June 19, 2014Edition 1330

COMBAT READY

Australian, US and Japanese troops

come together for Ex Southern Jackaroo

ALSO THIS EDITION

Plus:Blackadder star visits troops in WA PAGE 23

Fire team leaders rise to the challenge PAGE 5

Soldiers lend a hand on Pacific Partnership PAGES 6-7

COMMANDO AWARDED STAR OF GALLANTRY PAGE 3

P4

Teamwork: Australian, US and Japanese soldiers

conduct a live-fire platoon attack

with armoured fighting vehicles at

Puckapunyal during Exercise Southern

Jackaroo 2014.Photo by Sgt Brian Hartigan

Army June 19, 2014QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews2

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OFFICER IN THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIAMaj-Gen John Graham CALIGARI DSC AMFor distinguished service as Head Modernisation and Strategic Planning – Army and Head Systems Capability Development Group.

STAR OF GALLANTRYPte B For conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of great peril while on operations on Operation Slipper.

BAR TO THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSSMaj-Gen Michael Peter CRANE, DSC, AMFor distinguished command and lead-ership in warlike operations as the Commander of JTF633 on Operation Slipper from October 2012 to September 2013.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSSBrig John William SHANAHAN AMFor distinguished com-mand and leadership in warlike operations as the Commander of the 205th Corps Advisory Team on Operation Slipper from September 2012 to August 2013. Col Simon Andrew STUART AMFor distinguished command and lead-ership in warlike operations as the Commander Combined Team Uruzgan on Operation Slipper from October 2012 to August 2013. Lt-Col Malcolm Dalziel WELLSFor distinguished command and leader-ship in warlike operations as the CO of the 7RAR Task Group on Operation Slipper from November 2012 to June 2013.

MEMBER IN THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIAWO David Malcolm ASHLEY OAMFor exceptional service as the RSM of Forcomd, the RSM of Combined Team Uruzgan, and the RSM of the Army.Brig Gregory Charles BILTON CSCFor exceptional service in the fields of Army modernisation as Director General Development and Plans Army, and com-mand as Commander 7 Bde.Lt-Col Brian Robert CAMPBELLFor exceptional performance of duty as the Staff Officer Fatalities within the Chief of Staff Branch – Army Headquarters. Brig Peter Edmond DANIEL CSCFor exceptional service as Director General Supply Chain, Joint Logistics

Command and Colonel Support at Headquarters Land Command – Army.Brig Stephen Hugh PORTERFor exceptional service to the Australian Army as the Assistant Commander (Training), 2 Div and Commander of 11 Bde. Brig Marcus Allan THOMPSONFor exceptional service as CO 3CSR, a Defence representative while seconded to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Director General Special Operations Capability.

CONSPICUOUS SERVICE CROSSLt-Col James Andrew DAVISFor outstanding achieve-ment as SO1, The Army Plan in Army Headquarters.Col Anthony Gerard HAMBLETON AMFor outstanding achieve-ment as the Director Personnel Policy and Director General Personnel – Army within Personnel Branch – Army, Army Headquarters.Lt-Col Phillip Frederick HILLSFor outstanding achievement as the SO1, Career Adviser Group in the Directorate of Soldier Career Management – Army.Col Andrew John HOCKINGFor outstanding achievement as Branch Chief for Functional Contingency Plans and Policy while on exchange within the Headquarters of US Pacific Command.Cpl Benjamin James KATZFor outstanding achievement as a section commander and reconnais-sance patrol commander with 2RAR.Lt-Col Bradley Scott KILPATRICKFor outstanding achievement as the Chief Instructor in the Undergraduate Branch of ADFA.Lt-Col Damien John McLACHLANFor outstanding achievement as a SO1 – Equipment Management in the Directorate of Logistics – Army.Lt-Col Niall Joseph O’TOOLEFor outstanding achievement as the Brigade Aviation Maintenance Officer for 16 Avn Bde.Lt-Col S For outstanding achievement as an SO1 on Operation Slipper. Brig Nagy Maher SORIALFor outstanding achievement as Director General Land Vehicle Systems Branch, Defence Materiel Organisation.Chap Robert Geoffrey SUTHERLANDFor outstanding achievement as Chaplain of 1 Int Bn.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDALBrig Andrew William BOTTRELL CSC and BarFor distinguished leadership in warlike operations as Director General Transition and Redeployment on

Operation Slipper from December 2012 to November 2013.Capt C For distinguished leadership in warlike operations on Operation Slipper.Cpl Michael James CALLAGHANFor distinguished leadership in warlike operations as an infantry section com-mander in support of the 205th Corps Advisory Team on Operation Slipper from November 2012 to June 2013.Col Dean Gregory FRANKLIN CSCFor distinguished leadership in war-like operations as the Deputy Chief Future Operations, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, Operation Slipper, from November 2012 to December 2013.Col Douglas C CARDINALE, US ArmyFor distinguished leadership in warlike operations as the Deputy Commander Combined Team Uruzgan from October 2012 to July 2013.

MEDAL OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA IN THE MILITARY DIVISIONSgt Trevlyn Justin GREENFor meritorious perfor-mance of duty as an aircraft technician in the Rotary Wing Group on Operation Slipper. Capt J For meritorious service to the Australian Army Reserve and Socomd.WO1 Michael Walter KING CSMFor meritorious service as the Regimental Quartermaster Sgt of 1RAR, 2RAR and 3RAR. Maj Ian Matthew LAKEY For meritorious service as RSM of FSU 1 on Operation Slipper, RSM of 1CSSB, and RSM of FSU 7 on Operation Slipper.Maj James William MASTERSFor meritorious service to the Combat Training Centre Jungle Training Wing, Tully, during postings as an instructor since 1996 and as OC (2011 to 2013).WO1 Elizabeth Anne MATTHEWSFor meritorious service as the Health Operations Warrant Officer at Headquarters 17CSSB, the Health Warrant Officer at Headquarters Forcomd and as Army’s Senior Medical Technician at the Directorate of Army Health.WO1 Matthew George SMITHFor meritorious performance of duty in Army personnel management and force structure modernisation roles over an extended period of service.WO1 John James STONEBRIDGE BMFor meritorious service as the RSM of the 12/40RTR and 1RAR. WO1 Michelle WYATT CSMFor meritorious service as the RSM of the 3HSB, Army School of Health, Army Logistics Training Centre, DSCMA, and Career Management – Army.Maj Y, For meritorious service to Socomd – Australia in leadership and training roles over an extended period of service.

THE BAR TO THE CONSPICUOUS SERVICE MEDALMaj Dean Alexander CLARK CSMFor meritorious achievement as the Operations Officer of Observer Group Golan – Damascus (Syria) United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.

CONSPICUOUS SERVICE MEDALWO1 Heike Christa BROWNFor meritorious devotion to duty in providing welfare support to Army’s wounded, injured and ill personnel as the Member Support Coordinator for Victoria.Sgt C For meritorious achieve-ment in the performance of duty while posted to 2 Cdo Regt.Lt-Col Robert Grant GIBSONFor meritorious achieve-ment as the SO1 Career Management Support, Directorate of Reserve Soldier Career Management – Army.

Lt-Col David Graham JENKINSFor meritorious achievement as the SO1 Communication, Information Systems and Electronic Warfare, within the Directorate of Logistics – Army. Capt M For meritorious achievement in the performance of duty in Socomd.Lt-Col Andrew Paul MOSSFor meritorious achievement as a Career Adviser at the Directorate of Officer Career Management – Army.Maj Emmet O’MAHONEYFor meritorious achievement as SO2 Personnel Policy Conditions of Service in Army Headquarters. Sgt Belinda Carmel TOTTLEFor meritorious achievement as the Chef Supervising Sgt at 1 Sig Regt during the period 2012 to 2013.WO2 Glen Andrew WHITEFor meritorious achievement as a CSM in 1RTB.Maj Anthony George WOOLASTONFor meritorious achievement as the SO2, Force Modernisation, Communications Information Systems and Electronic Warfare, Headquarters Forcomd.

COMMENDATION FOR GALLANTRYPte M For acts of gallantry in action on Operation Slipper. Cpl W For acts of gallantry in action on Operation Slipper.

COMMENDATION FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICEMaj Charmaine Sylvia BENFIELDFor distinguished per-formance of duty in war-like operations as the Operations Officer of the Force Support Unit on Operation Slipper from October 2012 to June 2013.Lt-Col C For distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations on Operation Slipper.Lt-Col Dean Robert COMMONSFor distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as the Senior Intelligence Analyst in Headquarters International Security Assistance Force Joint Command on Operation Slipper from October 2012 to August 2013.Maj Geoffrey Andrew ELFORD CSMFor distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as the Chief Engineer for Combined Team Uruzgan on Operation Slipper from October 2012 to June 2013.Sgt J For distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations on Operation Slipper.Maj Michael John KEARNS CSMFor distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as the OC the Brigade Adviser Team, 7RAR, on Operation Slipper, from October 2012 to June 2013.Capt M For distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations on Operation Slipper.Brig Peter John SHORT DSCFor distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as Assistant Commander – Afghanistan, JTF633, on Operation Slipper from August 2012 to August 2013.

STAR OF GALLANTRYPte B Pte B repeatedly exposed himself to sustained heavy fire in order to sup-port his team during operations in Uruzgan. On seeing his team under enemy fire, he rendered assistance without regard for his own safety, which undoubtedly saved lives. His performance was of the highest order and in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the ADF.

COMMENDATION FOR GALLANTRYPte MPte M’s display of gallantry and exemplary composure in complex circumstances undoubtedly assisted in saving the life of a team member. Despite Pte M himself being wound-ed, he remained by his team mem-ber’s side, treating him and demon-strating a fine example of composure and mateship. His acts of gallantry were of the highest order and in keeping with the finest traditions of the Special Operations Task Group, the Australian Army and the ADF. Cpl WCpl W’s gallantry in the face of a confusing and dangerous situa-tion undoubtedly saved the life of a seriously wounded comrade and contributed to the safe evacuation of other wounded Australians and their Afghan partners. With complete dis-regard for his own safety, he calmly moved forward to relieve a less experienced first-aider and rendered life-saving intervention. His actions were of the highest order and in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the ADF.

GALLANTRY

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 3

THIS EDITIONThe height of joint opsUS and Japanese soldiers join troops to push the limits on combined training – 4

Rising to the challengeTroops learn to lead on the Fire Team Leaders’ Course – 5 Pacific PartnershipEngineers help US and Timor-Leste troops build an emergency room and a school kitchen in Timor-Leste – 6-7

Kandahar is wiredFCU 10 personnel are providing reliable communications – 8

Radioactive safetySoldiers train with US troops who worked on Fukushima clean-up – 9 Leaders in their field1 Bde learns tips from top military minds on warfare trends and army adaptation – 14

Taking to the skyChinooks conduct external lift trials – 15

US Anzac connectionA US Army officer has discovered his family’s Australian military history – 22

Team effort leads to high honour

“There is not one man that day who didn’t display bravery and fearlessness in the face of the enemy ... I have the

privilege to work alongside some of Australia’s staunchest

and bravest men and while I acknowledge this great honour, I will wear it to

represent my fellow operators and my entire regiment.

– Pte B, 2 Cdo Regt

Photo by CPL Jake SimsWO2 Andrew Hetherington

A 2 Cdo Regt commando who fought alongside VC recipient Cpl Cameron Baird was awarded a Star of Gallantry for his selfless efforts during the same battle at Ghawchak village, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

During the mission he found himself fighting for his mates’ and his own life.

“We were in immediate close contact with multiple insurgents and all of my mates hooked in and fought hard,” Pte B said.

“I wanted to make sure I could cover Cam (Cpl Baird) and the other lads in my team.

“All I cared about was eliminating the threats, removing any immediate danger from my team and then carrying on with the mission.”

Pte B said during the intense fight he had no time to consider his personal safety and knew exactly what needed to be done to help his mates.

“I knew how serious the situation was and what immediate action needed to be taken,” he said.

“My team was being engaged by multiple threats at very close proximity.

“I saw Cam charge that door, rounds kicking up all around him and I wasn’t going to let him fight alone.”

He feels he didn’t do anything more during the mission than any of his team mates.

“Each and every one of them was a hero on the day and I saw how hard they fought,” he said.

“This inspired me to fight harder so as to not to let them down.

“We all fought as a team, for each other and tragically Cam fell leading the fight.

“If anything my team saved my life.”

During the battle, Pte B said he saw other acts of bravery by members of his team.

“There is not one man that day who didn’t display bravery and fearlessness in the face of the enemy,” he said.

“My team hooked in and we did what we had to do to get the job done and we all fought hard to achieve mission success.

“It was a day of tragic loss, but a day of which all Australians should be proud.

“Everyone on the ground took the fight to the enemy and won.”

Pte B doesn’t view his award as something he earned alone, rather an award his mates achieved together.

“I don’t see this as an individual award but as a team award,” he said.

“There are many men in my regiment who are worthy of honours and awards but have not been recognised.

“I have the privilege to work alongside some of Australia’s staunchest and bravest men and while I acknowledge this great honour, I will wear it to represent my fellow operators and my entire regiment.

“I am proud to have fought alongside my fellow operators as we achieved our mission.”

Commando awarded Star of Gallantry for service in Afghanistan

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Army June 19, 2014NEWS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews4

The height of joint ops US and Japanese soldiers join troops at Puckapunyal and Melbourne to push the limits on combined training

Joint exercise: A Japanese

soldier engages targets at

Puckapunyal while an Australian

soldier watches on, during

Exercise Southern Jackaroo 2014.

Facing fears: American soldier Specialist Peter Churchill abseils from a building in the World Trade Centre precinct in Melbourne’s CBD. He started 75m – 14 storeys – above the Yarra River. Photos by Sgt Brian Hartigan

“[It] helps build

confidence in

themselves, their team and their

equipment – all of

which are important

foundations for combat.– Lt-Col Stuart Cree,

CO School of Armour

Sgt Brian Hartigan

MORE than 60 Australian, US and Japanese soldiers joined forces for Exercise Southern Jackaroo, training shoulder-to-shoulder for six adrenaline-filled days of adventurous training and warfighting.

Lt-Col Stuart Cree, CO of the School of Armour, which hosted the event in May, said adventurous training put people outside their comfort zone and made them confront risk and uncertainty.

“Activities such as these help build confidence – confidence in themselves, confidence in their team and confidence in their equipment – all of which are important foundations for combat,” he said.

The week-long regional defence relationship building exercise saw soldiers from the three nations abseil from 75m office blocks in the World Trade Centre precinct of Melbourne’s CBD and cross the roof of one tower to the roof of

another, 35m away, by a horizontal Tyrolean traverse.

Pte First Class Tyler Patterson, of the 520th Area Support Medical Company Joint Base Myers-Henderson in Washington said it really pushed his boundaries and made him face his fears.

“Getting over that ledge is the difficult part, but once you get going it gets easier,” he said.

The troops tackled combined arms, combined armies and basic warfighting training, with each country contributing soldiers to traditional infantry sections.

The groups took to the scrub for basic patrolling and fire-and-movement drills and conducted dismounted, fire-team and section-level patrols with blank ammunition.

The joint teams continued their training with a live-fire element of the exercise and the mounted platoon attack was supported by armoured fighting vehicles, Lt-Col Cree said.

“The ASLAVs also live fired,

adding to the realism and training value of the activity,” he said.

Lt-Col Cree said that while the physical mechanics of battle were straight-forward in planning and concept, in real combat it was vital to build a sense of unity and purpose before going ‘red’.

He said Exercise Southern Jackaroo 2014 was a great success and he hoped that the work put in by the School of Armour would help deepen the trilateral defence relationship.

“This is our second time hosting Southern Jackaroo and it’s plain to see that all three nations really got along together both personally and professionally,” Lt-Col Cree said.

“Whether it be dangling off a high-rise building in Melbourne, putting rounds down range or just socialising in barracks at the end of a good day’s training – there is great rapport across the nations that cuts through language barriers because we all share the common culture of professional soldiering.”

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 5

Leaders rise to challenge

US Cpl James Gulliver

THE loud crack of automatic weapon fire echoed through the trees as US Marines and Australian soldiers adjusted the sight alignment of their rifles in preparation for the next course of fire.

The marines and Australians were pushed to their limits in May during a Fire Team Leaders’ Course at the Mount Bundey Training Area.

Marines from the 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D), embed-ded with 1 Bde soldiers during the two-week evaluation designed to test them physically and mentally.

The Fire Team Leaders’ Course prepared fire team leaders for the challenges they might face while deployed and in future conflicts.

It culminated in each marine and Australian soldier being given control of a fire team to complete a series of obstacles, including casu-alty evacuation and calling in air support.

OPSO Maj Mick Allison, of 5RAR, said the training focused on perfecting basic soldier skills, with the SNCOs fault correcting and teaching.

“We have spent a lot of time with the marine companies, which means there is always good inte-gration,” Maj Allison said.

“Generally we pair a marine company to an Australian com-pany and they train and do joint activities together.

“Our guys look forward to developing the relationships and learning the different techniques used by other forces.

Soldiers learn to lead at the sub-section level with the Fire Team Leaders’ Course at Mt Bundey

“It is good to hear the stories and advice told by the marine pla-toon sergeant of his experiences in Fallujah, Iraq, as not many soldiers in our battalion have that sort of combat experience.”

The course began with class-room instruction covering weapons handling, the role of a fire team leader and history.

During the training at Mount Bundey, there were two Australian sections and one marine section for each platoon.

Platoon Commander 1st Lt Michael Bucher, of MRF-D, said he wanted the marines to finish the

course with all the tools needed to become effective fire team leaders.

“This will set up the whole battalion for success if our lowest level of leadership is strong,” 1st Lt Bucher said.

“Each fire team went through about 10 stations, including planning attacks, briefing orders and making sure their team was on the same page.

“The success of the battalion in the future is hinged upon the actions of fire team leaders. That excellence in the basics builds a stronger Marine Corps.”

Out front: Pte Matthew Miller, of 5RAR, provides security as his fire team carries a simulated casualty.

Mission ready: Marines and

Australian soldiers complete a call for

fire and casualty evacuation exercise.

Orders: LCpl Christian Embry, of B Coy, 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt, communicates with his fire team during a live-fire exercise.Photos by US Marine Cpl Scott Reel

Army June 19, 2014NEWS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews6

Capt Dominik Sander

ENGINEERS from 6ESR’s 21 Const Sqn and US Navy Engineers Mobile Construction Battalion 1 joined forces with Timor-Leste Defence Force engineers to lay the founda-tion works of the first emergency room of the Comoro Health Facility in Dili on May 26.

The new emergency room will be a welcome addition to the Comoro Health Facility, which was only able to supply basic medical support to the local community.

The emergency room construction work was part of Exercise Pacific Partnership 2014.

Spr Chad Horne, of 21 Const Sqn, said the foundation works for a construction site such as this was a crucial step in the overall process.

“Today, we emplaced the forms for the roof pillars as well as the access footpath part and finalised the basic construction work with pouring the concrete into the forms. So I think it has been a pretty productive day,” he said.

Spr Horne said even though the working conditions were pretty tough, morale remained high.

“The troops are really enjoying the task at hand,” he said.

“Working together with the Timorese and Americans has been an inspiring experience.”

US Navy Construction Battalion Specialist Builder PO Third Class

Foundations of good health Engineers help US and Timor-Leste troops build an emergency room in Dili during Pacific Partnership

Landon Bentz said working with the Timorese and Australians had provided the American team with useful insights.

“We have a lot of expertise at this site and are able to share our experience

by having a chat and observing each other operate,” he said.

“It’s clear that we share the same inherent need to get out there and help other fellow human beings.”

Hard at work: LCpl Rhys Maddren, of 17 Const Sqn, levels concrete at the Comoro Health Facility in Dili. Inset, Spr Trent Direen (centre), of 17 Const Sqn, cuts wood with Timor-Leste Army engineer Agusto Costa-Dearauzu (right) and PO Richard Padgett, of US Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 1. Photos by Cpl Bill Solomou

“Working with the Timorese

and Americans has been

an inspiring experience.

– Spr Chad Horne, 21 Const Sqn

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 7

Soldiers help feed creativity for children at Dili schoolCapt Dominik Sander

IT’S literally a case of food for thought for hundreds of children at Comoro Intermediate School in Timor-Leste, thanks to the hard work of uniformed engineers.

Aus t ra l i an , US and Eas t Timorese military engineers are building a new kitchen for the school as part of Exercise Pacific Partnership 2014.

The kitchen has been a long-awaited addition to the school, where staff feed more than 1600 pupils.

Getting to see the first bricks laid was a special occasion for the children.

Spr Bryan John, of 21 Const Sqn, 6ESR, said the brick-laying phase of the construction was the

most impressive stage, giving everyone an idea of what the end result would look like.

“We are looking to go five levels up today and already we are about half way,” he said.

US Navy Construction Battalion 1 Specialist PO John Roxas said working with the Australians and Timorese was a great experience.

“I had a chance to learn a lot from both sides and we all had a really good time working together,” he said.

“I enjoy everything I’m doing over here. I feel we have a unique opportunity to give something that is lasting and will be much used by this community.”

Spr Bradley Schopp, of 21 Const Sqn, said the kitchen would pro-vide a place for the kids to meet and enjoy their lunch.

“It’s really good to give back to a less fortunate nation than our own, so I am really happy to have the opportunity to help out,” he said.

Spr Schopp said the children would have access to food cooked in the school kitchen free of charge.

“I think that’s going to be a huge motivator for the kids to go to school,” he said.

The Comoro Intermediate School holds classes from grades one to 10.

As there are only three class-rooms and a handful of teachers available, the classes are split up into several groups throughout the day.

This means the kitchen will be an important asset to the school, providing the children with three meals a day.

MEDICAL specialists have embarked in Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship JDS Kunisaki as part of Pacific Partnership 2014.

During the multinational program, five ADF medical staff and four support personnel worked with regional partners and agencies to run clinics, health workshops and provide medical training and assistance in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Commander of the Australian contingent Lt-Col John Cronin said this year’s mission was unique in that it would mark the first time the primary mission platform was commanded from a non-US Navy asset.

“Japan is a close friend of Australia and we are delighted to be joining them

for what will be an important humanitarian mission,” he said.

“We are looking forward to learning from each other both professionally and culturally … that’s what Pacific Partnership is all about.”

JDS Kunisaki was headed to the port of Danang in Vietnam from June 6-15, Sihanoukville in Cambodia from June 19-28 and Tacloban in the Philippines from July 4-14.

“Pacific Partnership forms bonds between nations and organisations which share a common interest in maintaining a stable and secure Pacific region,” Lt-Col Cronin said.

“We are doing that by ensuring we are properly prepared to support emergency relief efforts.”

Building a healthy relationship

Pacific Partnership forms bonds

between nations and organisations

which share a common interest in maintaining a

stable and secure Pacific region.

– Lt-Col John Cronin, Commander Australian

contingent, Pacific Partnership

Foundations: Sprs Luis Darcy, right, and Ben Wilkinson, of 21 Const Sqn, sift rocks from the sand used for concrete at Comoro Intermediate School.

Teamwork: Right, Spr Brad Schopp, of 21 Const Sqn, 6ESR, works with Timor-Leste Defence Force engineer Sebastiao da Silva to construct brickwork at Comoro Intermediate School in Dili. Photos by Cpl Jake Sims

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Army June 19, 2014NEWS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews8

Keeping Kandahar wired FCU 10 personnel are providing reliable communications to help coalition members stay in touchLeut Peter Croce

PERSONNEL from Force Communications Unit 10 (FCU 10) at Kandahar Air Field (KAF), Afghanistan, have started planning for a transition to a smaller detachment that will be in place in early July.

The 20-member triservice team of communicators, based at Camp Baker, have been providing 24/7 communication support since deploying to Afghanistan in late October 2013.

FCU KAF Flight is responsible for the provision of a variety of communications platforms, including radio and satellite systems, national command and coalition networks and welfare communications to all Joint Task Force 633 personnel deployed to KAF.

The KAF Flight performed a key role in the FCU’s redesign of the communications network, which has standardised the voice telephony network and fundamentally changed the employment of satellite communications in theatre.

Flg-Off Lee Ligtermoet, KAF Flight Commander, said the team had capped a solid deployment with recent works in Camp Baker and continued around-the-clock technical support to deployed personnel.

“The KAF team has ensured that communications facilities were fitted with a significant amount of additional capability in preparation

for the arrival of 205 CAT personnel when they vacated FOB Lindsay in early April,” he said.

“They have worked hard throughout our deployment and we

have consolidated our equipment and have improved our network wherever possible.

“It has been a busy period at KAF but the team has stepped up to the

challenge and all their hard work has paid off with FCU building a solid reputation around Camp Barker and further afield among the coalition.”

He said the provision of accessible

and reliable communications support was key to the success of the operation and also for people to keep in touch with their families back home.

Tech-savvy: Personnel from Force Communications Unit 10 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, have been working around the clock to keep coalition members in touch. Photo by Sgt Ray Vance

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 9

Veterans remember Borneo deployment 50 years onSgt Dave Morley

VETERANS of the Indonesian Confrontation from 1962-66 gath-ered at Garden Island on May 24 to commemorate the 50th anniver-sary of their deployment aboard HMAS Sydney III.

South Australian State president of the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association, Brian Selby, said the commemoration ceremony took 16 months to organise.

“One of the reasons for putting it together was the fact that more than a third of the original 111 LAA Bty strength from May 1964 have passed away since returning to Australia in 1966,” he said.

Mr Selby said personnel involved in the Indonesian Confrontation, t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e M a l a y a n Emergency, never got the recognition they deserved.

“Post WWII, both campaigns are the only ones in which Australia has

been engaged that were complete victories,” he said.

“Not one inch of territory was lost and there are no demarcation lines drawn on the maps.”

Then-Capt (later Lt-Col) Michael Heal, CO of the Army Ship Vernon Sturdee, said his ship sailed before Sydney and met the minesweepers of the 16th Minesweeper Flotilla at Manus Island, PNG.

“Then we RV’d with Sydney and the rest of the ships who escorted us past the Philippines because of pirates,” he said.

“We sailed to Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu) in Borneo and unloaded stores for the RAE to build a road, and also unloaded Sydney’s heavy equipment.

“Then we went to Penang to unload the artillery equipment off Sydney.”

Lt-Col (retd) Heal said after leav-ing Penang the Vernon Sturdee hit a log, which bent the propellers.

“We had to go to Kuching in

Sarawak to dry dock and I remember we had to post night guards because of the terrorists across the river,” he said.

The Army deployed 111 LAA Bty RAA, 7 Fd Sqn RAE and 42 Tpt Pl (Amphibious) RAASC.

Navy units deployed on the oper-ation included HMA Ships Sydney, Parramatta III and Yarra III and HMA Submarine Onslow. Iroquois helicopters from 5 Sqn RAAF also embarked in Sydney.

Army Ships Vernon Sturdee and Harry Chauvel from 32 Sml Ships Sqn and Navy ships from 16th Minesweeper Sqn joined the convoy from Manus Island.

At the 50th anniversary ceremony wreaths were laid by CN VAdm Ray Griggs, Maj-Gen Michael Slater and Gp-Capt Carl Newman on behalf of the three services.

Diggers from 145 Sig Sqn and 6 Avn, commanded by Cpl Daniel Hodgson, supported the event with a catafalque party.

HMAS Sydney III.

Radioactive safety Soldiers train with US troops who worked on Fukushima clean-up

LS Jayson Tufrey

HMAS Albatross and HMAS Harman recently hosted a joint ADF/US Radiation Contamination Control (RCC) exercise focusing on decontaminating aircraft and vehicles.

From April 7-11, more than 20 ADF personnel from 1/15RNSWL and 5ER along with personnel from Navy’s 808, 816 and 723 Sqns, drew on the knowledge of subject matter experts from the US who had been involved in Operation Tomodachi.

Their experiences with the radioactive fallout clean-up after the nuclear reactor incident at Fukushima, Japan, in March 2011, was invaluable.

RCC coordination officer Alan Nelson said this was the first time an activity of this nature was conducted with the Americans.

“The US delegation was split into two groups,” he said.

“The leadership group met with key staff from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and the Australian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency for discussions at Lucas Heights.

“They also met with ADF leadership and other key defence chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) stakeholders.”

He said the second group, the RCC team, comprised mainly of SNCOs, many of whom took part in Tomodachi and travelled to Harman and Albatross for specific scenario training.

The two scenarios focused on decontaminating aircraft and vehicles.

“With the aircraft there were particular challenges with respect to decontaminating all the air intakes and ingress into components such as engine turbines,” Mr Nelson said.

RCC Support and Safety Officer RAAF Sgt Paul Thorpe, of the Central

Flying School, was on loan to the Counter IED Task Force for the RCC activity.

He said particular attention was paid to specific areas of the vehicles such as grilles, air intakes and wheel arches.

“Instead of focusing purely on military-type vehicles, we also learned about the need to deal with smaller vehicles, such as sedans,” he said.

“This reflected the reality that was faced in Fukushima, as it wasn’t just trucks and the like exposed, but any vehicle that entered the site such as contractors, couriers and personal motor vehicles.

“This was also useful, realistic information that we gained from the US personnel that were on the ground during Tomodachi.”

One of the most important aspects of the decontamination of the assets was the containment of the radiological residue.

“This was achieved by using lint rollers and wet wipes instead of just blasting away with water,” Sgt Thorpe said.

Role player Sgt Tim Lamont, of 1/15RNSWL, said he was impressed these procedures came from an NCO who had been on the ground in Fukushima.

“We learnt that this grunt was sick of the ineffective methods of decontaminating vehicles by following SOPs, so he decided to try something different,” he said.

“He found that after spending hours and hours decontaminating each vehicle, they still had a high level of radiation present.

“He then decided to try using the sticky side of some masking tape and found that to be more effective than the laid down methods.

“Overall the exercise was a success. I was surprised how simple and easy these methods were.”

Mr Nelson said the best lesson from

the Americans was that there was no need to wear full CBRN suits and S-10 respirators for every cleanup activity.

“In some circumstances without the need for specific, expensive equipment, we don’t have to wait for this to arrive in order to begin decontamination,” Mr Nelson said.

“We have in the order of 80 possible sites in our area of interest where an incident can occur.

“All the items required to begin clean-up are readily available at a local hardware store – disposable overalls, off-the-shelf face-masks, surgical-type gloves and eye protection.”

Decontamination: A soldier from a combined squad of 5ER and 1/15RNSWL soldiers searches for radiological contamination on a truck. Photo by FSgt Kev Berriman

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 11

Ready for roll-outSgt Dave Morley

DIGGERS in Australia’s southern states can expect to be issued a new General Purpose (GP) Jacket before the end of winter this year.

Head Land Systems Maj-Gen Paul McLachlan said the requirement for a new cold weather utility jacket to be used in a broad range of environments was identified in February 2012.

“Prior to this we did not have an effective cold weather jacket option that could be worn both in barracks and the field,” he said.

“Soldiers were buying their own, or wear-ing puff jackets issued to them for operations, so we needed something good and standard for everyone.

“We are taking the approach of getting the kit into soldiers’ hands as quickly as possible, listen-ing to any recommended improvements and then making sure we incrementally improve the next tranche of equipment we buy.

“We will be taking the same approach with the new camouflage uniform, boots, wet-weather gear and eventually all combat clothing and equipment.”

Maj-Gen McLachlan said initial feedback on the jacket had been positive.

Southern-based diggers to receive General Purpose Jacket

Leut Peter Croce

ROYAL Australian Corps of Transport (RACT) personnel celebrated their corps’ 41st birth-day with an informal dinner at Camp Baird in the United Arab Emirates on June 1.

More than 20 personnel based at Camp Baird on Operation Slipper capped a busy weekend at work with a break to play volleyball and enjoy a barbecue dinner cooked by the transport officers at the Middle East’s support base.

J T F 6 3 3 l o g i s t i c s o f f i c e r Lt-Col Michelle Miller said about 25 RACT personnel were based at Camp Baird in a range of roles to support personnel in Afghanistan and across the MEAO.

“The team works incredibly hard here to make sure they live up to the corps’ motto of ‘Equal to the task’,” she said.

“Holding an informal barbecue and making some time to share a joke with mates is one way in which we can say thanks to these dedi-cated personnel who are doing their best work to support personnel across the MEAO.”

Transport milestone celebrated in UAE

The RACT personnel perform a pivotal distribution network role in the MEAO, providing support rang-ing from movement control to postal services.

In Australia the corps operates all forms of road transport and Army’s

fleet of landing craft and amphibi-ous vehicles.

Their function also covers termi-nal operations, postal services and the provision of specialist units that prepare, pack and dispatch supplies dropped from the air.

Celebration: Pte Zac White plays in a volleyball game at Camp Baird to celebrate the RACT’s 41st birthday while, inset, WO1 Martin Lambe cooks steaks for the barbecue lunch. Photos by WO2 Rob Nyffenegger

THE General Purpose (GP) Jacket, primarily for use in barracks and non-operation-al environments, was devel-oped to provide warmth and protection against the cold and wind chill in damp, windy and light rain condi-tions.

The new GP Jacket is avail-able in both male and female

sizing and features an outer fabric with water repellent and wind-resistant qualities.

The configuration also has a stowable hood and a remov-able fleece liner to enable the wearer to adapt the jacket’s use in a wide range of climatic conditions.

The jacket is designed as part of a layered system to

be worn as a lightweight gar-ment over the uniform, and is manufactured using the new Australian Multicam pattern.

The roll-out plan for the new GP Jacket will see the progres-sive introduction into service throughout 2014.

The priority of issue is for training establishments and units based in the southern

states to cater for the coming winter.

By July 2014, the Defence Materiel Organisation will have delivered about 10,500 GP Jackets to regional clothing stores.

Local clothing stores will inform their supported units once they have GP Jackets on the shelf for issue.

GENERAL PURPOSE JACKET AT A GLANCE “We are taking the approach of getting the kit into soldiers’ hands as quickly as

possible. – Maj-Gen Paul McLachlan, Head Land Systems

New piece of kit: Instructors from the Motorised Combat Wing at the School of Artillery, Sgt Peter Rabula (right) and LBdr Nicholas Male, carry out weapon and safety supervisor lessons at Puckapunyal wearing Army’s new General Purpose Jacket. Photo by WO2 Greg Frankel

Army June 19, 2014NEWS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews12

Cpl Mark Doran

NATIONAL Reconciliation Week (NRW) events for Defence personnel in Canberra included a keynote speech on May 29 by Jeremy Donovan, a Kuku Yalanji descendent from far north Queensland.

As a master storyteller, Mr Donovan shared his wisdom on encouraging and empowering indigenous youth to walk in the footsteps of their culture.

NRW is celebrated across Australia each year between May 27 and June 3 to commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the anni-versaries of the successful 1967 referen-dum and the High Court Mabo decision.

The theme for NRW 2014 was “Let’s walk the talk”.

Mr Donovan said he applauded the reconciliation efforts made by the ADF.

“I hear about the work Defence is doing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” he said.

“I am proud to be part of this story today and will continue to watch as you recognise and support our people.”

During the ceremony Jandemarra

Walking the talk

Wall, an indigenous elder of the Monaro region, presented 10 handmade mes-sage sticks to service representatives and group heads.

CDF Gen David Hurley and Chief Operating Officer Brendan Sargeant, attending on behalf of the Defence Secretary, accepted a message stick and paid their respects to indigenous people.

Message sticks are used to pass on knowledge and share information and stories between different indigenous clans.

They encompass unique symbols, including travelling signs, meeting plac-es, water sites and camp sites.

Inspirational medals handed back to AWMCapt Fiona Bickerstaff

THE custodianship of Maj-Gen Sir William Throsby Bridges’ medals was officially transferred from RMC to the Australian War Memorial at a small ceremony in Canberra on May 31.

The ceremony was held near the site of Maj-Gen Bridges’ grave and attended by members of his family, representatives from the Australian War Memorial and current and former RMC members.

RMC Commandant Brig Dianne Gallasch said the medals had been viewed by RMC cadets and staff for a decade.

“RMC members have found inspira-tion in the example of leadership and service the medals represent,” Brig Gallasch said.

“The medals of our first commandant have been part of the sacred history of RMC and we cherished the responsibility of caring for them.

“For the trust shown by the Bridges family, and on behalf of every officer or cadet who has been through our museum and stared in wonder at this relic of our founder, I thank the Bridges family.”

The medals have been handed over for display at the Memorial as part of WWI centenary commemorations.

MESSAGE STICKTHE symbols burnt onto the Army message stick symbol-ise soldiers travelling between campsites and using their feet to march on the sacred ground. The campsite symbolises the weapons soldiers carry and how the indigenous clans are always accompanied by their spear and/or boomerang.

Mark of respect: Monaro region community elder and artist Jandemarra Wall presents a message stick to Head Modernisation and Strategic Planning – Army Maj-Gen Jeffrey Sengelman during a ceremony in Canberra marking National Reconciliation Week. Inset, CDF Gen David Hurley and guest speaker Jeremy Donovan, a descendant of the Kuku Yalinji tribe of far north Queensland. Photos by David McClenaghan

Memorable moment: Maj-Gen Sir William Throsby Bridges’ descendant, Tracey Bridges, hands his medals to Tim Sullivan, of the Australian War Memorial, as RMC Commandant Brig Dianne Gallasch and an RMC staff cadet look on. Photo by Grace Costa

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 13

Cpl Mark Doran

DURING the week commemo-rating the 46th anniversary of the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral, 1RAR officially opened a memorial walk to mark the battles fought throughout its long history.

T h e Tow n s v i l l e b a t t a l i o n hosted CDF Gen David Hurley and the Colonel Commandant of the Royal Australian Regiment, Maj-Gen Mark Kelly, who joined CO 1RAR Lt-Col Eamon Lenaghan to open the walk on May 9.

Vietnam veteran and president of the 1RAR Association Ric Culpitt unveiled the Vietnam memorial stone during the opening.

VIP guests included Dulcie Brumfield, the widow of the late Brig Lou Brumfield, who was the CO of the 1RAR Battle Group during Vietnam operations in 1965.

Mrs Brumfield presented the

Honouring past battles 1RAR commemorates Battle of Fire Support Base Coral

Live-fire demo: LCpl Thomas Fearne, of 1RAR, moves in to secure a building during a firepower demonstration as part of the Coral Week celebrations while, inset, other 1RAR soldiers do the same. Photos by LCpl Kyle Genner

battalion with memorabilia and medals celebrating the distinguished career of Brig Brumfield.

Gen Hurley participated in a number of activities, including a live-fire demonstration of 1RAR’s current combat capabilities.

1 R A R s o l d i e r s a l s o demonstrated light urban explosive breaching, rappelling from a Black Hawk, method of entry in the urban

terrain and live-fire room-entry drills. The celebrations culminated in

the Coral Week parade on May 10, which involved more than 200 sol-diers.

During the parade, elements of 1RAR’s mortar platoon, 3/4 Cav Regt and 4 Regt RAA showed off their drills with a display of pyrotechnics.

Good form: 1RAR on parade in Townsville.

Sgt Janelle Lehr

HQ RMC-A will conduct an evalua-tion of the Junior Leader Course (JLC) in July as part of its commitment to delivering up-to-date, relevant and challenging training.

The evaluation will incorporate a survey of ex-trainees, who attended the JLC between April 2012 and April 2013, and their supervisors.

RSM RMC-A WO1 Peter Goom said the focus was to ensure all training was relevant and balanced to produce better junior leaders “now and into the future”.

The aim of the evaluation is to determine whether the JLC adequately prepares lance corporals and corpo-rals to perform the tasks specified in the All Corps Soldier Employment Specifications (available on the Directorate of Workforce Management website on the intranet).

The survey will allow respondents to provide anonymous feedback and to

contribute to the future development of the Subject 1 Corporal course by submit-ting suggestions, ideas and experiences.

The evaluation will identify whether pre-course expectations are realistic and if junior leaders are employing the skills taught on the JLC in the workplace.

Feedback from junior leaders and their supervisors is important in determining the future delivery of the JLC. The target audience for the survey was selected to ensure respondents have had an opportunity to employ the skills they learnt on JLC in their workplace.

The data collected will be used to identify and analyse trends and determine any requirements to change or enhance training.

By contributing to the survey, respondents are building a legacy of better training for the next generation of junior leaders.

The survey will be emailed to members’ DRN accounts and will be open from June 26 until July 24.

Calling junior leaders for JLC feedback

Teamwork: Then-Pte Jo Johnson leaves the “bear pit” during a leadership activity to promote teamwork at the beginning of a Junior Leader Course in Townsville before being promoted to corporal.Photo by Sgt Rachel Ingram

Army June 19, 2014NEWS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews14

Capt Kris Gardiner

LEADERS within 1 Bde have gained important insights into warfighting from some of the world’s most experienced leaders and academics at the brigade’s annual Warfighter Conference.

Held in May, the conference brought keynote speakers together to discuss the implementation of the combat brigade, with presentations focusing on the challenges to the manoeuvre and sustainment of the combat brigade in mid-intensity joint land combat.

Commander 1 Bde Brig John Frewen said the conference provided the officers and warrant officers with a valuable opportunity to talk with leaders in the field.

“The Warfighter Conference offered a rare chance for the leadership group of 1 Bde to learn from highly experienced masters of the profession of arms,” he said.

“Staff could speak directly to the lecturers and dig into their intimate understanding of the wide range of theatres of war, tapping frank leadership and command perspectives.”

CO 1CSR Lt-Col Darren Moore said the Warfighter Conference presented an excellent balance between practical and academic viewpoints.

“The mix of practitioners and academics was a perfect balance, providing insight into enhancing command and control,” he said.

Warfighter taps military minds Soldiers at 1 Bde learn tips from leaders in the field on warfare trends and army adaptation

Presentations ranged from observations about the size and scale of brigade HQs and the level of detail required in a brigade plan, through to future warfare trends and how armies can improve the manner in which they adapt and learn when they experience the unexpected.

There were also valuable

command insights including key logistic issues relating to amphibious operations though to historical case studies.

CO 1CER Lt-Col Michael Say said the diverse background and significant experience of the presenters was first class.

“The presentations provided a

number of important discussion points for the brigade to consider as we adopt the structures of the combat brigade within Plan Beersheba,” he said.

“Overall, the Warfighter Conference provided an excellent starting point for the officers and warrant officers of 1 Bde to undertake further debate, both internal and

external, on a number of issues being faced by the brigade.”

Guest speakers included USMC Gen James Mattis (retd), Brig William Taylor (retd), Col Jim Hutton, Prof Daniel Marston, Prof Michael Evans, Dr Russell Glenn, Dr John Storr, Col John Simeoni, US Lt-Col Jason Alvis and USMC Lt-Col Keven Matthews.

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Officers and warrant officers

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knowledge about warfighting

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Main photo by Cpl Max Bree

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 15

Taking to the sky Chinooks conduct external lift trialsEamon Hamilton

THERE will be greater mobility for new Defence vehicles this year fol-lowing external lift trials with Army Aviation’s Chinooks.

Air Movements Training and Development Unit (AMTDU), a joint Army and Air Force unit, oversaw the trials in late 2013 at RAAF Bases Richmond and Townsville.

The loads included G-Wagon variants weighing from 3.4 to 6.4 tonnes and a John Deere bulldozer, which weighed 8.9 tonnes.

Procedures for these vehicles will reach units later this year, enabling quali-fied Army personnel to rig both vehicles for external lift.

The role of AMTDU is to trial and clear new load-carrying methods for Defence aircraft.

The latest trials began inside a hangar at the unit’s home at Richmond, accord-ing to AMTDU engineer Flt-Lt Harry Frecker.

“The trials used a new sling method obtained from the British, which will make the Army air dispatcher’s work of preparing a load much easier and faster,” he said.

Carrying the G-Wagon and bulldozer by Chinook is a role unique to Australia, with AMTDU required to examine the structure of the vehicles and their ability to remain intact during the lift.

“This includes calculating each load’s centre of gravity, as well as its aero-dynamic limits and spin rates,” Flt-Lt Frecker said.

“The loads need to be able to with-stand 3.2Gs of force.”

The team then moved to Townsville for flight trials in November last year.

The trials combined 5 Avn Regt C Sqn unit maintenance test pilots, junior co-pilots and aircrewmen.

One of those pilots was Capt Scott

Wallis, who explained that each load trial began with hover serials including climbing and descending, and sliding to the left, right and rear.

“If the load was steady we would then take it for forward flight serials,” he said.

A pair of 4867-horsepower engines pushes 18m rotors on the Chinook in contra-rotating directions, causing a massive amount of air to pass over the externally slung load.

“The forward flight regime started at around 60 knots straight and level, then deceleration to 40 knots before an accel-eration to test airspeed,” Capt Wallis said.

“There were also level turns and straight-ahead climbs and descents, then climbs and descents while in a turn.

“This whole regime was done at speeds between 60-120 knots, or until a speed was reached at which the load became unstable.

“All of the in-flight serials were con-ducted over water in case they became unstable and had to be jettisoned.”

A MRH90 provided a camera plat-form to observe the loads underneath the Chinook.

All C Sqn crews are trained to carry external loads as part of their initial qual-ification on the Chinook.

“External loading is one of the pri-mary roles of C Sqn and the Chinook helicopter so we practise doing it quite a lot,” Capt Wallis said.

“Pilots do an initial conversion onto Chinook at Fort Rucker in Alabama and learn single point loads.

“On return to Australia they complete a further transition course where they learn to fly tandem and multiple loads.

“The aircrewmen do basic load train-ing at the Army Aviation Training Centre and then do a transition course on the Chinook where they learn tandem and multiple loads.”

AT A GLANCETHE Chinook has three external hooks mounted beneath the fuselage.

The current fleet of CH-47D Chinooks will be replaced with seven new CH-47Fs, with aircraft entering service from 2015.

All seven CH-47Fs will be in service by 2017.

The CH-47F is a more powerful variant of the venerable Chinook, featuring a stronger airframe with a longer service life, as well as modern avionics.

New procedures: Air Movements Training and Development Unit trial G-Wagon lifts with Chinooks above Townsville. Photo by Rhianna Mulqueen

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Army June 19, 2014 NEWSwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 17

Cpl Max Bree

AN ARTICLE about the emerging threat of unstable accessible explosives was awarded the Chauvel Prize for the best 2013 Army Journal piece on May 23.

Capt Mark Bali’s article, Niche Threat? Organic Peroxides as Terrorist Explosives, won the $1000 prize for highlighting the gradual increase in manufacture and employment of organic peroxide explosives for attacks.

These explosives can be manufactured from ingredients purchased in most hard-ware stores but are unstable as they are susceptible to heat, friction and shock.

“Terrorists will always weigh up the risks and benefits to achieve what they want to achieve,” Capt Bali said.

“Traditionally, we’ve always viewed these peroxide explosives as too dangerous to be a realistic threat but we’ve been shown time and time again around the world that terrorists are willing to accept those risks.”

As authorities tighten controls on more stable explosives, Capt Bali argued terrorists might be more inclined to use organic peroxide explosives.

“As we make conventional explosives harder to get, the flip-side of that coin is that people will turn to the more dangerous options,” he said.

Capt Bali said to counter the threat posed by organic peroxide explosives, Army needed to understand their characteristics, recognise their implica-tions and develop mitigation strategies.

“It’s just something that Army needs to weigh up as a capability balance,” he said.

“There’s going to be more relevant threats but we need to weigh up the likelihood versus the consequences and see where it ends up on the scale of priorities.”

The award surprised Capt Bali, who was initially hoping to mix his different interests.

“I’ve always had an interest in chemistry and solving technical problems so I found this allowed me to

Journal encourages debate

“I’ve always had an interest in chemistry and

solving technical problems so I

found this allowed me to combine my military interests

and academic interests ... I’m very humbled

to receive recognition.

– Capt Mark Bali, RMC

Well deserved: CA Lt-Gen David Morrison presents Capt Mark Bali, of RMC, with the Chauvel Prize for writing the best article in the 2013 Army Journal. Photo by Steve Dent

combine my military interests and academic interests,” he said.

“Winning was unexpected and I’m very humbled to receive recognition for something that I just enjoy doing.”

This year Army is launching more ini-tiatives aimed at encouraging intellectual debate. These include a more interactive website and a public blog where Army members and academia can contribute to an ongoing land power and modernisation discussion.

While the website and blog will not go live for another few months, submis-sions of 300-800 words can be sent to dflw.blog@defence.gov.au and more information about Army’s future can be found at www.army.gov.au/OurFuture.

Capt Bali’s article can be viewed at www.army.gov.au/Our-future/LWSC_old/Our-publications/~/media/Files/Our%20future/LWSC%20Publications/AAJ/2013Autumn/Bali_Niche%20Threat.pdf

NEW guidelines have been released that aim to minimise alcohol-related harm in the ADF.

The Australian Defence Force Alcohol Management Strategy and Plan 2014-17 (ADFAMS) is a landmark document that sets out a four-year framework for improving alcohol management and reducing the negative impact of alcohol on the health, safety and capability of the ADF.

The strategy was released on June 4 and was developed in collaboration with the Australian Drug Foundation.

It is an outcome of the recom-mendations of the Independent Advisory Panel Report on Alcohol use in the ADF produced by Professor Margaret Hamilton in 2011.

VCDF Air-Mshl Mark Binskin said ADFAMS built on Defence’s

existing work on alcohol education and promoted earlier access to treatment for alcohol issues.

“We recognise that drinking at unsafe levels can have a negative impact on individual health, perfor-mance in the workplace and affect relationships with family members,” he said.

A copy of ADFAMS is available on the Defence website.

VCDF releases new policy on alcohol in the ADF

Army June 19, 2014 CENTREPIECEwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews18 19

The Indigenous Pre-Recruit Course is providing unique personal and professional development opportunities to young Indigenous men and women, Capt Sharon Mascall-Dare reports.

THE triservice Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Course (IPRC) has had its best result to date with 39 trainees graduating in Adelaide.

Now in its seventh year, the IPRC offers personal and professional development to young indigenous men and women who are considering a career in the ADF and want to experience high-quality training in a military environment.

For 18-year-old Cairns resident Kelvin Hagley, the latest IPRC graduation day on June 5 had special significance.

Just two days before he marched out in front of well-wishers at Adelaide’s Torrens Parade Ground, he passed his DFR assess-ment day and is now ready to join the Army as a rifleman.

“It’s an honour to serve my country and I hope to become a role model for my community,” he said.

“The IPRC helped me to succeed – it gave me skills and experience to last a lifetime. I also made lots of new friends.”

Mr Hagley is one of 10 trainees to be accepted by the ADF from the latest IPRC graduates – others hope to join when they return home.

“The IPRC changes lives. It offers unique personal and professional development oppor-tunities to young indigenous people from

across Australia,” said IPRC Senior Instructor WO1 Colin Watego.

“Every young person who comes here is on a journey. We support them on their jour-ney into the ADF or give them skills they can use in other careers, as role models in their local communities.”

From April 28 to June 6, the six-week course focused on five core training modules: language, literacy and numeracy; military skills; physical fitness; vocational training; and cultural appreciation.

Held in Adelaide for the first time, the course was supported by 9 Bde and was based at Hampstead Barracks. Live firing and field exercises took place at the Murray Bridge Training Area.

Field training was a highlight, even though many trainees braved cold, wet conditions and sleepless nights under a hoochie for the first time.

After surviving a simulated ambush throughout the night, trainees competed as sections to navigate an obstacle course, before completing a stretcher carry back to base.

“The bush phase was the best part,” Mr Hagley said.

“I also enjoyed learning from real military people and getting to know different cultures from the other indigenous people on the course.”

Like the course itself, the graduation parade combined military and indigenous culture. It began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial next to the Torrens Parade Ground. The trainees then demonstrat-ed drill movements they had learned during the IPRC.

The parade ended with a traditional dance and was followed by the awarding of certifi-cates, recognising successful completion of the course.

South Australian Governor RAdm Kevin Scarce (retd) was the reviewing officer of the parade, while Col Peter Moore, Assistant Commander Training at 9 Bde, was the host officer.

“We are proud that 9 Bde has contributed to the success of the course in Adelaide by providing support to IPRC staff and to the new graduates,” Col Moore said.

“We value the unique contribution that indigenous men and women make to the ADF and we are committed to promoting cultural diversity in our workforce.

“I am inspired and impressed by the young men and women who have graduated from the IPRC – they are an example to others in setting out to achieve their goals with commitment and determination.”

JOURNEY TO CHANGE LIVES

Ready for action: Nelson

Gibumal puts together some

camouflage during the program.

Jump: Racyna Luil takes part in an obstacle course.

GRADUATE AND MENTOR

Pte Ryan Donovan, RAAOC Storeman, mentor and graduate of the IPRC (2009) “I’m a Dainggatti-Gumbainggirri man from Penrith in NSW.“Completing the course in 2009 helped me to join the ADF and I wanted to help others so I came back as a men-tor. Although some of my family are in the ADF, the course gave me a broad-er understanding of what Defence is all about.

“We’re showing indigenous people that they can have careers in the ADF. Working outdoors is second nature to many indigenous people and they have so much knowledge to contribute to Defence.“When you join the ADF it can be a culture shock so I want to give these young people a taste of recruit train-ing so they know they can do it. This course helps to build resilience as well as skills.”

INSTRUCTOR

WO1 Colin WategoIPRC Senior Instructor“I’m a Bundjalung and Torres Strait Island man and this is my 40th year in the ADF. “I come from a long line of family members who have also served their country. My grandfather, his brother and their brother-in-law served in WWI in the Middle East and on the Western Front. My father and two of his broth-ers served in WWII – one of my uncles was a Rat of Tobruk.“This course changes lives for the bet-

ter. It has a long-lasting impact on the staff as well as the trainees. “It’s an opportunity to share indigenous culture and military culture. It captures the best of both and we instil that in everyone associated with the course.“It’s all about seeing change in our young people to prepare and equip them for their journey, whether their dream is to join the ADF or return to their community. “My aim is to give them the tools they need to succeed in life, whatever chal-lenges they face.”

“The IPRC helped me to succeed – it gave me skills and experience

to last a lifetime. I also made lots of new friends.

– Kelvin Hagley, Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Course graduate

Aim: Elizabeth Hemphill gets ready to shoot with the

help of a 9 Bde soldier.

Pack march: Participants take part

in the Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Course,

supported by 9 Bde. Inset left, participants offer each other support to

finish the course. Photos by Capt Stephen Turner

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“Chap builds Balikatan ties

CHAPLAINCY services played a significant role during Exercise Balikatan, with Chap Bryan Pipins being an important member of the

element deployed to Legazpi.

With the focus in the Legazpi region being on cooperative health engage-ments and construction projects, Chap Pipins helped foster a strong link between the military forces on the exercise and the civilian population.

Chap Pipins, a Catholic priest posted to 1 Armd Regt in Darwin, said the role of a chaplain on an exercise such as Balikatan was an important one.

“A Chaplain will generally have a different way of engaging with the community,” he said.

“Communities such as this can find it quite daunting to deal with military personnel so having Chaplains avail-able, especially in a country like the Philippines where faith is part of the social fabric, can help the local population

engage more easily than they might otherwise have.”

Chap Pipins, who performed masses for US and Philippines military members, Philippine

National Police personnel and civilians during the exercise in May, said the community had embraced the troops.

“Having Chaplains on the exercise helped to quickly spread the message of the exercise because we were interacting with the local community so much,” he said.

“Catholicism is the dominant religion in the Philippines, so having a Catholic priest here and cel-ebrating with them helped them embrace and engage with us completely.”

Chap Pipins, who taught at a Jesuit college in the Philippines for two years, said it was a country he enjoyed spending time in.

“It is lovely to be back in the Philippines,” he said.

“The Filipino people are so warm and friendly and

they have so much joy in their lives, so to be able to spend more time with them on an exercise such as this has been wonderful.”

Army Chaplain brings US, Australian and Philippines military together with the community, Capt Adrian Miller reports.

Having Chaplains on the exercise

helped to quickly spread the message

of the exercise, because we

were interacting with the local community so

much.– Chap Bryan Pipins,

chaplain on Exercise Balikatan

In thanks: Chap Bryan Pipins conducts Sunday mass for US Marine Corps and Army personnel, along with Australian soldiers, during Exercise Balikatan. Photo by Sgt Robert Hack

Army June 19, 2014FEATURES www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews20

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Army June 19, 2014FEATURES www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews22

An unexpected Anzac connection

UNITED States Army officer Lt-Col John Wilson has shared his family’s Anzac connection with

his Australian colleagues in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Lt-Col Wilson recently discovered that his great-grandfather served as a machine gunner at Gallipoli, including on the final night of hostilities on December 19-20, 1915. His family believes he was one of the last to leave.

Lt-Col Wilson is deployed to Afghanistan with the ISAF Joint Command and works closely with Australian embedded personnel.

Last year he had the opportunity to visit the Gallipoli landing site, which has changed his perspective on his family history.

“I was stationed in Turkey and my family told me my great-grandfather, Cpl Sidney Francis Hall, had fought at Gallipoli. They said it was very famous in Australia and that I should go and take a look at it,” he says.

“My Turkish counterparts were fantastic hosts and were only too keen to take me to visit the site where Sid had fought. It is a beautiful, but extremely rugged, landscape.

“It was an amazing experience to see a legendary site where my family had been part of something so historic and the birthplace of an Australian legend.

“My uncle told my dad that Sid decided to participate in WWI because he believed such events would eventually work their way to

his door and it was better to fight an enemy in their country and not his own.”

Lt-Col Wilson says when he has mentioned the Gallipoli connection to Australians in Kabul they always stop and want to know more.

“Now I understand what a big deal it is for you guys,” he says.

“They also always want to know about my grandmother so I am look-ing into that now, too.”

Cpl Hall, who was laid to rest in Victoria after living in many parts of Australia, was a machine gunner with the 6th Machine Gun Coy, 22nd Bn, Australian Imperial Force, and fought on to survive the war despite being seriously wounded in Fleurs, France.

Lt-Col Wilson says newspaper clippings and other notes from Australian family members shows he boarded a barge about 4am on December 20, 1915.

These notes also helped retrace his family’s Australian military history that includes his grand- mother’s service in WWII.

“Based on the details I had, some Australians who were at the site on the day helped me find the trench where we think he was on duty on that final night,” he says.

“From there I retraced the route he likely took back to the beach where they had to rendezvous about 4am to leave.

“It is such an amazing story. It was hard enough with normal clothes on, let alone carrying equipment, to make my way down to the beach.”

Lt-Col Wilson says he has

A US Army officer serving in Afghanistan has discovered a unique family link to the Gallipoli legend, Leut Peter Croce reports.

served with Australians in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a very high opinion of their fighting spirit.

“I am very disappointed that I was unable to attend the Anzac Day dawn service this year, but it’s something I will certainly be learning more about and will no doubt attend a service in

the future,” he says. “It is also a bit of a coincidence that I was one of the last to leave Baghdad, Iraq, as well – it must be a family thing!”

Lt-Col Wilson has started researching the service history of his Australian grandmother, Bdr Betty Hall, who served in the Australian

Women’s Army Service as part of the coastal defence plan in Darwin, where she met her US Navy husband and resettled in the US after the war.

He intends to retrace her military history through the Australian War Memorial and family history records.

Aussie link: US Army Lt-Col John Wilson looks at pictures and newspaper clippings detailing his great-grandfather’s service with the Australian military in WWI. Photos by Sgt Ray Vance

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Army June 19, 2014 FEATURESwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 23

Blackadder star visits troops

LEGENDARY British actor, comedian and historian, Sir Tony Robinson, visited the Army Museum of Western

Australia on May 25 to film an epi-sode of his latest television series, Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty.

Close to 1700 Western Australian residents attended the community event in Fremantle, with many presenting their cherished war memorabilia for examination by historians as they witnessed the action of the television production unfolding.

After arriving on set in a WWII Bren carrier, a highlight of the day’s filming was when Sir Tony interviewed Cpl Mark Donaldson, VC.

Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty is a 10-part series airing in early 2015 on The History Channel to commemorate the 100 years of service for those who have fought in war, from WWI to the present day.

Best known for his role as Baldrick on the cult British comedy series Blackadder, Sir Tony will travel across Australia and New Zealand to tell the stories of the people who went to war and the people who stayed at home – a mixture of heroes and ordinary people.

Manager of the Army Museum of Western Australia, Maj Henry Fijolek, said the artefacts presented to the historians included family treasures such as an important WWI Military Cross medal awarded to Capt Arthur

Sir Tony Robinson commemorates 100 years of military service in a new TV mini-series, Cpl Mark Doran reports.

Wilfred Gull, of the Light Horse and Camel Corps, who was a survivor of the charge at the Nek, Gallipoli.

“Along with the medal group, ephemera and personal items, including a WWI trench periscope, were also donated to the museum,”

Maj Fijolek said. “WA has a long history of military heritage and this gave the Australian Army History Unit a superb opportunity to engage with the public and help them understand the Army of today and yesterday.

“We were provided with excellent support by the military police from DPU-WA and we had an ammunition technical officer standing by, just in case someone brought in a live-grenade for assessment.

“Sir Tony engaged well with the

crowd, which stayed all day, and said the Fremantle segment was the best part of his tour.”

During the series’ production, Sir Tony visited Launceston, Ballarat, Hahndorf, Bathurst, Newcastle, Toowoomba, Darwin and Fremantle.

Thanked for their service: Sir Tony Robinson arrives on set in a WWII Bren Gun carrier at the Army Museum of Western Australia. Top right, Sir Tony talks to Cpl Bradley Murphy, Pte Danielle Taylor, Cpl Garry Connolly, Cpl Alan Napier, Maj Henry Fijolek and Capt Wayne Gardiner. Bottom right, Cpl Mark Donaldson, VC, is interviewed by Sir Tony Robinson during filming. Photos by David Nicolson

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Army June 19, 2014FEATURES www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews24

Experienced soldiers are learning new skills at the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

IT’S never too late in your Army career to get a trade, as trainees at the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering’s

(ASEME) Vehicle Technology Wing are discovering.

The Vehicle Technology Wing has 256 trainees, including 25 who have transferred from other corps and employment within Army.

Sgt Robert Smith is one such train-ee, transferring from 1 Armd Regt after 16 years with Armoured Corps.

“In 2012 I decided to transfer to trade training, mainly because there’s nothing for tank soldiers outside Army,” he says.

“I had some trade skills from working with tanks so I decided to take them further.

“I’m not planning on leaving Army any time soon so this was a decision to further my career rather than get out.”

Cpl William Dionysius, formerly of 2/14LHR, also made the transfer.

“I decided by early 2012 to trans-fer as I had achieved everything I wanted to in Cavalry, but wasn’t ready to get out of the Army,” he says.

For Cfns Ashley Bathurst and Nicholas Blain, undertaking initial trade training at ASEME has provided the ideal start to their careers.

Cfn Bathurst says doing a trade was his first choice.

“I chose Royal Australian

Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to find out what the Army is like and get a trade,” he says.

“Once qualified, I knew I could get posted to an armoured or mobi-lised infantry unit.”

Cfn Blain is looking at how his trade skills will apply to the wider Army.

“I looked at motor mechanic or combat engineer at first,” he says.

“I would like to go to a combat engineer regiment to work on the plant equipment, so mechanic was my first choice.”

The combination of recruits and experienced NCOs equipping themselves with new skills pro-vides a constructive and supportive training environment, according to OC Vehicle Technology Wing Maj Robert Arnold.

“Self-paced training provides personnel with an opportunity to progress through their training in a reduced time-frame,” he says.

“Some motivated and capable trainees have been able to complete their training inside 12 months.

“One of the positive aspects of having corporals and sergeants in the training environment is that it pro-vides the ab initio trainees someone to talk to about what the rest of Army is like. It provides an additional level of mentorship to the trainees and assistance to the staff as well.”

For trainees about to embark on

their career it provides much-needed perspective about what to expect beyond the training environment, Cfn Bathurst says.

“We speak to them about what’s outside of here because we’ve never experienced anything other than this,” he says.

“Finding out about what we can do and what we can expect when we get out there is really good.”

Whether starting out or starting over, Cfn Blain says the decision to undertake trade training is worth-while.

“I had a little bit of experience with TAFE doing a couple of weeks in a civilian workshop, which was all right, but all I really did was sweep floors,” he says.

“Joining the Army and coming to ASEME has been one of the best things I’ve ever done. I don’t think I would have been able to do as much in civilian job training.”

Making the shift from the wider Army environment back to the train-ing environment has its challenges, but Cpl Dionysius says it works out in the end.

“Once you’ve got a trade, it makes it all worthwhile,” he says.

“There’s nothing better than hav-ing an extra set of skills behind you.”

For more information about trade training, contact a Stay Army Trade Transfer and Retention Team on Army’s intranet site.

New career path: Trainees at ASEME

put their trade skills to the test.

Photo by Flt-Lt Scott Koitka

Going hands on

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Army June 19, 2014FEATURES www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews26

THERE would be no story more entrenched into Australian history books than the legend

of the Anzacs fearlessly battling against the odds during WWI.

But these history books can often be difficult to digest, and there is an important need for younger generations of soldiers to understand the sacrifice and stories of what their predecessors achieved last century.

That’s where former soldier and multimedia technician WO2 Dave Dye (retd) steps in. Five years in the making, he has released a 209-page graphic history book The Anzac Legend.

Mr Dye said his aim in creat-ing the book was to present the story in a way to make it easier to understand what hap-pened, telling the stories through comic-style art.

“Even when I was writing and drawing it myself, many times a light would come on and the rea-son for events suddenly clarified when I looked at the drawings,” he said.

“There are also a lot of small details in the drawings, which provide more information to those who view them carefully.”

The decision to tell a detailed historic account through drawings may not appeal to everyone, but Mr Dye said most readers were pleasantly surprised.

“I think some people who are attracted by the comic format are turned away by the thought of reading a history book, and people who want a serous histori-cal account and already have an understanding of the battle are put off by the comic look,” he said.

“But both are usually surprised at the way the book can open their eyes to information and details of which they had previously been unaware.

“Sometimes when a person is presented with a picture of an event in one case, and reading a page of information in another, the picture is much more easily interpreted.

“This is the strength behind this book – it allows the reader to easily understand the information.”

The idea to create the book was first conceived in 2009 when he was the WO2 multimedia technician posted to the Army Learning Production Centre in Sydney. But it wasn’t until he transferred to the Inactive Reserve in 2011 that he began his work

in earnest, often focusing for six to seven days a week, for weeks on end.

Much of this time was taken up examining historical documents. Mr Dye studied more than 50 historic texts to ensure the facts were as correct as possible and that he had all the information he required.

“Three quarters of the time was taken up with research, collating information and writing the text,” he said.

“It was a project I was determined to finish before being side-tracked by anything else so I gave it my full attention.”

With a clear passion for both the art and the story, Mr Dye said he would have created the book for his own pleasure, even if it wasn’t going to be published.

“I get a great deal of satisfac-tion from looking at what I’ve created and how it achieves its aim,” he said.

“It’s the perfect blend of two of my major interests, drawing and Australian history.”

Dave Dye has already begun research on his second book and you can follow his progress and purchase The Anzac Legend at http://wotsleftbooks.weebly.com/

Drawn to history A retired warrant officer is putting pen to paper to share stories of military life through the ages, Cpl Nick Wiseman reports.

Sketching military history: Retired soldier and multimedia technician Dave Dye has released a 209-page graphic history book, The Anzac Legend. Main photo by Melanie Guy, Sunraysia Daily

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Army June 19, 2014 FEATURESwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 27

Toy soldiers lend a handReal soldiers get out their model villages and weapons to attack enemy armies from around the world.

ACROSS the battlefields of the ADF Wargaming Association (ADFWGA) cavalry units have launched

thunderous charges against dis-mounted infantry formations. Sherman tanks have engaged Tiger tanks in French hamlets, and geneti-cally enhanced humans have fought off enemies from a science-fiction future.

The toy soldiers were lending a hand to real soldiers, raising money for Soldier On.

ADFWGA chairman Maj Dave Hill, of AHQ, said the group had hosted two events over the past six months – the Annual Charity Event in December 2013 at Lavarack Barracks Townsville and the Anzac Cup at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane in April – raising $15,000.

“The aim of our events is to allow Defence personnel of all ranks from across the country to come together and engage in simulated battles using one of three different games systems,” he said.

“Regardless of the game system used, battles take place over a three-dimensional battlefield. Players move, shoot and use close combat to engage opposing forces and capture strategic points or complete mission objectives.”

While the battles are the focus of the weekends, the armies are the culmination of months of preparation; from practice games used to develop

the composition and tactics, through to the detailed modelling and painting to bring the armies to life.

ADFWGA vice-chairman Cpl Ty Casey, of DFR – Townsville, said the results of the events were determined by a combination of scores.

“This includes the battle results, presentation of the army, its

composition and, most importantly, the manner in which the player approaches the game,” he said.

The Brisbane event from April 12-13 was the first time ADFWGA had been able to hold another event in the same year, with the annual Townsville weekend run each December.

Maj Hill said the Brisbane

showdown was such a success the group hoped to continue the two events each year.

The 2014 ADFWGA Annual Charity Event will run from December 11-13 at Lavarack Barracks gym, Townsville.

The first day will be an opportunity for players to be involved in casual

gaming using systems such as X-Wing and Infinity, before the conduct of the Flames of War, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 30,000 and Warhammer 40,000 events.

For more information see the ADFWGA website at www.adfwga.com or contact Maj Dave Hill or Cpl Ty Casey on the DRN.

Just a game: Soldiers gather in Townsville for the annual ADF wargaming meet, battling it out against far-flung enemies on table tops to raise money for Soldier On. Photos by Cpl Ty Casey

The LAND FORCES 2014 exposition will bethe essential military and land defenceindustry event for Australia, Asia and theIndo-Pacific region.

It will attract a wide range of exhibitors fromthe international defence industry and willbe attended by senior government, military,scientific and industry officials, as well asdefence professionals, from Australia andaround the world.

Admission for trade visitors is free!Accreditation as an industry executive,government official or defence professionalis required. Only Defence personnel andqualified trade visitors with a professional,business or operational involvement indefence, related industries or the governmentsector may attend. Pre-registration on ourwebsite will open in July 2014.

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Army June 19, 2014LETTERS www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews28

AFTER reading “Shock and awe” (Army #1325 – 10 April, page 9) I was left feeling that we are failing to afford combat casualty care the priority it deserves.

With a paucity of Combat First Aiders (CFAs) in units, and the centralisation of already limited medical support to brigade-level, there are insufficient dedicated medical personnel on the ground to adequately support our close-combatants.

Equipping soldiers with the skills to save their mates (or them-selves) on the battlefield should not be limited to CFAs and RAAMC personnel, and it should definitely not be seen as ‘mission specific’ training, relevant only to a particu-lar theatre, campaign or mission-set.

If the ground-truth is that a casu-alty’s fate is likely be determined by the abilities of their mates, it is incomprehensible that soldiers have to wait until shortly before being deployed overseas before receiving such valuable training.

Why isn’t it included in ab initio entry and initial employment train-ing for soldiers?

Why are we resisting push-ing the life-saving skills that have been developed and validated over 10-plus years of operations down to those who will need them most?Sgt Charles AllanJLC Training Team

Col Andrew Williams, Director Army Health responds:SGT Allan’s point is well made. Over the past decade there has been marked decline in the number of deaths expressed as a percentage of all combat casualties among the coalition, including the ADF, forces.

Even when the differing patterns of injury are accounted for, the number of deaths expressed as a percentage of those injured has fallen from about 18 per cent during the Vietnam war to around 8 per cent today.

While much of this improvement can be attributed to better trained medical corps medics, faster evacuation and improved surgical care or the greater use of improved body armour, the evidence suggests that the largest single factor in bringing about this decline has been the first aid training provided to all personnel going on operations and the training of a large number of Combat First Aiders (CFAs) within all corps of the Army.

However, competence at first aid is like any other skill. It degrades over time and techniques and procedures change as new lessons are learnt.

All Army personnel are required to complete the Army First Aid (AFA) course during recruit or officer training and are required undertake refresher training of the skills taught on this course every three years.

For most personnel working in low-threat non-operational environments, the AFA skills, if properly maintained, represent an excellent baseline in first aid training.

It is recognised, however, that there is a requirement for a number of non-RAAMC personnel within each unit to receive a higher level of first aid training.

Within all units, depending upon role, a certain percentage of personnel are required to be trained as CFAs.

The skills taught here are advanced first aid and require relatively frequent reinforcement through practice and assessment by qualified health personnel.

This is achieved by CFAs regularly undertaking health support and first aid duties – both real and simulated – as part of routine training and through skills re-certification, supervised by health professionals.

Recertification of CFA skills is required every 12 months. The difficulty in maintaining medical skills which can be delivered with competence and confidence under the pressure of a combat situation should not be underestimated.

Consequently, focusing our efforts on giving and maintaining these higher order of skills on a smaller pool of skilled individuals has proved of greater value than trying to deliver them to everyone.

Life-saving skills for all Combat casualty course would benefit all soldiers

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Army June 19, 2014 PERSONNELwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 29

TELL US YOUR STORY

If you have an interesting story to tell, get in touch with Army and get it in print.Contact the editorial team by email to

armynews@defencenews. gov.au

SUBSTANTIAL mortgage subsidy payments are available to eligible reservists under the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme (DHOAS).

Director Relocations and Housing Alan McClelland said reservists would be required to complete effective service to be deemed a member of the ADF for the purpose of the DHOAS legislation.

“If a reserve member fails to perform 20 or more reserve days in a service year, the member’s continued eligibility or entitlement to the DHOAS subsidy could be adversely affected,” Mr McClelland said.

“Ineffective service can substantially reduce the subsidy benefit, or cease it altogether.”

Mr McClelland also reminded reservists to inform the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (the scheme administrator) if they think they may not be able to perform at least 20 days service in a financial year.

“When in doubt about your ability to perform effective service, complete a change of circumstances form to notify DVA of your situation,” he said.

“You will be less likely to incur an overpayment or be adversely impacted if you notify DVA accordingly.

“You can download the form from the DHOAS website.”

Reserve members who cannot complete effective service because of service-related reasons or exceptional circumstances can apply for special consideration under Regulation 20 of the DHOAS legislation.

The application must also be endorsed by a member’s unit before it is submitted to the DGPERS-A for consideration, however, exceptional circumstances would generally not include civilian employment, or where reserve service is not offered.

Each financial year, DVA undertakes an audit of reserve members to identify those who have rendered less than 20 reserve days in that service year.

To avoid anomalies in data for the purpose of the audit, reserve members should ensure their PMKeyS records are accurate.

“The conditions governing DHOAS can be complex and the legislation provides that members are responsible for informing the scheme administrator of any changes in their circumstances that may affect their DHOAS entitlement,” Mr McClelland said.

If you have any concerns about the scheme or how it relates to your circumstances, more information can be found on the DHOAS website at www.dhoas.gov.au or by speaking with a DHOAS consultant on 1300 4 DHOAS (1300 434 627).

Home owner help

THE Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) is encouraging serving and former soldiers to make use of free advocacy and claims assistance for veterans.

Those seeking advocacy services can contact their local ex-service organisations, which provide assistance with claims for free.

DVA can also assist with more information on available services and entitlements.

The department does not condone advocacy services that charge and encourages personnel to report to DVA any advocates they suspect are charging for their services.

For more information, contact DVA on 1800 555 254, email generalenquiries@dva.gov.au or visit www.dva.gov.au

Advocacy advice

WITH the recent introduction of the PMKeyS Self Service (PSS) Home Portal, reservists will no longer receive paper pay slips in the mail.

Now that access to pay slips and personal information is available from work and home, the mailing of reserve paper pay slips each fortnight will cease from July 1.

PSS Home Portal provides secure internet assess to PMKeyS Self Service without the need for Defence Restricted Network (DRN) access and allows members to view pay slips, check leave balances and apply for leave.

Reservists also have the ability to submit their attendance diary and claim forms online.

Members without general access to the DRN PSS functionality should be using PSS Home Portal to update personal details.

Reservists who have approval to use an individual diary should be submitting attendance and allowance claims using the Home Portal.

Reserve members will soon receive a postcard with instructions on how to create a PSS Home Portal account.

For more information contact your order-ly room, the Defence Service Centre on 1800 DEFENCE (1800 333 3623), email dsc@defence.gov.au or visit the PMKeyS intranet site.

Pay slips go online

Reduce your mortgage: Reserve members may be eligible for substantial mortgage subsidies. Photo by Cpl Aaron Curran

Mortgage assistance available to ARA members and reservists with DHOAS

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Army June 19, 2014PERSONNEL www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews30

DEFENCE Families of Australia (DFA) has launched a survey to provide data on support services available to ADF families.

DFA National Convenor Robyn Ritchie said the opinion of families was extremely important.

“This data, combined with discussions at DFA consultation meetings around the country over the coming months, will be used to

assist decision-makers about where and how to allocate resources,” Ms Ritchie said.

“It is important that we provide vital information about what ADF families need when Defence is mak-ing tough decisions about resourc-ing.”

Previous DFA annual survey feedback has been used by DFA to advocate for and achieve improve-ments in housing standards, base

access, health, education, childcare and deployment support services.

Participating families will have the chance to win one of 10 copies of the new book Commanding the Home Front: True stories from the families who support the modern day Australian Defence Force writ-ten by ADF spouse Maree Sirois.

The survey will run until June 30 and can be found at www.dfa.org.au/survey

MORE than 300 Army personnel appointed as local expert officers are preparing for Defence’s launch of the new Work Health and Safety (WHS) Management Information System, Sentinel.

The new capability, which is being implemented to replace disparate WHS systems across Defence, will go live on August 4.

From this date WHS incidents will be reported and managed through Sentinel.

By the end of the year many more functions will be available, including audit, risk and hazard management.

About 1500 Defence personnel have been identified to receive training as WHS local experts, including 320 Army members.

During July a team of trainers will tour Australia to provide face-to-face Sentinel instructor-led training to many of the 170 local experts who will become Sentinel Specialist Advisers.

The in t roduct ion of Sent ine l into Defence is being managed by the Defence People Group and Chief Information Officer Group and is known as Project Sentinel.

The project will deliver a single, en t e rp r i s e -wide mechan i sm fo r managing all WHS activities, providing a single source of information for all WHS event, hazard and risk-related information across the organisation.

In conjunction with Sentinel, Army will continue to use the Army Incident Management System as a command support tool.

Director-General WHS Lindsay Kranz said Sentinel was a strategic imperative and had been a long time coming.

“With the implementation of Sentinel, Defence has an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and share these lessons throughout the organisation, ensuring that WHS information can be readily accessed from one source of truth,” Mr Kranz said.

“Sentinel is an intuitive system and will be used to log WHS events and report hazards without the need for spe-cialist knowledge or experience in WHS.

“In addition to this, the use of a single Defence-wide tool will reduce duplica-tion of data entry in multiple systems and greatly enhance visibility of the WHS events, hazards and risks managed across Defence.”

The Army safety organisation is focused on ensuring training is achieved, orders, instructions and procedures are updated, and communication is disseminated about the system.

SO1 Army Safety Policy and Programs Lt-Col Peter Davies said there would be only minor changes to the WHS incident reporting process once Sentinel went live on August 4.

“While the interface will be different from PMKeyS WHS Incident Self Service and the current Army Incident Management System, the reporting

AT A GLANCEThe benefits of Sentinel include: A consolidated source of WHS

data. An ability to proactively report and

manage risks across Defence environments.

A capacity to identify trends in occupational illness and disease.

An opportunity to review holistic information and reports about WHS events that will inform continuous improvement in policies and practices.

Sentinel ready to launch in August

requirements and management will change very little,” Lt-Col Davies said.

“The main change is the interface used and this is where the specialist knowledge of the local experts will help.

“The main focus is ensuring as many Army local experts as possible complete the online training and, where practical, attend the face-to-face training before the go live date.”

TrainingThe project has developed four mod-ules of training covering Sentinel Fundamentals, Sentinel Local Expert User, Sen t ine l Superv i sors and Managers, and Sentinel Commanders and Senior Leaders.

The full e-learning package for Release One is available on Campus and Campus Anywhere.

There is no requirement for general users to complete training – a quick ref-erence guide will be developed to assist in the basic use of Sentinel.

Training for supervisors and manag-ers will be available on Campus from July and will comprise two modules (Sentinel Fundamentals and Sentinel Supervisors and Managers Part 1). It will take one hour to complete both packages.

Training for commanders and leaders will also be available on Campus from July and will comprise an additional module (Sentinel Commanders and Senior Leaders Part 1), which will take 30 minutes to complete.

Commanders and senior leaders must complete the supervisors and managers packages.

Lt-Col Davies said there might be some tight time constraints for personnel to complete the training modules during the limited window before the go live date.

“We will be working to ensure the maximum number of people complete the training,” he said.

Mr Kranz said with the new capability, Defence would establish itself as a leader in Commonwealth WHS.

Incident reporting through Sentinel will be available from August 4. Other components will go live by December.

Further information can be found on the ArmySafe website.

Family support survey WHS to streamline with Project Sentinel

Have your say: Families like those of Cpl Chad Gill are encouraged

to participate in this year’s Defence Families

of Australia survey. Photo by Cpl Bill Solomou

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Army June 19, 2014 LIFESTYLE PEOPLEwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 31

Safety: WO2 Des McCoy is a security sergeant deployed to North Camp in the Sinai on Op Mazurka. Photo by Flg-Off Daniel Phillips

A look inside: Pte Daniel McWhir, Pte Martin, Cpl Jason Leuken, LCpl Damien Templeton, Pte Daniel Croatto and Cpl Alistair North at a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle display at the Gallipoli Barracks open day. Photo by Cpl Jessica de Rouw

Ready to roll: LCpl Raymond

Doyle is a cargo specialist

deployed on Operation Slipper

with FSU 9 as part of the logistics

element at Camp Baker, Kandahar.

Photo by WO2 Rob Nyffenegger

Deployed: Tpr Blake Van Zanden, of Force Protection Platoon assigned to 205 CAT in Kandahar, cleans a Bushmaster. Photo by Tpr Matt di Florio

Surprise guest: Australian Army Band – Brisbane vocalist Cpl Simone Dew is unexpectedly joined on stage by 4-year-old Ginger Mellor who couldn’t resist the excitement when the band started playing Pharelle Williams’ “Happy”. Ginger’s grandfather and great uncle were brigadiers and her cousin, Maj Brenton Mellor, is serving with 6 Avn Regt.

Visit slatergordon.com.auor call 1800 555 777 today.

Army June 19, 2014www.defence.gov.au/news/armynewsLIFESTYLE FUN32

Sgt Dave Morley

A DIGGER wounded and captured off Greece in 1941 has just had his second book, a futuristic novel set in NSW in 2020, published as he prepared to celebrate his 93rd birthday.

Charles Granquist, who served as a sergeant in Sig Pl, 2/4 Bn, put his age up two years to 19 and joined the Army just three months after the start of WWII, having previously served in the Citizen Military Force.

His first book, A Long Way Home, was an autobiography mainly focusing on his capture by the German Navy, time as a POW in Germany and his five escape attempts.

After hearing of Italy’s imminent surrender, Sgt Granquist cut his way through the wire and made his way there, only to be captured and handed over to the Germans a day before Italy surrendered.

Another escape was made with the aim of linking up with Yugoslav parti-

sans, but after two weeks on the run he was betrayed by a pro-German Croatian.

Each time Sgt Granquist was recap-tured he was placed in solitary confine-ment for 28 days and fed on bread and water. After being freed at the end of the war, he worked with the British Army in Austria collecting weapons from surren-dered German soldiers, before returning home to the Blue Mountains in 1946.

Following the success of his autobiography, Mr Granquist again put pen to paper and wrote a fast-moving novel about a Sydney family’s move to the Blue Mountains to escape global warming.

The book, Until the Little Birds Sing, is a credible and easy-to-read yarn about the family’s struggle to survive both the extreme weather conditions and roaming bands of armed refugees.

Both books are available through Big Sky Publishing and at most bookshops.

Mr Granquist lives at Port Macquarie with his wife Wendy.

DIKKO By Bob Dikkenberg

POW writes second book Ninety three year old releases tale of survival

SAY AGAIN, OVERIf you can think of a clever cap-tion for the picture above, email captioncomp@defencenews.gov.au with “caption comp June 19” as the subject. Keep entries under 25 words and include your name, rank and unit.

Last edition’s winners

“Where is the button for the navigation app?”

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“The dummies guide to chest webbing.”

Sig Daniel Ross8 Sig Regt

Riding 500km for matesA TEAM of eight wounded and current service personnel and their supporters have been the first Australians to take part in the UK’s biggest Armed Forces charity event – the Big Battlefield Bike Ride from June 1-8.

Representing the non-profit support group Mates4Mates, the squad (from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the ACT) will cycle more than 500km in the Big Battlefield Bike Ride from Brussels to Paris – a fundraising challenge organised by Help for Heroes.

The Australian team includes 44-year-old Mark Armstrong, of Brisbane, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder following his service as an Australian Army medic.

“Cycling is great therapy and helps with my treatment, so I’m really looking forward to this challenge,” Mr Armstrong said.

“My great-grandfather fought on the Western Front and, although he was lucky to come home, I never met him so it will be an honour to

ride through the battlefields where he served.”

Former RAN clearance diver Steven McDonald, 41, suffered depression after a spinal injury in a pre-deployment exercise which left him unable to participate in operational duties.

“The ride will challenge me physically. My injury is likely to flare up after about 40km but I’m not going to give up, I’ll push through it,” Mr McDonald said.

“I am looking forward to getting back among the mateship of the Defence Force culture and to push my body to the limits along a chal-lenging and amazingly rewarding course for a great cause.”

Mates4Mates Operations Manager Wendy Presneill said it was an honour to be invited to take part.

“This is a great privilege and important opportunity to unite and support the global community of wounded, injured and ill Defence personnel,” Ms Presneill said.

“Over five days we will cycle through former battlefields and memorials in Belgium and France,

and then be driven to London to join up with thousands of other rid-ers for the Hero Ride finale from Blackheath into the city.

“It is a fitting way to mark the centenary of WWI and a chance to remember those who made the ulti-mate sacrifice on foreign ground.”

To find out more visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk

RIDE FOR HEROESBig Battlefield Bike RideDay 1: London to Brussels (Eurostar)Day 2: Brussels to Mons (97km)Day 3: Mons to Arras (129km)Day 4: Arras to Amiens (89km)Day 5: Amiens to Compeigne (105km)Day 6: Compeigne to Paris (105km)Day 7: Paris to London (Eurostar)Day 8: Hero Ride Finale in London (16km)

Hitting the streets: Wounded and current service personnel are riding 500km to raise money for Mates4 Mates.

Check out the range of housing available for you on Online Services. It’s just one of the many things you can do. You can also:

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Burpees build flexibilityThe burpee is an oddly named exercise but, as Michael Weaver writes, it has a range of benefits for those in the military.

THE burpee is a full body exer-cise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise that will develop your strength,

agility and balance.A good result for the number of

correctly performed burpees in 30 sec-onds is more than 16 for men and 12 for women.

The general benefits of burpees are that no equipment is required and they can be conducted almost anywhere.

According to Oxford University Press, the exercise was named in the 1930s after American physiologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the burpee test.

He earned a PhD in applied physi-ology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the burpee exercise as part of his PhD thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness.

The exercise was popularised when the US Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered WWII. Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility, coordination and strength.

The staff of the ADF Physical Training School agree the burpee is still a good indication of fitness in the ADF, as it tests both core strength and cardio resilience.

However, Sgt Linden Bleijie, of the ADFPTS, said a good progression to the traditional burpee is the “get up”.

“It has similar actions, however the participant is not required to jump the feet out to the plank position, nor back in,” Sgt Bleijie said.

“Instead the participant steps one foot out and then the other followed by stepping the feet back in. This is a useful activity in conditioning for the full burpee.”

As with all physical training activi-ties, conditioning and technique are critical in ensuring the activity does not cause injury.

1

2 3

45

Begin by standing straight with arms by the side.

Bend the knees and place the hands on the floor in front of the feet in a squat position.

Thrust the legs back to assume a push-up position with a straight line from the shoulders to the heels. It is also important not to let the back sag by keeping your core active while in this position.

Return to the squat position.

Return to the standing

position.

Army June 19, 2014 LIFESTYLE HEALTHwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynews 33

Phot

os b

y Cp

l Max

Bre

e

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THEY were both pushing new bounda-ries, so no wonder Cpl James Pearse and Cfn Ramsay Fish were happy with their winning performances at the Australian skeet championships.

Cpl Pearse, of 2CER, is better known as a down-the-line shooter and this was only his fifth skeet competition.

CFN Fish, of 5 Avn Regt, has been trap shooting for 14 years but was com-peting in his very first skeet champion-ship.

But between them they won a bundle of medals and finished first and second in C Grade High Gun, which takes into account all their scores in all events over the six-day competition.

“It was a good feeling,” said Cpl Pearse, who finished first in the High Gun with 494 broken targets out of a possible 550. Cfn Fish was not far behind with 469/550.

Cpl Pearse and Cfn Fish were part of a four-man team from the Defence Clay Target Association (DCTA) that compet-ed in the championships at Wagga Wagga from May 18-24.

About 160 shooters converged on the carnival, which is a selection event for the national team.

Cpl Pearse started the week with a gold medal in the 100-target national champion of champions event with a score of 88/100.

Cfn Fish replicated this effort the fol-lowing day with gold in the 100-target national 20-gauge championship with 92/100.

He backed it up with gold after a sudden-death tie-break shoot-off in the Commonwealth skeet championship with a score of 106/112.

Due to their excellent scores, both shooters were moved up to B Grade later in the week.

But the higher class of competi-tion did not deter Cpl Pearse, who shot 90/100 to claim the bronze medal in his new grade in the 50 pair national skeet doubles championship.

The next representative event for the DCTA team is the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Championships at Ballarat in August, followed closely by the DCTA interservice championships at Wagga Wagga from September 15-20.

For more information contact about the DCTA, contact club secretary CPO Michael Bryan at michael.bryan@defence.gov.au

Michael Brooke

VICTORIA Barracks PTI Cpl Peter Nicholas expects to record a personal best at the 2014 City2Surf or face bankruptcy.

Cpl Nicholas will donate $50 to the Starlight Children’s Foundation for every Sydney-based Army runner who beats him across the finish-line in the 14km event from the Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach on August 10.

The challenge was originally for Victoria Barracks-based members but he has since extended the offer to soldiers of all Sydney bases.

He said he hoped he did not go broke as result of his charity chal-lenge.

“I think this is a really good way to challenge myself, to encourage more Army runners and to help a worthy charity,” he said.

Cpl Nicholas has run the 14km course twice before, the last time in 2013 when he finished in 61 minutes.

“This year I am aiming to com-plete the event in under an hour,” he said.

“Last year we had a great group of more than 20 runners represent Victoria Barracks.”

To encourage participants and to challenge himself, Cpl Nicholas will start a training program next month, offering an opportunity to train three times a week.

He said he would start the City2Surf in the blue group with the rest of the Victoria Barracks team, which would create the challenge of pushing his way through tens of thousands of competitors at the start line before tackling ‘Heartbreak Hill’ at Vaucluse.

If you would like to accept Cpl Nicholas’ challenge or donate money to a worthy cause, contact him on (02) 8335 5510.

Bundle of medals for sharp shooters Soldiers impress in skeet championships

On target: Cpl James Pearse takes aim during the Australian skeet championships. Inset, Cfn Ramsay Fish (left) and Cpl Pearse bagged a bundle of medals.

Catch him if you can

A tough challenge: Cpl Peter Nicholas will donate $50 to the Starlight Children’s Foundation for every Sydney-based Army runner who beats him across the finish line in this year’s City2Surf.

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SPORTwww.defence.gov.au/news/armynewsArmy June 19, 2014 35

Michael Weaver

IF DROPPING a sandbag held between your feet while flying a paraglider with a motor strapped to your back sounds like fun, then welcome to the sport of paramo-toring, in which Army can now lay claim to having an Australian champion in its ranks.

The Director of Army Air Support at RAAF Base Glenbrook, Lt-Col Grant Cassar, earned the coveted title after a convincing win at the recent Australian Paramotoring Championships at Gloucester in NSW.

Air Force competitors Sgts Scott Duncan and Sean Seery placed third and sixth respectively.

They competed over four days in a variety of disciplines with numer-ous tests of pilot skills, including cross country, speed and slalom tasks where contestants navigated a series of gates and turn points at low level and maximum speed.

There were also accuracy and fuel efficiency components where competitors flew over an exact point, kicked the marker and continued. Variations involved dropping a golf ball or sandbag on to a target.

Fuel efficiency was also tested by turning off the motor and using wind currents and thermals to generate speed.

The sport of paramotoring is relatively new, with the first competition in Australia held in 2010.

Lt-Col Cassar has been competing since 2011 when he placed second to a New Zealander.

Following a deployment in 2012 and limited preparation the following year, Lt-Col Cassar was keen for a good result this year.

“I was really thrilled to win it this year,” he said.

“I was a little lucky when on the last day my main competitor broke his propeller and couldn’t continue.”

The paramotor is essentially an over-sized fan powered by a small motor of between 80-200cc, which turns the similar sport of paragliding into paramotoring.

It also allows enthusiasts to take off from level ground in little or no wind, with no need to seek out hills or ridges from which to launch.

The motor weighs anywhere

Lucky win in paramotoring championships

Michael Brooke

TEN weeks after giving birth, Cpl Jackleene Macarthur scored a hat-trick of goals for Queensland in its 6-0 win against ACT/SA/WA in the women’s final of Australian Defence Hockey Association Championship.

Cpl Macarthur, of 3RAR, was one of five Army women in the triservice team that competed in Sydney from May 17-23.

The others were Cpl Amy Smith, LCpl Ashlee Makim, and Ptes Olivia Hunt and Kasey Rogers.

“It is good to be back with

Queensland Combined Services Hockey once again,” Cpl Macarthur said.

“It was great to celebrate with a hat-trick, because the score was not a true reflection of the tenacity of the match.”

Cpl Macarthur has played hockey since she was five and has achieved significant success, being selected for Queensland Combined Services for the past three years and playing in the 2013 ADF Open team.

Cpl Smith was declared the joint winner of the Helen Massa Medal as the best and fairest female at the championship.

Army was rewarded with the selection of six women and five men in the 2014 ADF Hockey teams to contest the 2014 Australian Country Championships in Toowoomba from August 2-9.

They are: Women: Cpl Amy Smith (Qld), Sig Alice Burrell (SA), Cpl Shayne Buenaobra (NSW), Cpl Jackleene Macarthur (Qld), Pte Natasha Pietrzak (NT), and Sgt Ceri-Anne Shankster (NSW). Men: OCdt Joseph Huston (ACT), Capt Richard Bremner (NT), Capt Glenn Miller (Qld), Cfn Gareth Hoddinott (Qld), and Pte Nicholas Waters (Qld).

Hockey hat-trick

You need ... an adventurous spirit as you have to get

over some fear.– Lt-Col Grant Cassar,

Director Army Air Support

between 16-30kg and generates about 50-75kg of thrust, while pulling an accelerated force of between 4-5Gs.

“I most like the speed and slalom tasks,” Lt-Col Cassar said.

Lt-Col Cassar’s evolution to paramotoring began when he learnt to hang glide as a cadet at RMC in 1995.

After seeing a YouTube clip on paramotoring, he immediately saw the benefits of being able to enjoy the sport.

“From my perspective the best thing is that you don’t have to commit your entire weekend to the sport, as most pilots fly first thing in the morning when the conditions are perfect.

“You need to have good hand-eye coordination and enough common sense to make good decisions on the ground so you don’t fly yourself into a bad situation that could have otherwise been avoided.

“You also need a bit of an adventurous spirit as you have to get over some fear when you launch for the first time.”

Lt-Col Cassar said his only regret was not having taken up the sport sooner.

“I get the feeling that I’m living my life as opposed to just going through the daily grind. You also get a great perspective on some pretty spectacular countryside.

“I’ve flown in some fantastic and iconic places, like Mount Panorama at Bathurst, with the hot air balloons in Canberra and over Main Beach on the Gold Coast, but I would really love to fly around Uluru some time soon. I think that would something worth seeing from a paramotor seat.”

New mum scores hat-trick for Queensland

Grit and determination: Queensland’s LCpl Ashlee Makim (left) tackles WA/SA/ACT player Leut Christie Underwood during the Australian Defence Hockey Association Championship finals in Sydney. Inset, hat-trick scorer Cpl Jackleene Macarthur in action during a previous competition.Photos by AB Richard Cordell and Cpl Max Bree

New mum scores hat-trick for Queensland

New Wallaroo capsARMY’S Cpl Mollie Gray and Capt Alisha Hewett, and Air Force’s Cpl Brooke Saunders, were award-ed their Wallaroo caps in New Zealand this month. They played alongside one of the team’s stalwarts, Capt Caroline Vakalahi, in a tri-nations tourna-ment against New Zealand and Canada. Australia lost both games ahead of the final selection of the squad for the Women’s Rugby World Cup to be held in France in August. No. 8 Capt Hewitt was judged player’s player against Canada.

Two out of three legs but title eludes himDESPITE being the leading ADF swimmer and cyclist, WO2 Luke Woodland was beaten by Flt-Lt Marcus Lisle for the Defence ironman title in the Cairns

triathlon on June 8. WO2 Woodland, of 1CHSB, did the 3.8km swim in 56min 52sec and the 180km ride in 4:58, which is an average of 36km/h.

June 19, 2014

Thrilling victory: Lt-Col Grant Cassar

soars through the skies above Gloucester

in NSW during the Australian Paramotoring

Championships.

NEW CHAMPLt-Col Grant Cassar claims title at Australian Paramotoring Championships in Gloucester PAGE 35

Soldiers on target in Australian skeet championships

Sharp shooters

PAGE 34

New mum impresses in hockey competition

Hockey hat-trick

PAGE 35

Incentive to beat PTI in Sydney’s famous fun run

City2Surf challenge

PAGE 34