 as landing craft and Blackhawk helicopters and remained the largest contributor of personnel to the peacekeeping mission . During these operations Australian forces regularly clashed with pro @-@ Indonesian militia and on a number of occasions Indonesian forces as well , especially along the border with West Timor . Significant actions occurred in Suai , Mota 'ain and at Aidabasalala in October 1999 . However , with the security situation stabilised the bulk of the Australian and UN forces were withdrawn by 2005 . Two Australians died from non @-@ battle related causes , while a number were wounded in action .   The unexpected deployment to East Timor in 1999 led to significant changes in Australian defence policy and to an enhancement of the ADF 's ability to conduct operations outside Australia . This successful deployment was the first time a large Australian military force had operated outside of Australia since the Vietnam War and revealed shortcomings in the ADF 's ability to mount and sustain such operations . In response , the 2000 Defence White Paper placed a greater emphasis on preparing the ADF for overseas deployments . The Australian government committed to improve the ADF 's capabilities by improving the readiness and equipment of ADF units , expanding the ADF to 57 @,@ 000 full @-@ time personnel and increasing real Defence expenditure by 3 % per year .   In May 2006 , 2 @,@ 000 ADF personnel were again deployed to East Timor as part of Operation Astute , following unrest between elements of the Timor Leste Defence Force . Australian forces were involved in a number skirmishes during this time , including a heavy clash with rebels commanded by Alfredo Reinado at Same on 4 March 2007 . However , by early @-@ 2010 the security situation had been stabilised and just 400 Australian personnel remained to train the local security forces as part of a small international force . Following a drawdown , the International Stabilisation Force commenced withdrawing from Timor @-@ Leste in November 2012 , a process which was completed in April 2013 .   = = = Afghanistan , 2001 – present = = =   Shortly after the Islamist inspired terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 , Australian forces were committed to the American @-@ led international coalition against terrorism . The ADF 's most visible contribution — codenamed Operation Slipper — has been a special forces task group operating in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2002 and again from mid @-@ 2005 to fight against the Taliban . Over time the Australian commitment has grown , with the addition of further ground forces in the form of a Reconstruction Task Force from 2006 to provide security , reconstruction and to mentor and train the Afghan National Army . Australia has also contributed a frigate and two AP @-@ 3C Orion surveillance aircraft and three C @-@ 130 Hercules transport aircraft to international operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean since 2001 , supporting both the operations in Afghanistan and those in Iraq under Operation Catalyst . A detachment of four F / A @-@ 18 Hornet fighter @-@ bombers was based at Diego Garcia from late @-@ 2001 to mid @-@ 2002 , while two Boeing 707 air @-@ to @-@ air refuelling aircraft were also based in Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan to provide support to coalition aircraft operating in Afghan airspace but were later withdrawn . A Special Operations Task Group was deployed to support the Reconstruction Taskforce in April 2007 . In addition to radar crews , logistics and intelligence officers , and security personnel , this brought the number of Australian personnel in Afghanistan to 950 by mid @-@ 2007 , with further small increases to 1 @,@ 000 in mid @-@ 2008 , 1 @,@ 100 in early 2009 and 1 @,@ 550 in mid @-@ 2009 .   A modest force remained in Afghanistan over this time and was involved in counter @-@ insurgency operations in Uruzgan Province in conjunction United States and other coalition forces , including the Dutch prior to their withdrawal . The force consisted of motorised infantry , special forces , engineers , cavalry , artillery and aviation elements . By 2010 it included a combined arms battalion @-@ sized battle group known as the Mentoring Task Force , and the Special Operations Task Group , both based at Forward Operation Base Ripley outside of Tarin Kowt , as well as the Rotary Wing Group flying CH @-@ 47D Chinooks , the Force Logistics Asset and an RAAF air surveillance radar unit based in Kandahar . In addition , a further 800 Australian logistic personnel were also based in the Middle East in support , but are located outside of Afghanistan . Meanwhile , detachments of maritime patrol and transport aircraft continued to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan , based out of Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates . Also included is the deployment of one of the RAN 's frigates to the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden on counter piracy and maritime interdiction duties .   Australian forces were at times involved in heavy fighting , and significant actions included Operation Anaconda in 2002 and Operation Perth
Ġas Ġlanding Ġcraft Ġand ĠBlack hawk Ġhelicopters Ġand Ġremained Ġthe Ġlargest Ġcontributor Ġof Ġpersonnel Ġto Ġthe Ġpeace keeping Ġmission Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthese Ġoperations ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġregularly Ġclashed Ġwith Ġpro Ġ@ - @ ĠIndonesian Ġmilitia Ġand Ġon Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġoccasions ĠIndonesian Ġforces Ġas Ġwell Ġ, Ġespecially Ġalong Ġthe Ġborder Ġwith ĠWest ĠTim or Ġ. ĠSignificant Ġactions Ġoccurred Ġin ĠSu ai Ġ, ĠM ota Ġ' ain Ġand Ġat ĠAid ab as al ala Ġin ĠOctober Ġ1999 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġsituation Ġstabil ised Ġthe Ġbulk Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġand ĠUN Ġforces Ġwere Ġwithdrawn Ġby Ġ2005 Ġ. ĠTwo ĠAustralians Ġdied Ġfrom Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġbattle Ġrelated Ġcauses Ġ, Ġwhile Ġa Ġnumber Ġwere Ġwounded Ġin Ġaction Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġunexpected Ġdeployment Ġto ĠEast ĠTim or Ġin Ġ1999 Ġled Ġto Ġsignificant Ġchanges Ġin ĠAustralian Ġdefence Ġpolicy Ġand Ġto Ġan Ġenhancement Ġof Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġability Ġto Ġconduct Ġoperations Ġoutside ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThis Ġsuccessful Ġdeployment Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġa Ġlarge ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġforce Ġhad Ġoperated Ġoutside Ġof ĠAustralia Ġsince Ġthe ĠVietnam ĠWar Ġand Ġrevealed Ġshortcomings Ġin Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġability Ġto Ġmount Ġand Ġsustain Ġsuch Ġoperations Ġ. ĠIn Ġresponse Ġ, Ġthe Ġ2000 ĠDefence ĠWhite ĠPaper Ġplaced Ġa Ġgreater Ġemphasis Ġon Ġpreparing Ġthe ĠAD F Ġfor Ġoverseas Ġdeployments Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġcommitted Ġto Ġimprove Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġcapabilities Ġby Ġimproving Ġthe Ġreadiness Ġand Ġequipment Ġof ĠAD F Ġunits Ġ, Ġexpanding Ġthe ĠAD F Ġto Ġ57 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġpersonnel Ġand Ġincreasing Ġreal ĠDefence Ġexpenditure Ġby Ġ3 Ġ% Ġper Ġyear Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠMay Ġ2006 Ġ, Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAD F Ġpersonnel Ġwere Ġagain Ġdeployed Ġto ĠEast ĠTim or Ġas Ġpart Ġof ĠOperation ĠAst ute Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġunrest Ġbetween Ġelements Ġof Ġthe ĠTim or ĠL este ĠDefence ĠForce Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġskirm ishes Ġduring Ġthis Ġtime Ġ, Ġincluding Ġa Ġheavy Ġclash Ġwith Ġrebels Ġcommanded Ġby ĠAlfred o ĠRein ado Ġat ĠSame Ġon Ġ4 ĠMarch Ġ2007 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġby Ġearly Ġ@ - @ Ġ2010 Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġsituation Ġhad Ġbeen Ġstabil ised Ġand Ġjust Ġ400 ĠAustralian Ġpersonnel Ġremained Ġto Ġtrain Ġthe Ġlocal Ġsecurity Ġforces Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġa Ġsmall Ġinternational Ġforce Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġa Ġdraw down Ġ, Ġthe ĠInternational ĠSt abil isation ĠForce Ġcommenced Ġwithdrawing Ġfrom ĠTim or Ġ@ - @ ĠL este Ġin ĠNovember Ġ2012 Ġ, Ġa Ġprocess Ġwhich Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġin ĠApril Ġ2013 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠAfghanistan Ġ, Ġ2001 ĠâĢĵ Ġpresent Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠShortly Ġafter Ġthe ĠIslamist Ġinspired Ġterrorist Ġattacks Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġand ĠWashington Ġon Ġ11 ĠSeptember Ġ2001 Ġ, ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġwere Ġcommitted Ġto Ġthe ĠAmerican Ġ@ - @ Ġled Ġinternational Ġcoalition Ġagainst Ġterrorism Ġ. ĠThe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġmost Ġvisible Ġcontribution ĠâĢĶ Ġcod en amed ĠOperation ĠSl ipper ĠâĢĶ Ġhas Ġbeen Ġa Ġspecial Ġforces Ġtask Ġgroup Ġoperating Ġin ĠAfghanistan Ġfrom Ġ2001 Ġto Ġ2002 Ġand Ġagain Ġfrom Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2005 Ġto Ġfight Ġagainst Ġthe ĠTaliban Ġ. ĠOver Ġtime Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġcommitment Ġhas Ġgrown Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġaddition Ġof Ġfurther Ġground Ġforces Ġin Ġthe Ġform Ġof Ġa ĠReconstruction ĠTask ĠForce Ġfrom Ġ2006 Ġto Ġprovide Ġsecurity Ġ, Ġreconstruction Ġand Ġto Ġmentor Ġand Ġtrain Ġthe ĠAfghan ĠNational ĠArmy Ġ. ĠAustralia Ġhas Ġalso Ġcontributed Ġa Ġfr igate Ġand Ġtwo ĠAP Ġ@ - @ Ġ3 C ĠOrion Ġsurveillance Ġaircraft Ġand Ġthree ĠC Ġ@ - @ Ġ130 ĠHercules Ġtransport Ġaircraft Ġto Ġinternational Ġoperations Ġin Ġthe ĠPersian ĠGulf Ġand ĠIndian ĠOcean Ġsince Ġ2001 Ġ, Ġsupporting Ġboth Ġthe Ġoperations Ġin ĠAfghanistan Ġand Ġthose Ġin ĠIraq Ġunder ĠOperation ĠCatalyst Ġ. ĠA Ġdetachment Ġof Ġfour ĠF Ġ/ ĠA Ġ@ - @ Ġ18 ĠHorn et Ġfighter Ġ@ - @ Ġbombers Ġwas Ġbased Ġat ĠDiego ĠGarcia Ġfrom Ġlate Ġ@ - @ Ġ2001 Ġto Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2002 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġtwo ĠBoeing Ġ7 07 Ġair Ġ@ - @ Ġto Ġ@ - @ Ġair Ġref ue lling Ġaircraft Ġwere Ġalso Ġbased Ġin ĠMan as ĠAir ĠBase Ġin ĠKyr gy z stan Ġto Ġprovide Ġsupport Ġto Ġcoalition Ġaircraft Ġoperating Ġin ĠAfghan Ġairspace Ġbut Ġwere Ġlater Ġwithdrawn Ġ. ĠA ĠSpecial ĠOperations ĠTask ĠGroup Ġwas Ġdeployed Ġto Ġsupport Ġthe ĠReconstruction ĠTask force Ġin ĠApril Ġ2007 Ġ. ĠIn Ġaddition Ġto Ġradar Ġcrews Ġ, Ġlogistics Ġand Ġintelligence Ġofficers Ġ, Ġand Ġsecurity Ġpersonnel Ġ, Ġthis Ġbrought Ġthe Ġnumber Ġof ĠAustralian Ġpersonnel Ġin ĠAfghanistan Ġto Ġ950 Ġby Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġwith Ġfurther Ġsmall Ġincreases Ġto Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġin Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2008 Ġ, Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ100 Ġin Ġearly Ġ2009 Ġand Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ550 Ġin Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2009 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġmodest Ġforce Ġremained Ġin ĠAfghanistan Ġover Ġthis Ġtime Ġand Ġwas Ġinvolved Ġin Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġinsurgency Ġoperations Ġin ĠU ru z gan ĠProvince Ġin Ġconjunction ĠUnited ĠStates Ġand Ġother Ġcoalition Ġforces Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe ĠDutch Ġprior Ġto Ġtheir Ġwithdrawal Ġ. ĠThe Ġforce Ġconsisted Ġof Ġmotor ised Ġinfantry Ġ, Ġspecial Ġforces Ġ, Ġengineers Ġ, Ġcavalry Ġ, Ġartillery Ġand Ġaviation Ġelements Ġ. ĠBy Ġ2010 Ġit Ġincluded Ġa Ġcombined Ġarms Ġbattalion Ġ@ - @ Ġsized Ġbattle Ġgroup Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠMent oring ĠTask ĠForce Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠSpecial ĠOperations ĠTask ĠGroup Ġ, Ġboth Ġbased Ġat ĠForward ĠOperation ĠBase ĠRip ley Ġoutside Ġof ĠTar in ĠK ow t Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthe ĠRot ary ĠWing ĠGroup Ġflying ĠCH Ġ@ - @ Ġ47 D ĠChin ooks Ġ, Ġthe ĠForce ĠLog istics ĠAsset Ġand Ġan ĠR AAF Ġair Ġsurveillance Ġradar Ġunit Ġbased Ġin ĠKand ahar Ġ. ĠIn Ġaddition Ġ, Ġa Ġfurther Ġ800 ĠAustralian Ġlog istic Ġpersonnel Ġwere Ġalso Ġbased Ġin Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġin Ġsupport Ġ, Ġbut Ġare Ġlocated Ġoutside Ġof ĠAfghanistan Ġ. ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġdetach ments Ġof Ġmaritime Ġpatrol Ġand Ġtransport Ġaircraft Ġcontinued Ġto Ġsupport Ġoperations Ġin ĠIraq Ġand ĠAfghanistan Ġ, Ġbased Ġout Ġof ĠAl ĠMin had ĠAir ĠBase Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠArab ĠEmirates Ġ. ĠAlso Ġincluded Ġis Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġof Ġone Ġof Ġthe ĠR AN Ġ' s Ġfrig ates Ġto Ġthe ĠArabian ĠSea Ġand ĠGulf Ġof ĠAden Ġon Ġcounter Ġpiracy Ġand Ġmaritime Ġinter d iction Ġduties Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġwere Ġat Ġtimes Ġinvolved Ġin Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġ, Ġand Ġsignificant Ġactions Ġincluded ĠOperation ĠAn ac onda Ġin Ġ2002 Ġand ĠOperation ĠPerth