The North-West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) was formed in 1981 and is one of three Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) employed in surveillance and reconnaissance of the remote areas of northern Australia.
Aboriginal soldiers form up to 60 percent of the NORFORCE personnel. Uniquely, NORFORCE personnel patrol the areas they come from and therefore use their local knowledge of Country and community.
NORFORCE is based at the Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin. Its area of operations covers 1.8 million square kilometres and includes the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia – the largest area of any military unit in the world today.
The primary role of NORFORCE is reconnaissance, observation and the collection of military intelligence.
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Sources/Further Reading
- North-West Mobile Force (Army.gov.au)
- Green skin: Australia's indigenous army (Australian Geographic - image source)
- North West Mobile Force - NORFORCE (Facebook Page)
- Prince Charles visits Army’s Regional Force Surveillance Group (Contact Publishing Pty Ltd)
- NORFORCE Jida Gulpilil Video (Ryebuck Media)