100 completing at test at the end of every day. Other training included ethics and morality, battle reviews on Long Tan, Hamel and even, on a few occasions, analysing past VC’s actions. The situation in the Northern Territory was not one to be concerned about, but in the whole of Australia, especially areas with high population density, the situation deteriorated day by day. In response, the Chief of Army would eventually put out a general order to all units to launch Operation Covid Assist. Australian Army would be required to lend assistance to local police, health workers and the community. The Army’s call for action required multiple units to respond. One such unit was the 8th/12th Regiment and by extension the 103rd Battery. OP COVID ASSIST began on the 1st of April 2020 and saw members of the 103rd Battery lend assistance to local police. The Battery would undertake a multitude of tasks, including selfquarantine compliance checks with locals, manning command posts to maintain contact with multiple callsigns and enforcing travel restrictions in various locations. For the most part, the 103rd Battery spent their time at RAAF Tindal, just outside of Katherine in the Northern Territory. It was here they stayed whilst they slowly rotated through manning the Stuart highway and working with the Northern Territory Police to ensure that non-essential travel could be stopped in order to prevent the virus. At this time Australians who were overseas when the pandemic was announced returned to the Northern Territory, where they underwent quarantine in a complex located in Howard Springs. The complex was originally built for fly-in fly-out workers. The Battery assisted the government by providing food, performing housekeeping tasks and ensuring the safety of the community. This was a relatively relaxed time as the Northern Territory was considered the safest place in Australia, peaking out at 30 confirmed cases, all of whom recovered before the Territory reached zero cases by the 28th May 2020. The response, however, was still necessary as people with the coronavirus (or those in
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE4NTMz