the devastation from the air and also met with groups of people on the ground. Australian Defence Force A few hours after the immediate effects of the cyclone, the Australian Defence Force dispatched elements of the Townsville based 3rd Brigade and the Cairns-based 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment, Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force including: six Black Hawk helicopters, three Iroquois helicopters, one Chinook helicopter, one Seahawk helicopter, three Navy landing craft, two Caribou aircraft, two C-130 Hercules, and several LARC-V amphibious 4WD vehicles. A Combat Services Support Battalion coordinated emergency support at Innisfail Showgrounds, providing health care, environmental advice, fresh food and purified water (as well as testing local supplies), tarpaulins, bath and shower facilities, and up to 500 beds. The Cowley Beach Training Area near Mourilyan Harbour, south of Innisfail, was significantly affected by the cyclone, and its use as a base by recovery teams was therefore limited. QLD Rural Fire Service (Thuringowa Group) Thuringowa Group Rural Fire Brigade volunteers responded immediately after the impact of the cyclone. The rural fire volunteer task force set up a command post at East Palmerston, which was in place for a number of weeks. A newly acquired Emergency Support Unit was quickly prepared for disaster relief operations.This unit had to be sold before STC Yasi slammed the North QLD Coastline however, the Rural Fire Service and QLD Fire & Rescue had honed their incident management skills and along with the LDMG in Townsville, ensured that emergency response during and after the cyclone were suitable and appropriate. Leadership by General Peter Cosgrove Former Chief of the Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove, took charge of recovery efforts, and was directing activities from Innisfail by 24 March 2006. He called for an economic assessment by state and federal governments, and specified a moratorium on businesses' debt repayments to banks for 3 months. Tradesmen and prisoners About 150 tradesmen from around Australia arrived in Innisfail around 26 March 2006, and worked to reopen schools and other public buildings, and to make private dwellings habitable. The Queensland Government also investigated how many trusted prisoners could be organised for work-gangs. Accommodation Media outlets reported that rental agents were working to find accommodation for displaced persons, after the already tight accommodation market was exacerbated by the severe damage done to homes in the affected areas. Many tenants and owners of severely damaged homes had