6 Ideas to Sustain Recovery

Abstract

In late March 2017, Brigadier Chris Field, Commander 3rd Brigade, led the planning and preparation of Joint Task Force 661 (JTF 661) to support the Queensland community following the impacts of Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie (STC Debbie). The main effort of the 1200-person JTF 661 was Townsville's 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment with support from the Royal Australian Navy (including HMAS Choules and HMAS Melville), Australian Army (including 5th Aviation Regiment, 6th Engineer Support Regiment, and 10th Force Support Battalion) and the Royal Australian Air Force (including C130 Hercules and King Air B350). Having conducted the initial planning for the 3rd Brigade response to STC Debbie, Brigadier Field was appointed as the Queensland State Recovery Coordinator by the Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP. During his time as the State Recovery Coordinator he led the planning and development of Operation Queensland Recovery, 2017-2019 supporting communities from the Whitsundays south to the Gold Coast and west to Beaudesert, Moranbah and Collinsville. Based on his experience in Queensland disaster recovery operations in 2011 and 2017, Brigadier Field has identified six ideas to sustain recovery including: supporting vulnerable communities; enabling collective leadership; aligning boundaries; developing 'Phase Zero' relationships; enabling charities and volunteer capabilities; and, developing compatible communications networks.