SAS in PNG DPR/TV/307

One hundred and twenty officers and soldiers of an elite Australian Army field force group, 2nd Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment, are in New Guinea on a six weeks acclimatisation exercise. Recently they flew from Lae to Bulolo for reconnaissance patrols lasting up to three weeks. On Bulolo airstrip the men disembark from fixed wing aircraft and gather on the airstrip ready to board RAAF Iroquois helicopters which will take them to their jump off points. The patrols followed closely on two weeks of training in the swamps and jungles of the Lae area. At Bulolo, Sergeant (Sgt) Ron Gilchrist of South Melbourne helps one of three native policemen who accompanied the patrol with his pack. A patrol group gathers for a briefing from the patrol commander, Sgt Lawrence Fraser, of Nollamara, Perth. With this patrol are Allan Smithers of Wollongong and Corporal Jeff Ayles of Glengawrie Adelaide. The helicopters fly over some of the most rugged terrain in the territory, giving the troops a birds eye view of jungle through which they will soon be struggling. At their destinations the troops run from under the whirling helicopter blades lugging packs and equipment. Then its into the jungle. The troops will be resupplied once by air during their patrol which will end on November 22.