TRAINING DAYS ... Black Hawk helicopters, divers in dinghies and terrorist response boats in action around Hobart.
MARIA RAE
September 10, 2008 12:00am
SECRETIVE counter-terrorism training was not so hush-hush this week for Hobart residents who woke to the rumbling of Black Hawk helicopters overhead.
South Arm dwellers spied a border collie being lowered from one aircraft.
And rubber duckies carrying black-clad figures wearing sunglasses have been seen racing around the Derwent River.
Yesterday at 6.40pm four helicopters in close formation and with just one red tail rotor light flashing passed low, and noisily, over Blackmans Bay and Kingston heading towards Mt Wellington.
Major John McPherson would only confirm the Australian Defence Force was collaborating with Tasmania Police on simulated operations.
"We don't want to give away the kind of training we're doing because that could be used as an advantage by the bad guys," the ADF public affairs officer said.
"It's training so our people can handle any emergency that might arise."
A nearby resident to the army's Fort Direction base at South Arm said Tuesday night was particularly busy.
But Bill Arnold, an ex-serviceman from an aircraft carrier, was not bothered by the noise.
"They were at it nearly all last night," he said yesterday.
He said there were five Black Hawk helicopters based at the recreation ground and about four assault watercraft.
He also estimated there were about two platoons taking part in the training.
Mr Arnold has also seen soldiers abseiling down from the helicopters carrying dogs.
South Hobart resident Kate Elliott also reported waking up to the sound of a low-flying aircraft in the dead of night.
"As it moved away I thought it's not crashing," she said.
"It got softer and softer over about 30 seconds."
A Taroona woman, who did not want to be named, was woken about 2am by the choppers.
She could see them hovering over the river through her binoculars.
A McRobies Gully resident, who also wanted to remain anonymous, got the chance to hear them up close.
His five-year-old daughter came running to him in absolute terror fearing a plane was in her bedroom.
"This kind of thing is meant to make her (and me) feel safer is it?" he commented on the Mercury website.
"Some kind of advance notice would have been nice."
The Australian Defence Force is running 10 days of security-related training in the state, which ends on Sunday. It is part of a program to practise responses to an emergency in Australia and overseas.
The ADF said some noise and troop movements would be noticeable.
However, residents may get a final blast when it wraps up as simulated explosions are also part of the act.
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