Fijian troops in Iraq receive drinking water and personal protective equipment from the Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force has handed over a container load of drinking water and personal protective equipment to the Fijian Contingent deployed to Iraq under the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq.

The water was requested due to the breakdown of a water pump that supplied water to the Camp Fijian Troops were accommodated in resulting in the rationing of water to Fijian troops.

The Director Peace Support Operations, Colonel Pacolo Luveni says the personal protective equipment was sent in order to top up the current stocks available to Fijian troops serving in Iraq as a safeguard against the Coronavirus.

He says in order to prevent a situation where Fijian Troops would be lacking in drinking water and without adequate personal protective equipment, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces acted quickly and began planning and organizing this resupply.

[ Members of the 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment storing water delivered to them by ADF and Iraqi Forces, in Baghdad, Iraq.]

Colonel Luveni says this planning had to factor in restrictions imposed by the Government of Iraq due to the fight against the Coronavirus and the possibility of coordinating with regional Defence partners that maintained logistic flights into Iraq and had personnel and logistic relationships within the country.

He says they reached out to their counterparts in the Australian Defence Force , and in the spirit of the Vuvale Partnership through enhancing their security cooperation began coordinating efforts to acquire and ship water and personal protective equipment to Fijian troops in Iraq.

He adds the successful delivery of water and the personal protective equipment to these personnel and adherence to regulations put in place as a result of COVID -19, is a testament to the close ties that have been fostered between the RFMF and the ADF through years of working closely together.