 been maintained , as well as occasional deployments of F / A @-@ 18 Hornet fighter aircraft . Australian submarines were reportedly also involved in a number of clandestine surveillance missions throughout Asian waters in the last decades of the Cold War . Airforce and Navy units were also involved in tracking Soviet ship and submarine movements in the region . Since then the Orions have continued to participate in maritime security operations as part of Operation Gateway , conducting patrols over the Indian Ocean , Strait of Malacca and South China Sea . They have reportedly also been involved in freedom of navigation flights .   = = = Gulf War , 1991 = = =   Australia was a member of the international coalition which contributed military forces to the 1991 Gulf War , deploying a naval task group of two warships , a support ship and a clearance diving team ; in total about 750 personnel . The Australian contribution was the first time Australian personnel were deployed to an active war zone since the establishment of the ADF and the deployment tested its capabilities and command structure . However , the Australian force did not see combat , and instead playing a significant role in enforcing the sanctions put in place against Iraq following the invasion of Kuwait . Some ADF personnel serving on exchange with British and American units did see combat , and a few were later decorated for their actions . Following the war , the Navy regularly deployed a frigate to the Persian Gulf or Red Sea to enforce the trade sanctions which continued to be applied to Iraq . A number of Australian airmen and ground crew posted to or on exchange with US and British air forces subsequently participated in enforcing no @-@ fly zones imposed over Iraq between 1991 and 2003 .   = = = Global security , late @-@ 1990s = = =   Since the late 1980s , the Australian government had increasingly called upon the ADF to contribute forces to peacekeeping missions around the world . While most of these deployments involved only small numbers of specialists , several led to the deployment of hundreds of personnel . Large peacekeeping deployments were made to Namibia in early 1989 , Cambodia between 1992 and 1993 , Somalia in 1993 , Rwanda between 1994 and 1995 and Bougainville in 1994 and from 1997 onwards . The 1996 election of the Howard Liberal government resulted in significant reforms to the ADF 's force structure and role , with the new government 's defence strategy placed less singular emphasis on defending Australia from direct attack and greater emphasis on working in co @-@ operation with regional states and Australia 's allies to manage potential security threats in recognition of Australia 's global security interests . In line with this new focus , the ADF 's force structure changed in an attempt to increase the proportion of combat units to support units and to improve the ADF 's combat effectiveness .   = = New Millennium = =   = = = East Timor , 1999 – 2013 = = =   The former @-@ Portuguese colony of East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 , however , following years of violent struggle the new Indonesian government of President B.J. Habibie subsequently agreed to allow the East Timorese to vote on autonomy in 1999 . The United Nations Mission in East Timor ( UNAMET ) was established to organise and conduct the vote , which was held at the end of August 1999 and resulted with 78 @.@ 5 % of voters deciding in favour of independence . However , following the announcement of the results pro @-@ Indonesian militias supported by elements of the Indonesian military , launched a campaign of violence , looting and arson and many East Timorese were killed , while perhaps more than 500 @,@ 000 were displaced . Unable to control the violence , Indonesia subsequently agreed to the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force . Australia , which had contributed police to UNAMET , organised and led an international military coalition , known as the International Force for East Timor ( INTERFET ) , a non @-@ UN force operating in accordance with UN resolutions . The total size of the Australian force committed numbered 5 @,@ 500 personnel , and included a significant ground force , supported by air and naval forces , in the largest single deployment of Australian forces since 1945 .   Under the overall command of Australian Major General Peter Cosgrove , INTERFET began arriving on 12 September 1999 and was tasked with restoring peace and security , protecting and supporting UNAMET , and facilitating humanitarian assistance operations . With the withdrawal of the Indonesian armed forces , police and government officials from East Timor , UNAMET re @-@ established its headquarters in Dili on 28 September . On 19 October 1999 , Indonesia formally recognised the result of the referendum and shortly thereafter a UN peacekeeping force , the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor ( UNTAET ) was established , becoming fully responsible for the administration of East Timor during its transition to independence . The hand @-@ over of command of military operations from INTERFET to UNTAET was completed on 28 February 2000 . Australia continued to support the UN peacekeeping operation with between 1 @,@ 500 and 2 @,@ 000 personnel , as well
Ġbeen Ġmaintained Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġoccasional Ġdeployments Ġof ĠF Ġ/ ĠA Ġ@ - @ Ġ18 ĠHorn et Ġfighter Ġaircraft Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġsubmarines Ġwere Ġreportedly Ġalso Ġinvolved Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġclandestine Ġsurveillance Ġmissions Ġthroughout ĠAsian Ġwaters Ġin Ġthe Ġlast Ġdecades Ġof Ġthe ĠCold ĠWar Ġ. ĠAir force Ġand ĠNavy Ġunits Ġwere Ġalso Ġinvolved Ġin Ġtracking ĠSoviet Ġship Ġand Ġsubmarine Ġmovements Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ. ĠSince Ġthen Ġthe ĠOr ions Ġhave Ġcontinued Ġto Ġparticipate Ġin Ġmaritime Ġsecurity Ġoperations Ġas Ġpart Ġof ĠOperation ĠGateway Ġ, Ġconducting Ġpatrols Ġover Ġthe ĠIndian ĠOcean Ġ, ĠStrait Ġof ĠMal acca Ġand ĠSouth ĠChina ĠSea Ġ. ĠThey Ġhave Ġreportedly Ġalso Ġbeen Ġinvolved Ġin Ġfreedom Ġof Ġnavigation Ġflights Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠGulf ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1991 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAustralia Ġwas Ġa Ġmember Ġof Ġthe Ġinternational Ġcoalition Ġwhich Ġcontributed Ġmilitary Ġforces Ġto Ġthe Ġ1991 ĠGulf ĠWar Ġ, Ġdeploying Ġa Ġnaval Ġtask Ġgroup Ġof Ġtwo Ġwarships Ġ, Ġa Ġsupport Ġship Ġand Ġa Ġclearance Ġdiving Ġteam Ġ; Ġin Ġtotal Ġabout Ġ750 Ġpersonnel Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġcontribution Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime ĠAustralian Ġpersonnel Ġwere Ġdeployed Ġto Ġan Ġactive Ġwar Ġzone Ġsince Ġthe Ġestablishment Ġof Ġthe ĠAD F Ġand Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġtested Ġits Ġcapabilities Ġand Ġcommand Ġstructure Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġforce Ġdid Ġnot Ġsee Ġcombat Ġ, Ġand Ġinstead Ġplaying Ġa Ġsignificant Ġrole Ġin Ġenforcing Ġthe Ġsanctions Ġput Ġin Ġplace Ġagainst ĠIraq Ġfollowing Ġthe Ġinvasion Ġof ĠKuwait Ġ. ĠSome ĠAD F Ġpersonnel Ġserving Ġon Ġexchange Ġwith ĠBritish Ġand ĠAmerican Ġunits Ġdid Ġsee Ġcombat Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġfew Ġwere Ġlater Ġdecorated Ġfor Ġtheir Ġactions Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġthe ĠNavy Ġregularly Ġdeployed Ġa Ġfr igate Ġto Ġthe ĠPersian ĠGulf Ġor ĠRed ĠSea Ġto Ġenforce Ġthe Ġtrade Ġsanctions Ġwhich Ġcontinued Ġto Ġbe Ġapplied Ġto ĠIraq Ġ. ĠA Ġnumber Ġof ĠAustralian Ġair men Ġand Ġground Ġcrew Ġposted Ġto Ġor Ġon Ġexchange Ġwith ĠUS Ġand ĠBritish Ġair Ġforces Ġsubsequently Ġparticipated Ġin Ġenforcing Ġno Ġ@ - @ Ġfly Ġzones Ġimposed Ġover ĠIraq Ġbetween Ġ1991 Ġand Ġ2003 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠGlobal Ġsecurity Ġ, Ġlate Ġ@ - @ Ġ1990 s Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠSince Ġthe Ġlate Ġ1980 s Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġhad Ġincreasingly Ġcalled Ġupon Ġthe ĠAD F Ġto Ġcontribute Ġforces Ġto Ġpeace keeping Ġmissions Ġaround Ġthe Ġworld Ġ. ĠWhile Ġmost Ġof Ġthese Ġdeployments Ġinvolved Ġonly Ġsmall Ġnumbers Ġof Ġspecialists Ġ, Ġseveral Ġled Ġto Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġof Ġhundreds Ġof Ġpersonnel Ġ. ĠLarge Ġpeace keeping Ġdeployments Ġwere Ġmade Ġto ĠNam ibia Ġin Ġearly Ġ1989 Ġ, ĠCambodia Ġbetween Ġ1992 Ġand Ġ1993 Ġ, ĠSomalia Ġin Ġ1993 Ġ, ĠRwanda Ġbetween Ġ1994 Ġand Ġ1995 Ġand ĠBou gain ville Ġin Ġ1994 Ġand Ġfrom Ġ1997 Ġonwards Ġ. ĠThe Ġ1996 Ġelection Ġof Ġthe ĠHoward ĠLiberal Ġgovernment Ġresulted Ġin Ġsignificant Ġreforms Ġto Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġforce Ġstructure Ġand Ġrole Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġnew Ġgovernment Ġ' s Ġdefence Ġstrategy Ġplaced Ġless Ġsingular Ġemphasis Ġon Ġdefending ĠAustralia Ġfrom Ġdirect Ġattack Ġand Ġgreater Ġemphasis Ġon Ġworking Ġin Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġoperation Ġwith Ġregional Ġstates Ġand ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġallies Ġto Ġmanage Ġpotential Ġsecurity Ġthreats Ġin Ġrecognition Ġof ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġglobal Ġsecurity Ġinterests Ġ. ĠIn Ġline Ġwith Ġthis Ġnew Ġfocus Ġ, Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġforce Ġstructure Ġchanged Ġin Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġincrease Ġthe Ġproportion Ġof Ġcombat Ġunits Ġto Ġsupport Ġunits Ġand Ġto Ġimprove Ġthe ĠAD F Ġ' s Ġcombat Ġeffectiveness Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠNew ĠMillennium Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ, Ġ1999 ĠâĢĵ Ġ2013 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġformer Ġ@ - @ ĠPortuguese Ġcolony Ġof ĠEast ĠTim or Ġwas Ġinvaded Ġby ĠIndonesia Ġin Ġ1975 Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġyears Ġof Ġviolent Ġstruggle Ġthe Ġnew ĠIndonesian Ġgovernment Ġof ĠPresident ĠB . J . ĠHab ib ie Ġsubsequently Ġagreed Ġto Ġallow Ġthe ĠEast ĠTim ore se Ġto Ġvote Ġon Ġautonomy Ġin Ġ1999 Ġ. ĠThe ĠUnited ĠNations ĠMission Ġin ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ( ĠUN AM ET Ġ) Ġwas Ġestablished Ġto Ġorganise Ġand Ġconduct Ġthe Ġvote Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġheld Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof ĠAugust Ġ1999 Ġand Ġresulted Ġwith Ġ78 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġ% Ġof Ġvoters Ġdeciding Ġin Ġfavour Ġof Ġindependence Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġthe Ġannouncement Ġof Ġthe Ġresults Ġpro Ġ@ - @ ĠIndonesian Ġmilitias Ġsupported Ġby Ġelements Ġof Ġthe ĠIndonesian Ġmilitary Ġ, Ġlaunched Ġa Ġcampaign Ġof Ġviolence Ġ, Ġlooting Ġand Ġarson Ġand Ġmany ĠEast ĠTim ore se Ġwere Ġkilled Ġ, Ġwhile Ġperhaps Ġmore Ġthan Ġ500 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġwere Ġdisplaced Ġ. ĠUnable Ġto Ġcontrol Ġthe Ġviolence Ġ, ĠIndonesia Ġsubsequently Ġagreed Ġto Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġof Ġa Ġmultinational Ġpeace keeping Ġforce Ġ. ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġcontributed Ġpolice Ġto ĠUN AM ET Ġ, Ġorganised Ġand Ġled Ġan Ġinternational Ġmilitary Ġcoalition Ġ, Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠInternational ĠForce Ġfor ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ( ĠINTER F ET Ġ) Ġ, Ġa Ġnon Ġ@ - @ ĠUN Ġforce Ġoperating Ġin Ġaccordance Ġwith ĠUN Ġresolutions Ġ. ĠThe Ġtotal Ġsize Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġforce Ġcommitted Ġnumbered Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġpersonnel Ġ, Ġand Ġincluded Ġa Ġsignificant Ġground Ġforce Ġ, Ġsupported Ġby Ġair Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġlargest Ġsingle Ġdeployment Ġof ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġsince Ġ1945 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠUnder Ġthe Ġoverall Ġcommand Ġof ĠAustralian ĠMajor ĠGeneral ĠPeter ĠCos gro ve Ġ, ĠINTER F ET Ġbegan Ġarriving Ġon Ġ12 ĠSeptember Ġ1999 Ġand Ġwas Ġtasked Ġwith Ġrestoring Ġpeace Ġand Ġsecurity Ġ, Ġprotecting Ġand Ġsupporting ĠUN AM ET Ġ, Ġand Ġfacilitating Ġhumanitarian Ġassistance Ġoperations Ġ. ĠWith Ġthe Ġwithdrawal Ġof Ġthe ĠIndonesian Ġarmed Ġforces Ġ, Ġpolice Ġand Ġgovernment Ġofficials Ġfrom ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ, ĠUN AM ET Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġestablished Ġits Ġheadquarters Ġin ĠD ili Ġon Ġ28 ĠSeptember Ġ. ĠOn Ġ19 ĠOctober Ġ1999 Ġ, ĠIndonesia Ġformally Ġrecognised Ġthe Ġresult Ġof Ġthe Ġreferendum Ġand Ġshortly Ġthereafter Ġa ĠUN Ġpeace keeping Ġforce Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnited ĠNations ĠTrans itional ĠAdministration Ġin ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ( ĠUN TA ET Ġ) Ġwas Ġestablished Ġ, Ġbecoming Ġfully Ġresponsible Ġfor Ġthe Ġadministration Ġof ĠEast ĠTim or Ġduring Ġits Ġtransition Ġto Ġindependence Ġ. ĠThe Ġhand Ġ@ - @ Ġover Ġof Ġcommand Ġof Ġmilitary Ġoperations Ġfrom ĠINTER F ET Ġto ĠUN TA ET Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġon Ġ28 ĠFebruary Ġ2000 Ġ. ĠAustralia Ġcontinued Ġto Ġsupport Ġthe ĠUN Ġpeace keeping Ġoperation Ġwith Ġbetween Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġand Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpersonnel Ġ, Ġas Ġwell