Rogue Element

David Rollins The Death Trust

For Sam

Acknowledgements

This novel is a work of fiction, written to sound like fact, the line between the two blurred so that you don’t twig to where one stops and the other begins. Of course, whether I’ve succeeded in that is up to you, the reader, to decide.

I’m not a social scientist, a historian or a military specialist. Much of the material contained in this story was found in the public domain. That said, I did call on the services of a number of experts where the available information was either inadequate or when good old-fashioned experience was required. I would very much like to thank those people publicly, because they only get two rewards in this business. One is the satisfaction of knowing that, where their specialty is concerned, at least accuracy has been maintained. Two is acknowledgement that they’d probably rather be out playing golf than sitting on the phone to me, or correcting the manuscript yet again.

And so… Thank you Andy Bates for taking me on the wildest 747 ride ever. Thank you ‘Woody’, former USAF F-16 fighter pilot, for your patience and enthusiasm. Thank you Gideon Marshall for showing me one end of an M16 from the other. Thank you Neville Farley, SASR veteran, for making sure I wasn’t completely off the planet. Thank you Chris Sherwood for the ins and outs on the Black Hawk. Thank you Mr Yuwono for the guided tour of Sulawesi. And thank you Bob Buick, Vietnam veteran and Military Medal winner, for your contacts and for your astonishing bravery under fire.

Also, thank you Patricia Rollins (me mum) for your tireless editing, suggestions and encouragement.

Map

Glossary

ACI — Airborne Control Interception

ADF — Australian Defence Force

AFB — Air force base

AGL — Above ground level

AIM-9 — Air-to-air heat-seeking missile

AMRAAM — Advanced medium range air-to-air missile

APC — Armoured patrol carrier

ASIS — Australian Secret Intelligence Service

ATC — Air traffic control

AV-8B — Harrier Jump Jet — vertical/short take off and landing aircraft

AV-TUR — Jet fuel

AWACS — Airborne warning and control system

BVR — Beyond visual range (missile)

C-130 — Hercules transport aircraft

COMINT — Communications intelligence

COMPSTOMP — Computer Security, Tasking, Observation and Manipulation Protection

Cray XI — Super computer

CSAR — Combat Search and Rescue

DIO — (Australian) Defence Intelligence Organisation

DIGO — Defence Intelligence and Geospatial Organisation

DOD — (Australian) Department of Defence

DPRD — Dewan Perwakilan Rakjat Daerah — Indonesian Parliament

E&E Bay — Electronics and Equipment Bay

EA-6B — Prowler electronic warfare aircraft

ELINT — Electronic intelligence

ETFOR — United Nations peacekeeping force, East Timor

EW — Electronic Warfare

F/A-18E — Super Hornet Fleet defence aircraft

F14 — Tomcat Fleet defence aircraft

F16 — Fighting Falcon fighter

FIR — Flight Information Region

FMC — Flight Management Computer

GPS — Global positioning system

H&K MP5SD — 9 mm sub-machine gun

H&K USP — 9 mm pistol

HE — High explosive

HE 463 — High explosive M203-launched grenade

HUD — Head up display

Huey — UH-1D helecopter

IAE — Intelligence Assimilation Executive

INTERFET — Peacemaking force, East Timor

IRS — Inertial Reference System

KC-135 — Air-to-air tanker

LM — Loadmaster

LSA — Lowest safe altitude

LZ — Landing zone

M16 A2 — Military assault carbine

M203 — Grenade launcher

M26 AI — Anti-personnel hand grenade

M34 — Willie Pete white phosphorous hand grenade

M4 — Military assault carbine

MAG — Mobile Assault Group

Minimi — Light machine gun

MLP — Marine landing platform

NSA — National Security Agency

NVG — Night vision goggles

OSCAR — Open systems core avionics requirement (weapons/stores computer)

PE — Plastic explosive

QNH — Area air pressure at sea level

RAAF — Royal Australian Air Force

ROE — Rules of engagement

RV — Rendezvous

S70 A9 — Black Hawk helicopter

SAR — Search and Rescue

SASR — Special Air Service Regiment

SBS — Special Boat Service

SEASection — South-East Asian Section

SIGINT — Signals intelligence

SRS — Special Recovery Squadron

Super Pumpa — Helicopter

TACBE — Tactical beacon (radio transceiver)

TNI — Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian army)

TNI-AU — Tentara Nasional Indonesia — Angkatan Udara (Indonesian airforce)

UH — Ultra high frequency

V22 — Osprey Tiltrotor vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft

VHF — Very high frequency

WAC — World Area Chart

Zulu — Universal Coordinated Time/Greenwich Mean Time

Prologue