The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison announced the
raising of the newest unit in the Australian Army, the Special
Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER). The announcement coincided with a
ceremony held at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney. The Incident Response
Regiment (IRR) was taken off the Army’s Order of Battle and replaced by
the newly named SOER. The new unit reflects the distinct roles and
capabilities of the SOER, which differ from those of conventional
Engineer units, whilst still retaining ties to the Corps of Royal
Australian Engineers. The SOER provided two separate practical
capability demonstrations at Holsworthy, a Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE) neutralisation task and an
Improvised Explosive Device (IED) clearance. The Special Operations
Commander Australia, Major General Gus Gilmore also took the opportunity
to meet the soldiers of the SOER to personally thank them for their
work in supporting operations both domestically and overseas, and paid
tribute to their fallen comrades.


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