The Age Misha Schubert - ANOTHER 38 troops and an extra four armored vehicles will be sent to bolster the 480-strong Australian forces in southern Iraq, in a "fine-tuning" of the recently redeployed contingent.
The reinforcements were announced yesterday, just a month after Australian troops moved from guarding Japanese engineers in al-Muthanna province to a broader role backing up the Iraqi defense force from their new base at Tallil.
The Australian Defense Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said the extra troops and Bushmaster vehicles were required because patrols now had to cover a greater area.
"The task has changed — we're operating from a base a lot further away from the principal centre of gravity in al-Muthanna … it reflects the fact that we have to continually move to do the job," he said.
Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said the boost was essentially "fine-tuning" and vowed Australia would not abandon its role in Iraq.
After visiting troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dr Nelson said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had thanked Australia for being "with us from the beginning", and he pledged to him in return that "we will be there with you until the end".
Labor refused to back the extra troop commitment in Iraq, saying "overstretched" military resources should be deployed closer to home.
But Australia Defense Association chief Neil James said it made sense to boost the troop levels in Iraq if military commanders felt it was warranted.
"If the service chiefs have recommended this for the operational security of the contingent, why would anyone object?" he said.
ON ASSIGNMENT

About 3800 troops are serving overseas. They include:
■ Iraq and Gulf 1400 personnel (plus 38 announced yesterday)
■ Afghanistan 190 special forces, plus 110 air and ground crew
■ East Timor 1900 army, navy and air force personnel
■ Solomons 140 troops
■ Lebanon 12 soldiers with UN, 14 ADF personnel at Beirut embassy
■ Sinai 25 ADF personnel in UN monitoring group
■ Sudan 15 with UN mission