Community & Business
5 September, 2025
Army opens gates for landowners
Swartz Barracks was a hub of civilian activity on Saturday as rural landowners made the most of their chance to see the new Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks and ask questions of personnel.
Chief of Staff at Swartz Barracks Deputy Commandant Lieutenant Colonel Edward Heslop said the support of the 780 visiting landowners was critical to the operations of Oakey Army Aviation Base.
“We operate in this environment with the goodwill of the community and we are thrilled to be part of that community,” he said.
“We operate over privately held land with airspace that is governed by Defence, (and) being able to conduct ground training on that land is paramount.
“We have a training focus here and an expanding operational focus at Oakey as we continue to increase our (three) Black Hawks to 18 by the end of this decade.”
Lt. Col. Heslop said the Army’s airspace on the central-eastern Downs was extensive, but necessarily so.
“We extend to Great Dividing Range past Crows Nest in the east, up north to the Bunya Mountains, and west just short of where Dalby is,” he said.
“It’s a significant footprint but it takes that diversity of terrain - we need mountainous areas and flat areas for training.
“It’s a fabulous area and it will continue to serve our needs into the future... (as Oakey becomes) a fully functional node of 16th Aviation Brigade.”
When asked, Lt. Col. Heslop said the Base would continue to support the local community to help make-good the negative impact the Army has had by introducing PFAS and fire ants to the district.
“We always invite and encourage engagement on these issues,” he said.
“We will provide support and education as we can.
“We have representatives from PFAS team and fire ants here today (Saturday).
“We don’t shy away from these issues, in fact, we want to be able to provide active support to the community.”
The more recent news from the Base has been positive following the arrival of the first Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk aircraft.
Captain Mitchell Adams, has been flying the Black Hawk aircraft at Oakey and says the machine is reliable and potently capable.
“It’s got so much power... I’ve never operated an aircraft with this much power before,” he said.
Capt. Adams has been based at Oakey for the last two years, during which time he has traveled to the United States of America for pilot training.
“For (Black Hawk) pilot training, we need to do a three month aircraft qualification course at Fort Rucker, Alabama and then come back here and learn how to fly in Australia,” he said.
Capt. Adams said this year’s Landowners Day was particularly special given the arrival of the Black Hawks and Apaches, which are replacing the Tiger aircraft.
“The landowners are very generous with how they let us operate within their property boundaries,” he said.
“Without their support we would not be able to conduct the quality of training with what they do.”
Landowner and former Oakey Army Aviation Training Centre serviceman Hector McWatters regularly sees aircraft over his cattle property and has given them permission to land if needed.
“I knew a few of the people here and wanted them to know that they could come and land on the place if required,” he said.
“(My) horses initially have a look around (during flyovers) but the older horses tell them not to worry!
“We’re pleased that they find it useful and that we’ve got the kind of country that’s suitable for them.
“In places it’s quite steep and overgrown, but they find little spots where they can land.
“There are some issues in the Oakey area - the historical problem of the way the PFAS contamination occurred and the fire ant issue and all of that, but Defence has been wonderful in the way they’ve addressed that and engaged with the community.
“We feel pretty pleased that we’re helping, in the big picture, the defence of Australia.”
Peter Briskey, who owns a property at Coalbank said he’s had Army helicopters fly over, and land on, his farm for forty years.
“I’ve seen helicopters break down, and military police used to use the place to train their dogs - it’s all good!”
“If they don’t train on our property, where else are they going to train?”
“In saying that, my place, the terrain is very steep, it’s a lot different to being on the flat ground."
Recently, Mr Briskey hosted a mock hot re-fueling exercise on his property.
“The helicopter came in and it didn’t stop (to land) - it kept idling while they rolled the hose out,” he said.
“We had our earmuffs on because we were standing so close, but by gee it was good to watch!”
He says he appreciates Landowners Day as one part of the Army’s line of communication with him.
“Coming to these Landowner events is good because there’s a lot of questions I have like ‘What happens if there’s a crash?’ and you get answers here,” he said.
