Their first task was to plant three of their fellow operators with their radio transmitter at a safe distance, so that coded intelligence could be sent back to Australia. In their information forays and reconnaissance, they traveled many hundreds of miles at great risk using Hoehn military folboats along the coast and accessible inland waters.
Led by Major F. G. L. Chester, the Z Special Unit operatives landed along Labian Point in early October 1943. They also supported and provided equipment and stores for Filipino guerrillas under the command of an American officer, Captain J. A. Hamner.
In January 1944, Bill Jinkins led Z Special Unit operatives with the objective of organising the native population for guerrilla warfare. These early efforts did not bear any significant results.
Feuer, A. B. (2006). Australian Commandos: Their Secret War against the Japanese in WWII, Stackpole Books, ISBN978-0-8117-3294-9.
Hoehn, John. (2011). Commando Kayak: The use of Australian folboats during the Pacific Campaign. hirschbooks.net & ozatwar.com/hoehn . ISBN978-3-033-01717-7