Operation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the war in Afghanistan. In November 2001 Australian SAS troops joined the war in Afghanistan. C-130 Hercules aircraft provided logistic support to the SAS, while F/A-18 Hornets contributed to air defence at the American Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia. From March to September 2002, two RAAF Boeing 707 refuelling aircraft of 84 Wing were based at Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan in central Asia. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in December 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn. An Australian Special Forces Task Group was re-deployed to Afghanistan in August or September 2005. The Australian Special Forces Task Group was withdrawn from Afghanistan in September 2006. A Reconstruction Taskforce began arriving in Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in early September 2006.In October 2001, the Australian government announced that it was sending a special forces task group built around an SASR squadron to participate in the campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan designated Operation Slipper. After staging through Kuwait, 1 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan in December 2001 with the other SASR squadrons rotating in at approximately six-monthly intervals. The SASR's main role in Afghanistan was to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance of al-Qaeda and Talibanpositions, activities and capabilities. SASR force elements also conducted some offensive operations.After arriving at FOB Rhino, the SASR initially operated in southern Afghanistan with US Marines from Task Force 58, conducting long-range vehicle mounted patrols over several hundred kilometres around Kandahar and into the Helmand Valley near the Iranian-border. On 16 February 2002 Sergeant Andrew Russell was killed when the Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) he was travelling in hit a land mine during an operation in the Helmand Valley. Two other soldiers were wounded in the incident. Later the SASR operated under command of Task Force 64.

Australian National Headquarters – Middle East Area of Operations, also subsequently known as Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 (HQ JTF633), was established in 2002, and for several years was dual-assigned to both Operation Catalyst and Operation Slipper “to exercise command and control of deployed Australian Defence Force units”. As of mid-2007 the command was headed by a two-star officer who “commands all ADF units deployed in the Middle East Area of Operations including all elements assigned to Operation Catalyst and Operation Slipper”, under the title of Commander Joint Task Force 633, with a one-star “Deputy Commander of Australian forces in Iraq”. Joint Task Force 633 was officially described as “Australia’s contribution in the Middle East Area of Operations to the Global War on Terror”. The ADF’s Middle East Area of Operations command shifted from Camp Victory in Baghdad to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates in late 2008. By late 2009, Australian air, land and sea operations in support of Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Iraq and Afghanistan operations were based from Al Minhad, following a rationalisation of Gulf bases. This rationalisation shifted C-130 transport operations from Al Udeid in Qatar, training and acclimatisation from the Billabong Flats facility in Kuwait, and the MEAO headquarters from Baghdad. The consolidation was prompted by cost concerns, particularly with the shift of operational emphasis from Iraq to Afghanistan.

The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is an elite special operations force of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was originally modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins", and draws on the experiences of Australian Services Reconnaissance Department, independent companies, Coastwatchers and M and Z Special Units duringWorld War II. Based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, the regiment is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command. It has been involved in operations inBorneo during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, the Vietnam War, Somalia, Kuwait, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. It also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations...

Update: Aug.8, 2021 A bare patch of sand at the ADF’s main operating base in the Middle East became a hive of activity with the rapid construction of a camp for evacuees fleeing the volatile and dangerous situation in Kabul, Afghanistan. In less than three days, the people of Joint Task Force 633 and local contractors transformed the unassuming area into a facility capable of catering for the needs of up to 400 evacuees, who will transit through the base on their way to Australia. The evacuees include Australian citizens, visa holders and approved personnel. JTF633 Project Engineer Captain Callum Johnston coordinated much of the effort.

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