Thread: ADF Landies returning from Middle East

Thanks DeeJay.

Some interesting quotes to put the process and its affect on vehicles into perspective :

" .... personnel had to remove and discard from the vehicle any material that could harbour dust or pests. This included all of a vehicle’s rubber, foam, and wood. This meant that vehicles lost their windows, seats, cargo trays, hoses, belts, wiring and tyres. ..... A vehicle that just days before was driveable was reduced to a hollowed-out wreck that would require extensive rebuilding at home before it could return to service."

"... Land Rovers which would have required 30 hours to repair after their war use, now required 150 hours. The use of high-pressure hoses for washing also caused damage to automobile components. As a result, some vehicles needed complete engine rebuilds or the replacement of their entire electrical system. "

all required of course....

Pete

This raises some interesting issues.

Didn't the litt'l Johnny Government sign some form of agreement with George Dubilya's military for pre-positioning equipment in Northern Australia, in particular Darwin?

Is AQIS going to have the same requirements of the US Military as they had with the ADF?

Will the US Military even give a hoot what AQIS thinks?

I have to say I'm with AQIS. They annoy the hell out of me every time they check the mail order Landie parts I bring in from England because of the extra time it takes but in the end I'm glad we don't have the huge problems the slack countries have. When I lived over in Canada the poor things there were stuck every time the stupid Yanks had some bug/pest/microbe get loose.

I think the ADF should have looked into this a bit better! Geez, even I know enough now to act as a consultant in comparison.

Davo

I have to agree with you about AQIS, but I remember back in the days of the Pine Gap joint facility. Every so often a new LHD civilian Ford Bronco with US plates would turn up in Alice Springs. The US crews would merely have their mates Stateside load their car into the back of a C 141 Starlifter and drop it off at the base on one of the regular flights. I bet they didn't have AQIS clearance before they arrived or after!

The same will happen at Darwin, I'll take bets on it.