led to the rotation of the force three months in. Advanced elements from 'D' Company deployed first, arriving ahead of the take over time in October. They were then followed by 'C' Company and then finally 'A' Company. Later in the deployment, as the other national forces that were deployed in Timor were drawn down, the battalion task force incorporated a Fijian company, leading to the battalion being renamed the WESTBATT. The force was commanded initially by Lieutenant Colonel Glen Babington and then later, in 2004, by Lieutenant Colonel Shane Caughey. Due to the size of the area in which they were operating, a system of forward operating bases was established at Moleana, Aidabaleten and Gleno. From these bases the task force undertook a range of tasks including a mixture of highly visible peacekeeping operations, as well as less visible, clandestine surveillance tasks along the border. In June 2004 the AUSBATT/WESTBATT was withdrawn from East Timor and 6 RAR returned to Australia. In November 2006, elements of 6 RAR were deployed to Timor Leste (as East Timor had become) as part of Operation Astute. This time they deployed alongside a platoon from 4 RAR, a company from 1 RAR, and 'G' Company which was a battery from the 16th Air Defence Regiment that had been re-roled as an infantry company. Iraq, 2004–2008 Elements of 6 RAR have deployed to Iraq three times as part of the SECDET based in Baghdad. The first deployment was from 'A' Company as part of SECDET 6 in 2004, followed by elements from 'C' Company which deployed on SECDET 7 in 2004–05. The last rotation was SECDET 12, which was based around elements from 'D' Company and deployed from September 2007 to March 2008. A motorised combat team from 6 RAR was also deployed to Southern Iraq in support of Overwatch Battle Group West 4, OBG(W)4 from 4 November 2007 to June 2008. The deployment was led by the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment and operated in two different provinces. Afghanistan, 2010 The battalion deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper in 2010, with 6 RAR forming the basis of a 750-strong combined arms battle group consisting of infantry, engineers, cavalry, artillery and logistic elements drawn from the Brisbane-based 7th Brigade, known as the 1st Mentoring Task Force (MTF-1). Based at Forward Operation Base Ripley outside of Tarin Kowt, it was involved in counter-insurgency operations