CONTACT Air Land & Sea

Issue 23
September 2009

84 Pages This Issue

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NEW FEATURE - click on the images below to read the first 2 pages of these spreads

	Brisbane’s 7th Brigade (7 Bde) conducted its largest exercise for more than a decade in June when about 2000 soldiers trained in a range of combat-simulation environments at Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) near Rockhampton. Exercise Diamond Dollar, last conducted in the 1990s, is a brigade-sized combined-arms activity designed to hone soldier and officer combat skills during three weeks of unit individual training and brigade-led battlegroup training Pics Trooper Michael Franchi and Captain Alastair McPherson

	As the old song says – “I joined the Navy to see the world. And what did I see? I saw the sea!” – the promise of grand adventure and visits to all the world’s ports never eventuates for many sailors. When they do get to travel or deploy, a lot of sea and one or two, often passable ports, is all they get. By comparison, the companies of HMA ships Sydney and Ballarat embarked on what no one would deny was the ‘trip of a lifetime’ on 20 April this year when they set sail on a six-month around-the-world voyage, taking in 13 countries and many adventures – some planned and some not – along the way. Pics ADF

	Patrolling in the green zone was an eye opening experience for members of the newly arrived soldiers of the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force 2 as they made their first patrols in Afghanistan since taking over from MRTF1 in early July. Besides continuing the good work of their predecessors, the patrols also aim to improve security in the Baluchi Valley for the upcoming Afghan elections as well as giving members of the combat team a good look at the area in which they will be operating for eight months. Pics ADF

	Private Benjamin Ranaudo from the Townsville-based 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force 2 in Afghanistan was killed by an anti-personnel explosive device on 18 July 2009 while on patrol. Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston Private said Ranaudo was a professional soldier who served enthusiastically and with distinction. Pics ADF

	Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy personnel, aircraft and ships took part in Exercise Bersama Shield 2009 in Malaysia. The exercise aimed to practice the interoperability of air, ground and naval forces under the auspices of the Five Power Defence Arrangements - involving Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Pics ADF

	job at the German embassy passes without incident – and that’s exactly how the MPs of the SECDET personal security detachment like it. Sergeant Rohan Clapman’s team of bodyguards provide the inner cordon for Australian diplomatic staff at their embassy in Baghdad – whose safety is SECDET’s whole reason for being. Pics ADF

	‘The Cavemen’ of the the Rotary Wing Group, Tech Support Troop, C Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment, at Kandahar Airfi eld are in the middle of a regular 10-day avionics test and blade removal from the rear rotor of a CH-47D Chinook. Craftsman James Chapman is proud of the caveman moniker, spray painted and heat–etched onto nearly every surface and vehicle the detachment owns [and, if today’s crafties are up to speed, many vehicles they don’t own, too – Ed]. Pics Petty Officer Dave Connolly and Corporal Rachel Ingram

	Army’s 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment – 4RAR (Cdo) – was officially renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment – 2 Cdo Regt – during a ceremony at Tobruk Lines, Holsworthy, on 19 June. Pics Able Seaman Jo Dilorenzo

	Hundreds lay dead, billions of dollars worth of property lies wasted and a huge chemical spill threatens thousands when Hawaii State Governor Linda Lingle gives the instruction to ‘call in the National Guard’. There I was, lying back on Waikiki Beach sipping a ‘Bud’ in early June, thinking this was the perfect tourist mecca – while just down the road, things were taking a decidedly different turn for hundreds of military reservists taking part in a civil-emergency exercise. Words Kiwi Mac Pics Kiwi Mac and Hawaii Air National Guard

	Apart from the black spots brought on by my encroaching senility 15 years down the track, time has failed to diminish the intensity of most of the memories that are still stored in that filing cabinet in the back of my head marked ‘ASSORTED RANDOM WEIRD STUFF’, sub category, ‘SOMALIA’. The random, weird and bizarre moments in time kept hitting me with such regularity in Somalia it ended up giving the entire deployment a surreal and stranger-than-fi ction feel. Probably the most comforting and reassuring thing learnt from my reminiscing with the guys after all this time, is discovering we all seemed to be similarly afflicted. To prove that point, to reassure myself, and for your entertainment, I’ve collected a few gems from the boys that I had almost completely forgotten about...... Words AJ Shinner Pics Supplied by AJ Shinner
NEW NEW NEW Introducing "The Job's Market" with Jonathan Ryan from 'Pilot Aptitude Training Systems - PATS' .
	Welcome to the first Jobs’ Market, where we’ll look at various ADF jobs, what they entail, what the selection criteria are and how you can prepare yourself to get the one you want. Let’s start with the pilot options in the ADF. All three services hire pilots – join the RAAF for jet fighters or heavy-lifting fixed-wing, the Army or the Navy for helicopters....... Words Jonathan Ryan Pics by Brian Hartigan * Check out this .pdf - it's got a cool feature built in!
Also new this issue - "The Gear Insider" - a regular column that examines the issues you should be aware of when purchasing equipment In this issue, The Gear Insider examines sleeping bags Plus... Medical Practise - a Solomon Islands report 60 days out - Royal Australian Navy aids civilian yacht Pacific Brotherhood - working with Kiwi and PNG soldiers on Op Anode Obstacle Course - 7 Brigade units head-to-head Holy flying poop factory - fruitbat plague in Tindal Postcards Home to Queensland Plus our regular columns; Letters to the Editor The Big Picture - RBS-70 live fire Heads up - latest snippets from Australia, New Zealand and around the World Cadet Corner Military Fitness by Don Stevenson Military Self Defence by Major Travis Faure Just Soldiers by WO1 Darryl Kelly Games reviews by Sapper Gameboy The Transport Yard with Heater Book shop

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