In February 2003 , a rotating detachment of three Hercules deployed to the Persian Gulf to support the Australian contribution to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ; over the next seven years they amassed 20,000 operational flying hours . From July 2003 to July 2004 , Caribous undertook reconnaissance and transport missions during the Solomon Islands intervention . No . 36 Squadron Hercules took part in Operation Sumatra Assist in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami . The RAAF 's contribution to Operation Papua New Guinea Assist , following Cyclone Guba in November 2007 , included a Globemaster , two Hercules , and three Caribous . In September 2008 , a Globemaster undertook the type 's first aeromedical evacuation in RAAF service , transporting five injured Australian troops to Amberley from Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan . Globemasters , Hercules and King Airs were all employed for flood relief in Queensland and Victoria early in 2011 . In February that year , Globemasters and Hercules transported medical staff and equipment to New Zealand to aid victims of the Christchurch earthquake . The following month , a Globemaster flew 23 sorties in Japan supporting relief efforts after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , while two other Globemasters delivered a water cannon to help contain damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
2004 Boxing Day tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
No. 86 Wing RAAF