Feb 98 US President Clinton announces his support for the agreement, but will maintain troops in the area at this stage. Australian personnel will also remain in the area for the time being. The initial deployment will be about 190 Australian personnel. The maximum size of the Australian contingent will be 250. It is expected that the SAS Squadron will be involved in a range of tasks, principally search and rescue.
Initial planning is based on a deployment for up to three months.
The Australian contingent will remain under Australian national command and under operational control of the Coalition commander for agreed tasks. Australia's security interests go well beyond Australian shores, and global issues can have significant security implications for Australia too. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is one such significant threat. Australia has therefore decided to help enforce the United Nations Security Council Resolution which aims to limit Iraq's chemical and biological arsenal and to ensure they are not used. Preparations included such things as medical checks, inoculations, first aid refresher, a comprehensive background briefing on the region and culture, and, health and hygiene, and biological and chemical defence training.