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The Joint Health Command (JHC) is responsible for the delivery of military medicine and joint healthcare services to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, including military psychiatry and rehabilitation services. The JHC is also responsible for providing strategic health policy, the development of the health preparedness of ADF personnel for operations, and the coordination of health units for deployment in support of operations. JHC is led by the dual-hatted Commander Joint Health and Surgeon General of the ADF.
The logistical support of the multinational International Force East Timor (INTERFET) peacekeeping mission in 1999 and 2000 involved, at its peak, 11,693 personnel from 23 countries. Of these 5,697 were from Australia, making it the largest deployment of Australian forces overseas since the Vietnam War. INTERFET was unusual in that it was led by Australia, casting the country in a wholly unfamiliar role. The logistics and support areas of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had been subject to deep cuts in the 1990s. The ADF had not anticipated being committed to such a large peacekeeping mission, and was unprepared to support an Australian force projection of this size, much less act as lead nation of an international coalition.
References
- 1 2 "Defence Responds to Tropical Cyclone Yasi". Department of Defence. 2 February 2011.
- ↑ "Makeshift emergency department opens in Cairns after hospital closed". The Courier-Mail. 2 February 2001.
- 1 2 "Aircraft heading to cyclone zone". Daily Mercury. 4 February 2011.
- ↑ "Ships bring food for north". The Age. 5 February 2011.
- ↑ "HMAS Brunei [node:field_ship_name_suffix] | Royal Australian Navy". www.navy.gov.au. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020.
- ↑ "Urgent repairs prepare Tobruk to assist". The Canberra Times. 5 February 2011.