the SASR operators cleared it to make sure it was safe and that that involved working through the compound clearing all the rooms. The initial sweep is the fight through and once that is completed, a fight back is done. That involves a more detailed search. Once that is completed and the "re-org" is given, at that point the compound is relatively safe. Person 40 described a "re-org" as the reorganisation of troops. That means that troops are placed or manoeuvred into certain positions to provide overwatch if that is required. If there are any PUCs, tactical questioning would be conducted. Drawings, photographs, sketches would be made or taken during that phase. The next phase would be extraction and that would involve orders given by the troop commander. Person 40 said that there were no engagements before the compound was declared secure.
387 Person 40 said that after the compound had been declared secure and during the SSE process and the thorough search, he recalls finding a cache that was well hidden within a wall. He said that during the SSE phase, he was "kind of running back and forth". There was commotion or heightened interest in an area and he recalls hearing that there was a tunnel.
388 Person 40 said that he became aware of the tunnel in the following circumstances. There was a gathering of key personnel from the troop in broadly the courtyard area and as he was running back and forth or, as he put it on one occasion in his evidence, "bouncing" back and forth and asking what was going on, he received the response from the person who responded that he believed or said that "we believe that there's a tunnel there". He went into the area and he recalls the following persons being present: the patrol commanders and troop headquarters, Persons 81 and 82, and the troop interpreter. The other people in the area were the applicant, Person 35 and two women who were obviously concerned. He said that when he was told that there was a tunnel, he was approximately five to seven metres from the area of the tunnel.
389 It was not expressly put to Person 40 in cross-examination that he was wrong about the following two matters: (1) that the tunnel was found during exploitation; and (2) that he was present in the vicinity of the tunnel in the immediate aftermath of its discovery. He was challenged about the location of the Commanders' RV. It was put to Person 40 that he was wrong about the location of the Commanders' RV. It was put to him that he observed the Commanders' RV "at the southwest after the assault on the compound". He appears to have accepted that at one point, although he then denied it and said that he saw it in the courtyard area. I will come to Person 43's evidence in due course. For present purposes, it should be noted that Person 40's evidence is directly supported by that of Person 43.
