 Early Warning & Control aircraft , the ATG began operations on 1 October . The SOTG is tasked with operations to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces , and was deployed to Iraq after a legal framework covering their presence in the country was agreed between the Australian and Iraqi Governments . It began moving into Iraq in early November . In April 2015 a 300 @-@ strong unit known as Task Group Taji was deployed to Iraq to train the regular Iraqi Security Forces . Airstrikes were extended to Syria in September 2015 .   = = Peacekeeping = =   Australia 's involvement in international peacekeeping operations has been diverse , and included participation in both United Nations sponsored missions , as well as those as part of ad @-@ hoc coalitions . Australians have been involved in more conflicts as peacekeepers than as belligerents ; however " in comparative international terms , Australia has only been a moderately energetic peacekeeper . " Although Australia has had peacekeepers in the field continuously for 60 years — being among the first group of UN military observers in Indonesia in 1947 — its commitments have generally been limited , consisting mostly of small numbers of high @-@ level and technical support troops such as signallers , engineers , medics , observers , and police . One significant commitment has been Australia 's ongoing involvement with the long running Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai . The operational tempo started increasing in the mid @-@ 1990s , when Australia became involved in a series of high @-@ profile operations , deploying significantly larger combat units in support of a number of missions including Cambodia , Rwanda , Somalia , East Timor , and the Solomon Islands . Australia has been involved in close to 100 separate missions , involving more than 30 @,@ 000 personnel ; 14 Australians have died during these operations .   = = Military statistics = =   = Ward Churchill =   Ward LeRoy Churchill ( born 1947 ) is an American author and political activist . He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007 . The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government . His work features controversial and provocative views , written in a direct , often confrontational style .   In January 2005 , Churchill 's work attracted controversy because of the circulation of a 2001 essay , " On the Justice of Roosting Chickens " , in which he argued the September 11 attacks were a natural and unavoidable consequence of unlawful US foreign policy over the latter half of the 20th century ; the essay is well known for Churchill 's use of the phrase " little Eichmanns " to describe the " technocratic corps " working in the World Trade Center .   In March 2005 the University of Colorado began investigating allegations that Churchill had engaged in research misconduct ; it reported in June 2006 that he had done so . Churchill was fired on July 24 , 2007 , leading to a claim by some scholars that he was fired because of the " Little Eichmanns " comment . Churchill filed a lawsuit against the University of Colorado for unlawful termination of employment . In April 2009 a Denver jury found that Churchill was wrongly fired , awarding him $ 1 in damages . In July 2009 , a District Court judge vacated the monetary award and declined Churchill 's request to order his reinstatement , deciding the university has " quasi @-@ judicial immunity " . In February 2010 , Churchill appealed the judge 's decision . In November 2010 , the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the lower @-@ court 's ruling . In September 10 , 2012 , the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the lower courts ' decisions in favor of the University of Colorado . On April 1 , 2013 , the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case .   In a February 2014 interview , Churchill commented that after living more than forty years in the northern plains / Colorado region , he had relocated to Atlanta , Georgia in 2013 . Churchill also stated that he had a half @-@ dozen uncompleted books which he intended to finish and publish in the next three years .   = = Early life and education = =   Churchill was born in Urbana , Illinois , to Jack LeRoy Churchill and Maralyn Lucretia Allen . His parents divorced before he was two , and he grew up in Elmwood , where he attended local schools .   In 1966 , he was drafted into the United States Army . On his 1980 resume , he said he served as a public @-@ information specialist who " wrote and edited the battalion newsletter and wrote news releases . "   In a 1987 profile on Churchill , the Denver Post reported that he was drafted , went to paratrooper school , then volunteered for Vietnam , where he served a 10 @-@ month tour as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol ( LRRP ) , one of a six @-@ man team sent out to track down the enemy . The Post article also reported that Churchill was politically radicalized as a result of his experiences in Vietnam . Churchill told the Post that he had spent some time at
ĠEarly ĠWarning Ġ& ĠControl Ġaircraft Ġ, Ġthe ĠAT G Ġbegan Ġoperations Ġon Ġ1 ĠOctober Ġ. ĠThe ĠS OT G Ġis Ġtasked Ġwith Ġoperations Ġto Ġadvise Ġand Ġassist ĠIraqi ĠSecurity ĠForces Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġdeployed Ġto ĠIraq Ġafter Ġa Ġlegal Ġframework Ġcovering Ġtheir Ġpresence Ġin Ġthe Ġcountry Ġwas Ġagreed Ġbetween Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġand ĠIraqi ĠGovernments Ġ. ĠIt Ġbegan Ġmoving Ġinto ĠIraq Ġin Ġearly ĠNovember Ġ. ĠIn ĠApril Ġ2015 Ġa Ġ300 Ġ@ - @ Ġstrong Ġunit Ġknown Ġas ĠTask ĠGroup ĠT aji Ġwas Ġdeployed Ġto ĠIraq Ġto Ġtrain Ġthe Ġregular ĠIraqi ĠSecurity ĠForces Ġ. ĠA irst rikes Ġwere Ġextended Ġto ĠSyria Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2015 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPeace keeping Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġinvolvement Ġin Ġinternational Ġpeace keeping Ġoperations Ġhas Ġbeen Ġdiverse Ġ, Ġand Ġincluded Ġparticipation Ġin Ġboth ĠUnited ĠNations Ġsponsored Ġmissions Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthose Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġad Ġ@ - @ Ġhoc Ġcoal itions Ġ. ĠAustralians Ġhave Ġbeen Ġinvolved Ġin Ġmore Ġconflicts Ġas Ġpeace keepers Ġthan Ġas Ġbellig erent s Ġ; Ġhowever Ġ" Ġin Ġcomparative Ġinternational Ġterms Ġ, ĠAustralia Ġhas Ġonly Ġbeen Ġa Ġmoderately Ġenergetic Ġpeace keeper Ġ. Ġ" ĠAlthough ĠAustralia Ġhas Ġhad Ġpeace keepers Ġin Ġthe Ġfield Ġcontinuously Ġfor Ġ60 Ġyears ĠâĢĶ Ġbeing Ġamong Ġthe Ġfirst Ġgroup Ġof ĠUN Ġmilitary Ġobservers Ġin ĠIndonesia Ġin Ġ1947 ĠâĢĶ Ġits Ġcommitments Ġhave Ġgenerally Ġbeen Ġlimited Ġ, Ġconsisting Ġmostly Ġof Ġsmall Ġnumbers Ġof Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġlevel Ġand Ġtechnical Ġsupport Ġtroops Ġsuch Ġas Ġsign all ers Ġ, Ġengineers Ġ, Ġmed ics Ġ, Ġobservers Ġ, Ġand Ġpolice Ġ. ĠOne Ġsignificant Ġcommitment Ġhas Ġbeen ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġongoing Ġinvolvement Ġwith Ġthe Ġlong Ġrunning ĠMult inational ĠForce Ġand ĠObs er vers Ġin Ġthe ĠSinai Ġ. ĠThe Ġoperational Ġtempo Ġstarted Ġincreasing Ġin Ġthe Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1990 s Ġ, Ġwhen ĠAustralia Ġbecame Ġinvolved Ġin Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġprofile Ġoperations Ġ, Ġdeploying Ġsignificantly Ġlarger Ġcombat Ġunits Ġin Ġsupport Ġof Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġmissions Ġincluding ĠCambodia Ġ, ĠRwanda Ġ, ĠSomalia Ġ, ĠEast ĠTim or Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠSolomon ĠIslands Ġ. ĠAustralia Ġhas Ġbeen Ġinvolved Ġin Ġclose Ġto Ġ100 Ġseparate Ġmissions Ġ, Ġinvolving Ġmore Ġthan Ġ30 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpersonnel Ġ; Ġ14 ĠAustralians Ġhave Ġdied Ġduring Ġthese Ġoperations Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠMilitary Ġstatistics Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= ĠWard ĠChurchill Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWard ĠLe Roy ĠChurchill Ġ( Ġborn Ġ1947 Ġ) Ġis Ġan ĠAmerican Ġauthor Ġand Ġpolitical Ġactivist Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġa Ġprofessor Ġof Ġethnic Ġstudies Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado ĠBoulder Ġfrom Ġ1990 Ġuntil Ġ2007 Ġ. ĠThe Ġprimary Ġfocus Ġof Ġhis Ġwork Ġis Ġon Ġthe Ġhistorical Ġtreatment Ġof Ġpolitical Ġdissent ers Ġand ĠNative ĠAmericans Ġby Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġgovernment Ġ. ĠHis Ġwork Ġfeatures Ġcontroversial Ġand Ġprovocative Ġviews Ġ, Ġwritten Ġin Ġa Ġdirect Ġ, Ġoften Ġconfront ational Ġstyle Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠJanuary Ġ2005 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġwork Ġattracted Ġcontroversy Ġbecause Ġof Ġthe Ġcirculation Ġof Ġa Ġ2001 Ġessay Ġ, Ġ" ĠOn Ġthe ĠJustice Ġof ĠRo ost ing ĠChick ens Ġ" Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġargued Ġthe ĠSeptember Ġ11 Ġattacks Ġwere Ġa Ġnatural Ġand Ġunavoidable Ġconsequence Ġof Ġunlawful ĠUS Ġforeign Ġpolicy Ġover Ġthe Ġlatter Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ; Ġthe Ġessay Ġis Ġwell Ġknown Ġfor ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġuse Ġof Ġthe Ġphrase Ġ" Ġlittle ĠE ich man ns Ġ" Ġto Ġdescribe Ġthe Ġ" Ġtechn ocratic Ġcorps Ġ" Ġworking Ġin Ġthe ĠWorld ĠTrade ĠCenter Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠMarch Ġ2005 Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġbegan Ġinvestigating Ġallegations Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġengaged Ġin Ġresearch Ġmisconduct Ġ; Ġit Ġreported Ġin ĠJune Ġ2006 Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġdone Ġso Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġfired Ġon ĠJuly Ġ24 Ġ, Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġleading Ġto Ġa Ġclaim Ġby Ġsome Ġscholars Ġthat Ġhe Ġwas Ġfired Ġbecause Ġof Ġthe Ġ" ĠLittle ĠE ich man ns Ġ" Ġcomment Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġfiled Ġa Ġlawsuit Ġagainst Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġfor Ġunlawful Ġtermination Ġof Ġemployment Ġ. ĠIn ĠApril Ġ2009 Ġa ĠDenver Ġjury Ġfound Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġwrongly Ġfired Ġ, Ġawarding Ġhim Ġ$ Ġ1 Ġin Ġdamages Ġ. ĠIn ĠJuly Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġa ĠDistrict ĠCourt Ġjudge Ġvacated Ġthe Ġmonetary Ġaward Ġand Ġdeclined ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġrequest Ġto Ġorder Ġhis Ġrein statement Ġ, Ġdeciding Ġthe Ġuniversity Ġhas Ġ" Ġquasi Ġ@ - @ Ġjudicial Ġimmunity Ġ" Ġ. ĠIn ĠFebruary Ġ2010 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġappealed Ġthe Ġjudge Ġ' s Ġdecision Ġ. ĠIn ĠNovember Ġ2010 Ġ, Ġthe ĠColorado ĠCourt Ġof ĠAppeals Ġupheld Ġthe Ġlower Ġ@ - @ Ġcourt Ġ' s Ġruling Ġ. ĠIn ĠSeptember Ġ10 Ġ, Ġ2012 Ġ, Ġthe ĠColorado ĠSupreme ĠCourt Ġupheld Ġthe Ġlower Ġcourts Ġ' Ġdecisions Ġin Ġfavor Ġof Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġ. ĠOn ĠApril Ġ1 Ġ, Ġ2013 Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠSupreme ĠCourt Ġdeclined Ġto Ġhear Ġthe Ġcase Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġa ĠFebruary Ġ2014 Ġinterview Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġcommented Ġthat Ġafter Ġliving Ġmore Ġthan Ġforty Ġyears Ġin Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġplains Ġ/ ĠColorado Ġregion Ġ, Ġhe Ġhad Ġrelocated Ġto ĠAtlanta Ġ, ĠGeorgia Ġin Ġ2013 Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġalso Ġstated Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġa Ġhalf Ġ@ - @ Ġdozen Ġuncom pleted Ġbooks Ġwhich Ġhe Ġintended Ġto Ġfinish Ġand Ġpublish Ġin Ġthe Ġnext Ġthree Ġyears Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEarly Ġlife Ġand Ġeducation Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġborn Ġin ĠUr b ana Ġ, ĠIllinois Ġ, Ġto ĠJack ĠLe Roy ĠChurchill Ġand ĠMar al yn ĠLuc ret ia ĠAllen Ġ. ĠHis Ġparents Ġdivorced Ġbefore Ġhe Ġwas Ġtwo Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġgrew Ġup Ġin ĠElm wood Ġ, Ġwhere Ġhe Ġattended Ġlocal Ġschools Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1966 Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġdrafted Ġinto Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠArmy Ġ. ĠOn Ġhis Ġ1980 Ġresume Ġ, Ġhe Ġsaid Ġhe Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġpublic Ġ@ - @ Ġinformation Ġspecialist Ġwho Ġ" Ġwrote Ġand Ġedited Ġthe Ġbattalion Ġnewsletter Ġand Ġwrote Ġnews Ġreleases Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġa Ġ1987 Ġprofile Ġon ĠChurchill Ġ, Ġthe ĠDenver ĠPost Ġreported Ġthat Ġhe Ġwas Ġdrafted Ġ, Ġwent Ġto Ġpar atro oper Ġschool Ġ, Ġthen Ġvolunteered Ġfor ĠVietnam Ġ, Ġwhere Ġhe Ġserved Ġa Ġ10 Ġ@ - @ Ġmonth Ġtour Ġas ĠLong ĠRange ĠRec onnaissance ĠPatrol Ġ( ĠLR RP Ġ) Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġa Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġman Ġteam Ġsent Ġout Ġto Ġtrack Ġdown Ġthe Ġenemy Ġ. ĠThe ĠPost Ġarticle Ġalso Ġreported Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġpolitically Ġradical ized Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġhis Ġexperiences Ġin ĠVietnam Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġtold Ġthe ĠPost Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġspent Ġsome Ġtime Ġat