Revealed: Australia’s secret Anti-Protest Force for US Department of War

As public concerns about the AUKUS alliance grow with the expansion of US bases in Australia and the aggressive behavior of Donald Trump, FOI documents reveal that the Government is secretly expanding the alliance. ‘US War Department Protest’ Force. Rex Patrick reports.

Many people will not be aware that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has created a new command.

Our national police force, headed by Commissioner Krissy Barrett, consists of five regional commands – Northern, Eastern, Central, Southern and Western – and a number of functional commands that deal variously with crime, fraud and corruption, cyber operations, counter-terrorism and special investigations, and protective security. No surprise there; The AFP structure is well established and pretty much what you’d expect.

But there is now a new AFP “AUKUS Command”, established with little fanfare and headed by AFP Deputy Commissioner Sandra Booth.

AUKUS Command’s roles focus on the security of the AUKUS nuclear submarine project and interestingly also include ‘Public Order Management’, but its remit is much broader than protecting nuclear submarines.

MWMs The Freedom of Information (FOI) request to AFP requested, inter alia, access to the following information: Documents showing the job descriptions, duties and responsibilities of the AUKUS Command And Documents held by AUKUS Command regarding potential political opposition and/or protest activities related to the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project.

The AFP’s FOI response came late and was covered in large amounts of black ink, redacting much of the information, but enough information has emerged to suggest it is true. The government is increasing its capacity to deal with expected political protest activity against a much expanded US military and intelligence presence in Australia.

AUKUS Protection

AUKUS Command is starting with a “permanent AFP horizontal security layer” installed at HMAS Stirling (near Perth) to “support the Australian nuclear submarine program under the AUKUS initiative”.

Protecting HMAS Stirling (Source: FOI)

The installation in some parts copies this: U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Protective Force And UK Ministry of Defense Private Escort Group.

AFP AUKUS Command will initially conduct AUKUS protective security efforts, including water-based and remotely piloted aircraft escorting U.S. Navy, Royal Navy and (eventually perhaps) Royal Australian Navy submarines in and out of the waters around the base.

Submarines docked at HMAS Stirling must make a long and protest-vulnerable surface crossing along the Gage Roads to get to and from deep waters northwest of Rottnest Island.

AUKUS Command has created a rapid response capability and

“public order management” operations.

Officers at AUKUS Command are trained in rapid assessment, assistant captaining, jet ski operation, remote control of aircraft and combat against remote controlled aircraft, negotiation techniques with protesters, techniques to remove protesters and “public order management ammunition delivery”.

Long surface flyby (Google Earth)

Initially, the Command will consist of at least four teams, a ready response team and a canine unit.

Nuclear protesters are not tolerated

Although anti-nuclear protests have been small-scale so far, focusing on visiting the US Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines, the AFP has likely been alerted to the possibilities of larger-scale waterborne protests with the “Rising Tide” environmental protests at Australia’s largest coal export terminal in Newcastle.

Protest groups involved in these activities have already been subject to close scrutiny by the AFP and New South Wales Police.

In any event, it is clear that the Australian Government and the AFP are determined to demonstrate to the US and UK that protest activities that could hinder or delay the movement of American and British submarines based at HMAS Stirling as part of the AUKUS Submarine Rotation Force – West will not be tolerated.

AFP AUKUS Command at HMAS Stirling (Source; FOI)

But wait, there’s more, much more

However, it turned out that protecting nuclear submarines was only part of the AUKUS Command’s responsibilities.

The first clue to the commander’s much broader purpose is a The 25 July 2025 Memorandum of Understanding signed by Deputy Commissioner Booth was between the AFP and the Department of Defence, not the Australian Submarine Agency.

AUKUS Command Memorandum of Understanding (Source: FOI)

Previously classified AFP documents released under FOI show that AFP AUKUS Command will have strategic responsibility for the provision of protective security services “to certain Defense bases” under the Defense Memorandum and will focus significantly on building and supporting a future-ready Protective Security Officer workforce.

A much broader responsibility (Source: FOI)

Pine Gap

The documents do not reveal which Defense bases, but an FOI request recovered emails between Deputy Commissioner Booth and other AFP officers about a protest last year at Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap, the top-secret signals intelligence facility near Alice Springs operated by the US National Security Agency, the US National Reconnaissance Office and the Australian Signals Directorate.

AUKUS Command on Pine Gap Protest Communication (Source: FOI)

Major upgrades are underway at a number of other Australian Defense Force facilities to accommodate the expanded US military presence in Northern and Western Australia.

Significant work is also underway at Australian intelligence facilities, including a major perimeter security upgrade and the installation of new satellite dishes at ASD’s Shoal Bay Receiving Station, nineteen kilometers north-east of Darwin.

As the United States’ defense and intelligence footprint expands, AUKUS Command’s security and “public order management” responsibilities are likely to become quite wide-ranging.

More protests coming and the costs

As public concern over nuclear issues grows, the arrival of the US rotational submarine force at HMAS Stirling, the increased deployment of US forces around Australia and the US abandonment of ‘rules-based order’ are likely to lead to further protests.

The Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Outlook (MYEFO) released in December showed an allocation of $73.8 million to AFP AUKUS Command this fiscal year and $125.2 million in the next fiscal year.

Publication of the expenses was unusual in that the Government felt the closure was entirely appropriate.

The cost of AUKUS is completely confidential.

In fact, even in this version, the cost information in the Memorandum of Understanding was corrected.

US Australia prepares for war with China, keeps silent on consequences of nuclear attack – FOIs

AUKUS Cost Confidentiality (Source: FOI)

lack of transparency

Granted, some things about nuclear submarines are literally top secret. But the Australian Government is wrapping a thick blanket of secrecy over everything to do with AUKUS; absolutely everything.

The Government (unlike the US and UK) has refused to allow an investigation into this bankrupt Defense capability, while a transparency battle on FOI continues in the background, including in the Federal Court, where this writer is trying to access documents advising the government on how to select a high-level radioactive waste site.

Rex Patrick

Instead of bringing the Australian people along, instead of creating social license for the project, instead of being upfront about the integration of the Australian Defense Force into the US Armed Forces at a time when Australians are struggling with trust in the US, transparency is the agenda of the day for the Government.

And now, for good measure, there’s an entirely new AFP command that will keep secrets under wraps and suppress public protests.

AUKUS delusions. More rivets emerge in submarine drama

Rex Patrick is a former South Australian Senator and formerly a submariner in the armed forces. Known as an anti-corruption and transparency warrior, Rex is also known as “Transparency Warrior.”