Colonel James Murray was recalled to work on East Timor’s ‘D-Day’, September 20, 1999, when he learnt that Australia would be deploying troops.
At the time, he was a young signals officer participating on exchange with the US Army Signal Corps.
Two days later, he found himself briefing an American two-star general about the situation in East Timor and Australia’s request for communication support.
Colonel Murray was soon informed he would deploy and fully integrate into their task force.
“I deployed with American equipment and weapons. I was a fully embedded member of the American contingent, INTERFET,” he said.
“We were not sure what we were going to face when we got there, but we deployed within about seven days’ notice.”
His team quickly mobilised and arrived in Darwin, then Dili, to establish communication links. Once in Dili, they cleaned up a compound to work out of.
“It had been an education facility, and had been burnt down and badly vandalised,” Colonel Murray said.
His primary role was to manage communications between US forces and the INTERFET headquarters.
“I had a lot of liaison responsibilities. A typical day consisted of cycles of situation briefings and orders groups,” he said.
Not long after arriving, he witnessed a riot in the centre of Dili near a telephone exchange.
“The local population was protesting, and it was an unsettling experience,” he said.
The ADF’s first large-scale deployment since Vietnam increased his experience for future deployments.
“The opportunity to work so closely with US forces pre-9/11 was really helpful for my career,” Colonel Murray said.
“It expanded my professional understanding of the American military and diplomatic system, as well as their national security system.”
For Colonel Murray, Australia’s contribution to East Timor remains a proud legacy.
“The connections that have been established with the people of East Timor are something we should be very proud of,” he said.
