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The Australian Army 's Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) are specialised units responsible for patrolling Northern Australia . The RFSUs regularly conduct operational patrols during peacetime, and the reservists who make up 90% of the RFSUs personnel carry out most of their training during these patrols. The Australian Army currently has three Regional Force Surveillance Units:
ROLE The role of the RFSUs is to conduct surveillance patrols in the sparsely populated and remote regions of Northern Australia . The RFSUs conduct operational patrols during peacetime as part of Operation Cranberry. These patrols are carried out in conjunction with the Royal Australian Navy , Royal Australian Air Force and civilian agencies such as Australian Customs, Coastwatch and the State and Federal police forces. During wartime the RFSUs role would be to detect enemy landings, especially near the important economic and defence infrastructure in their areas of operation. In the extremely unlikely event of an invasion of northern Australia the RFSUs would operate as ' Stay Behind ' units and report on enemy movements from behind the front lines. While the RFSUs are not Special Forces , they are regarded as elite units. In line with their capability and important role, the RFSUs are well resourced, and often receive new equipment ahead of regular army units. HISTORY The genesis of the RFSU concept lies in the unit which was formed to patrol northern Australia during the Second World War. The 2/1 North Australia Observer Unit conducted horse and vehicle mounted patrols across northern Australia with the goal of observing and reporting on enemy movements on land, sea and in the air. While this concept proved successful, the Army's role in patrolling northern Australia ceased with the disbandment of 2/1 NAOU in 1945. Following the Australian withdrawal from Vietnam the national defence strategy changed from forward defence through stationing military units in South East Asia to the Defence Of Continental Australia . In line with this shift, the Australian military began to explore new ways of patrolling the Australian coastline. In the late 1970s the Australian Special Air Service Regiment conducted a number of exercises in northern Western Australia which aimed to assess the ability of infantry units to patrol the long and sparsely populated coastline of northern Australia. These trials indicated that infantry scouts mounted on all-terrain vehicles and light boat could provide a very useful capability. Following this finding, it was decided in the early 1980s to establish three Battalion -sized Regional Force Surveillance Units in northern Australia. These units would be manned by Army reservists who, it was hoped, would be able to use their local knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of the units' patrols. Each RFSU was formed by expanding and re-designating an independent rifle company:
Since their establishment the RFSUs have proven highly successful and have made a significant contribution to the security of northern Australia. INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS AND THE RFSUS As Army Reserve units, the make-up of the RFSUs' personnel reflects the ethnic make-up of their area of operations. As a result, a high proportion the RFSUs' personnel are Indigenous Australians , making the Australian Army one of the largest single employers of Indigenous Australians. NORFORCE has the highest proportion of Indigenous soldiers, with 60% of the unit's personnel being Indigenous. A high proportion of 51 FNQR's personnel are Torres Strait Islanders . The Pilbara Regiment reportedly has relatively few Indigenous soldiers. The RFSUs' are highly regarded by many Indigenous community leaders as the units provide employment and training opportunies to young Indigenous people living in remote communities. REFERENCES
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