page_title: Australian contribution to UNTAG
section_title: Post-election and return to Australia
hierarchical_section_title: Australian contribution to UNTAG / Operations / Post-election and return to Australia
caption_attribution_description: English: An Australian Army land rover which was deployed to Namibia during UNTAG on display at the Australian War Memorial
context_page_description: The Australian Services Contingent was the Australian Army contribution to the United Nations Transition Assistance Group peacekeeping mission to Namibia in 1989 and 1990. Australia sent two contingents of over 300 engineers each to assist the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Martti Ahtisaari, in overseeing free and fair elections in Namibia for a Constituent Assembly in what was the largest deployment of Australian troops since the Vietnam War.
  The Australian mission was widely reported as successful. Colonel John Crocker, commander of the second Australian contingent, wrote that the November 1989 election was UNTAG's raison d'être and observed that "the Australian contingent's complete and wide-ranging support was critical to the success of that election and hence the mission – a fact that has been acknowledged at the highest level in UNTAG". Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the United Nations, wrote to Gareth Evans about the "remarkable contribution made by the Australian military and electoral personnel", saying that their "dedication and professionalism had been widely and deservedly praised".
context_section_description: After the election, the contingent was able to focus almost exclusively on construction tasks. In addition to ongoing maintenance, these included taking over barracks and accommodations from the SADF and twelve non-UNTAG tasks in support of the local community as nation-building exercises. These included:
  Opuwo airfield: The major task was the completion of the airfield upgrade at Opuwo begun by the first contingent. A detachment from Captain Kurt Heidecker's Plant Troop, supported by a section from 9th Construction Troop, worked over Christmas to complete these works (which included resurfacing and shaping the runway, drainage and installing culverts).
  Andara Catholic Mission hydroelectric plant: A team under Lieutenant Nick Rowntree upgraded a 900-metre supply channel for the Andara hydroelectric plant.
  Classrooms in Tsumeb: Sappers from the rear of the squadron constructed a number of classrooms for an Anglican school in a black neighbourhood in Tsumeb with funds provided by the Australian Liaison Office.
  Other tasks carried out by the squadron included Operation Make Safe, which took place in February and March 1990. The Field Troop conducted a reconnaissance of 10 known minefields, repaired perimeter fences and installed signs.
  The contingent began preparations for its return to Australia in December 1989. In January 1990 new works stopped,  manning of forward bases was reduced and stores and equipment were packed and prepared for sea. The Australian forces returned in four sorties on chartered commercial aircraft, the first departing Namibia on 6 February. The contingent's equipment loaded aboard the MV Kwang Tung, which left Walvis Bay on 22 February. The withdrawal included support from Australian logistics experts, a psychologist to conduct end-of-tour debriefings and a finance officer. The last demolition task was undertaken at Ondangwa on 25 March, and the last elements of the rear party left Namibia on 9 April 1990. During the deployment there were no fatalities; although at least 10 soldiers were treated for malaria, there were few serious injuries.
caption: Land Rover used in Namibia on display at the Australian War Memorial, 2012
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "E-PL3", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Version 1.3", "Image DateTime": "2012:11:04 14:16:17", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "2524", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 37, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "1/96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "1/96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "16220", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4806", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/15", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:11:04 14:16:17", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:11:04 14:16:17", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "925/256", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "14", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "15560", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "High gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "1858"}