Essendon. Warrnambool does not have many movements per year.
*Does anybody else get the sense that 20.7 million of taxpayers is being wasted?
* Can anybody tell me why 8 officers are needed at Warrnambool airport to play with a dog- surely 2 or 3 could have done the job?
* Can anybody explain why they are staying on allegedly having a bit of holiday on the coast?
(But then, they may as well be holidaying on the coast- as any more than an hour or so sniffing around a few aeroplanes with 8 officers and a dog over a few days is as useful as having a holiday- good on ya boys!)
The friendly RRDT coming to a town near you- make sure that they buy you a beer- you have to get your hard earned tax back somehow.
By Vanessa Burrow
Warrnambool’s “The Standard” Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Secuirty at Warrnambool’s airport was stepped up yesterday when the Australian Fedral Police sent it’s regional security team to the city for routine patrols.
The eight-member counter terrorism Regional Rapid Deployment (RRDT) included an officer with bomb appraisal training and a four-and-a-half-year-old labrador that can detect more than 19,000 explosive elements.
Planes and hangers were scoured and passengers’ luggage checked in what was the team’s second operation since it was established by the Federal Government on January 1.
Team leader, protective service officer Gavin Hall, said the routine deployment would educate airport operators and reassure the Australian public of the safety of regional airways.
“It provides uniformed presence at regional airports to give the community and passengers travelling a sense of security in their aerodromes,” he said.
Explosive Detection Canine handler Warren Hawkins and his charge Ziggy were doing their best to achieve that goal yesterday by searching for any hazardous substances at the airport.
Protective service officer Hawkins said his hard-working labrador trained every day and was rewarded with food.
“He doesn’t get a bowl, he has to work to get his food,” he said.
“It’s a good fun job – I get paid for playing with a dog,” he laughed.
Warrnambool airport reporting officer, John Franc, who was employed by the city council to care for the facility, said he was impressed by the RRDT team’s thoroughness.
“People definitely don’t realise what potential there is for danger (at the airport) and these fellas show everybody the authorities are on top of what’s going on,” he said.
The officers will be in Warrnambool for several days and plan routine and intelligence-led deployments at many of Australia’s 146 regional airports.
Three teams operating from the Sydney, Perth and Brisbane airports will join the Melbourne-based RRDT from July at a cost of $20.7 million over five years.
(The photo attached shows the dog sniffing around the prop of a seneca (probably the only twin that’s even been there in the last week) while one officer is checking the nosewheel and three officers are standing a line watching.)
--------------------------------------------
SNIFF AND GIGGLE...
To give some perspective on how quiet this airport is- there is only one operator who actually has a base on the aerodrome- this operator has a C152 and a C172 (of which neither was flying last week, when I wanted to hire an aeroplane…any aeroplane out of Warrnambool). I believe that the only other operator is Sharp Aviation operates a service that uses Warrnambool as a drop-off point on the way through to Essendon. Warrnambool does not have many movements per year.
*Does anybody else get the sense that 20.7 million of taxpayers is being wasted?
* Can anybody tell me why 8 officers are needed at Warrnambool airport to play with a dog- surely 2 or 3 could have done the job?
* Can anybody explain why they are staying on allegedly having a bit of holiday on the coast?
(But then, they may as well be holidaying on the coast- as any more than an hour or so sniffing around a few aeroplanes with 8 officers and a dog over a few days is as useful as having a holiday- good on ya boys!)
The friendly RRDT coming to a town near you- make sure that they buy you a beer- you have to get your hard earned tax back somehow.
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“It provides uniformed presence at regional airports to give the community and passengers travelling a sense of security in their aerodromes,” he said.
Exactly.
Key words from the above are...
Window dressing, expensive window dressing.
Key words from the above are...
reassure the Australian public of the safety of regional airways
give the community and passengers travelling a sense of security in their aerodromes
these fellas show everybody the authorities are on top of what’s going on
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So, if I was a terrorist, where would be a good airport to breach security? Warnambool sounds good as its hardly likely the Feds would do a flying visit to the same airport twice in a row?
This whole exercise is political window dressing at its worst, does absolutely nothing to improve security at airports and is a complete waste of taxpayer's money - as was the NAS debacle.
Anderson needs to wake up or be removed from the aviation portfolio asap. His policy failures have now made him (and Australia) the laughing stock of the industry.
Oh, for the days when we could rely on ministers who really understood the air transport industry!
This whole exercise is political window dressing at its worst, does absolutely nothing to improve security at airports and is a complete waste of taxpayer's money - as was the NAS debacle.
Anderson needs to wake up or be removed from the aviation portfolio asap. His policy failures have now made him (and Australia) the laughing stock of the industry.
Oh, for the days when we could rely on ministers who really understood the air transport industry!
So, if I was a terrorist, where would be a good airport to breach security
The authorities struggle to fix the holes. The WTC attack showed creativity and strength of purpose. NOTHING that has been done recently would have prevented that attack. Example I flew two sectors recently and used the forward toilet on a B737 the cockpit door was swinging in the breeze a good deal of the time as pretty young things played tag team talking to the crew. I could have been in there quicker than a possible skymarshall had put down his magazine.
The next terrorist attack is more likely to be something quite different. Remember the helicopter that was on a scenic flight and the passenger forced the pilot to land in or near a prison and two prisoners escaped?
Now since the US has finally worked out that light aircraft pose a low risk when will DOTARS catch up and stop adding unnecessary cost burdens to GA?
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maybe the "squad" should have been in sydneys west.
a contingent of probably 150 men women and children , all screaming threatening and chucking bits of rubbish or food and rotten fruit at those in line to cast votes at the Auburn polling station.
I thought WTF ? are these guys just naturally rebellious and default to a screaming riot whenever a free choice is presented to them ?
This isnt Baghdad and nobody risks being executed for voting but I was certain some were so physically and emotionally hysterical , so visibly consumed in hate and anger , that access to a kalashnikov or rpg would have resulted in casualties for sure.
Commendations to local Police who could only redirect traffic , and using sheer numbers physically heard/steer the protesting crowd further away.
my concerns are - holy crap , where did all these guys come from ? do we really have THAT many of them in sydney ? why is it that they detest americas presence in iraq but object to their own people voting for their own government , and they themselves dont even live in iraq anymore ?
disturbing behaviour at the very least , and i wonder if the next generation who are born and educated in australia will break away from the cycle of hate and violence.
what happens when the local population of displaced/relocated Sunii's and shi'ites grows over the coming years , will the day come when sydneys landscape resembles downtown kabul or beirut ? (no offence to redfern or willcannia residents)
(update) - monday 1030pm news reports gunshots fired and footage of damage from shotgun blasts and 9mm slugs in cars , shop windows etc etc , its all on now i guess.
a contingent of probably 150 men women and children , all screaming threatening and chucking bits of rubbish or food and rotten fruit at those in line to cast votes at the Auburn polling station.
I thought WTF ? are these guys just naturally rebellious and default to a screaming riot whenever a free choice is presented to them ?
This isnt Baghdad and nobody risks being executed for voting but I was certain some were so physically and emotionally hysterical , so visibly consumed in hate and anger , that access to a kalashnikov or rpg would have resulted in casualties for sure.
Commendations to local Police who could only redirect traffic , and using sheer numbers physically heard/steer the protesting crowd further away.
my concerns are - holy crap , where did all these guys come from ? do we really have THAT many of them in sydney ? why is it that they detest americas presence in iraq but object to their own people voting for their own government , and they themselves dont even live in iraq anymore ?
disturbing behaviour at the very least , and i wonder if the next generation who are born and educated in australia will break away from the cycle of hate and violence.
what happens when the local population of displaced/relocated Sunii's and shi'ites grows over the coming years , will the day come when sydneys landscape resembles downtown kabul or beirut ? (no offence to redfern or willcannia residents)
(update) - monday 1030pm news reports gunshots fired and footage of damage from shotgun blasts and 9mm slugs in cars , shop windows etc etc , its all on now i guess.
Last edited by X-dash8thrasher; 31st Jan 2005 at 12:01.
