Amberley goes on show in style - Department of Defence

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4 International AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 Deployed pen pals Kids send heartfelt letters to troops By WGCDR Mark Larter ADF members serving in the iddle East now have new pen pals hanks to some enthusiastic kids back home in Australia. The troops recently received some welcome mail from the school children of Baldivis Primary School in Western Australia. More than 60 nine-year-old children from the school, located south of Perth, decided to write to the sailors, soldiers and airmen serving in the Joint Task Force Headquarters in Baghdad after being encouraged to by their teacher, Mrs Naomi Bell. The mail, which contained handwritten letters, drawings and pictures, helped to brighten up the day of the men and women who spend up to eight months on deployed service. The letters contained lots of questions directed to ADF members about life in the military and life in the Middle East, with each letter being personally answered by a host of NSW MILITARY HEALTH SYMPOSIUM 2008 >> Sponsored by enthusiastic volunteers who were keen to accept a letter and pass on their respective experiences about what they do and what it is like serving overseas. FSGT Linda Brown from RAAF Base <strong>Amberley</strong> was pleased to be able to write to two little girls called Em and Claire and said it made her appreciate life in Australia after learning about the childrens’ lives and school activities. Navy’s CMDR Craig Opie has completed two months of his sixmonth deployment. “Being a father of two children aged six and nine, it was fantastic to receive personal letters from the school children and it really tugged at my heartstrings,” he said. “It was a wonderful and much appreciated effort by the Baldivis Primary School to send us these original and very personable letters.” Many of the headquarters staff also sent the children deployment memorabilia such as badges, patches and pins, as well as other little souvenirs. Some Call 1800 803 485 or visit www.defence.gov.au/reserves LESSONS LEARNT: � Recent deployments � Cutting edge medicine � Challenges we are facing now � Challenges we may need to prepare for WHEN Saturday 1 November 2008 WHERE HMAS Waterhen, Waverton WHO Tri-Service Health Personnel of all ranks are welcome REGISTRATION Registration is FREE Registration closes 24 October 2008 ENQUIRIES Mr David Talakovski & REGISTRATIONS Telephone: 02 9339 3269 Email: david.talakovski@defence.gov.au Many interesting subjects will be discussed at the symposium. Updates will appear as available on www.raamc.com THANKS FOR WRITING: ADF personnel from Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 hold up letters from the children of Baldivis Primary School in WA. More than 60 children sent handwritten letters, drawings and pictures to Baghdad, with each child receiving a personal reply from one of the troops. Photo: WGCDR Mark Larter deployed members said they wanted to keep the letters they received as a poignant memento of their tour. Acting Commander of the Joint Task Force, BRIG Damian Roche, said: “The letters were really appreciated by everyone here. There was no Australia’s Reserve Forces need to call for volunteers to reply to the kids – everyone wanted the chance to say thanks for the thoughts. “I would particularly like to thank their school teacher, Mrs Bell, for taking the time and trouble to initiate this well-received gesture,” he said. Most of the letters and drawings What is RSL Legal Aid? The RSL Legal Aid Scheme is an initiative of the RSL in cooperation with National Legal Aid (NLA). It is a scheme designed to facilitate the provision of free legal information and preliminary legal advice to Australian Defence Force personnel wherever they may be serving. Information about civilian law is available from a number of sources, including legal aid commissions and law societies in each state and territory of Australia. Sometimes an understanding of the law relating to your problem will enable you to decide how best to handle it. Sometimes you may also need legal advice. The RSL Legal Aid Scheme is designed to help you obtain information about the law and preliminary advice about your problem. For information about how to access the scheme, visit the RSL website at: http://www.rsl.org.au have now been permanently placed around the headquarters so serving members and visitors can read them and smile when they read the interesting and humorous content of innocent children, asking innocent questions about the lives and roles of our Servicemen and women. Search for Hudson airmen AN AIR Force recovery team recently arrived in Papua New Guinea to search for the remains of four RAAF airmen whose Hudson bomber was lost during WWII. The team of nine, including two Air Force Reserve forensic specialists, travelled to an isolated moun- tain ridge inland from Gasmata, New Britain, where the wreck of Hudson A16-126 was located in thick jungle earlier this year. The team were undertaking the mission with support and assistance from the PNG Government and local villagers, and were planning to be in the area for about two weeks.
AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 Night Hawk wk heats up Top End By SQNLDR Kate Fox RAAF Base Tindal became the fictitious island of Vasaya when more than 140 Air Force personnel from around Australia honed their skills by participating in the vast range of activities that ncompassed Exercise Night Hawk 008 recently. The exercise aimed to establish an evacuee handling centre (EHC) and an expeditionary health facility level 2 (EHF2) within an air point of disembarkation (APOD). Several hundred ‘evacuees’ were processed through the EHC during the xercise. OIC Exercise Control (EXCON) GCDR Neville Donnelly and his staff ested the participants’ ability to achieve he air load, planning, administration, perations, intelligence, logistics support, orce protection, airfield engineering, atering and communications capabiliies of an Expeditionary Combat Support quadron (ECSS). 322ECSS was supported by Health ervices Wing’s (HSW’s) emergency health facility level 2, fire section, force protection headquarters, welfare element, field kitchen, airfield and ground engineering, logistics sustainment, air load eams, intelligence and communications. Personnel from HSW, No. 1 Airfield perations Support Squadron, No. 1 ombat Communications Squadron, 21ECSS, 322ECSS, 323ECSS, and ombat Support Units from RAAF Bases dinburgh, Richmond and Pearce took part in preparation for Northern ECSS (NECSS) ‘online’ period early in 2009. “I have full confidence that when the NECSS is online, we will be in a position where we can repeat our efforts in a foreign country, if we are called upon to do so,” CO 322ECSS WGCDR Rohan Gaskill said. “This has been a fantastic opportunity to develop as a cohesive unit. We achieved our mission and all participated admirably.” The exercise began with limited hostilities towards the participants, such as sporadic protests from locals against an Australian military presence in their country. It ended with the extraction of all participants because of increasing hostilities. “Exercise Night Hawk demonstrated the NECSS ability to deploy anywhere in the world, at short notice and support air operations in an austere, threatening environment,” OC 396ECSW GPCAPT Peter Viggers said. “The exercise was supported by Tindal and Darwin staff and families who provided realism to the evacuation task – drunken footballers and very young children challenged the NECSS team. “The exercise was a clear success. NECSS personnel exercised hard, significantly improved their ability to deploy, and supported an expeditionary hospital facility; all in a hot, dusty and dry environment. NECSS coped with all this, did it without significant injury and had a good time along the way,” he said. Defence Force Credit Union Limited ABN 57 087 651 385 AFSL 234582 News Think bigger with our low rate personal loans Whether you’re after a pool, a holiday or even a new kitchen, with a Defcredit Personal Loan you can afford to take the plunge and splash out on the fi nishing touches. Our fully featured personal loans can offer you: • A competitive rate to keep your monthly payments lower • No early repayment fees so you can pay it off as quick as you like • Choice of repayments that won’t restrict your current lifestyle. Think bigger with our low rates. To apply, log onto www.defcredit.com.au visit your local Defcredit branch or call 1800 033 139. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request. DEF1240_NSC 5 ALL SECURE: Above, ACW Ammy Nemeth scans civilians as they pass through an airfield evacuation point during the exercise at RAAF Base Tindal. Personnel from RAAF Bases Edinburgh, Richmond and Pearce also deployed for Night Hawk and were aided by family members playing the role of civilian evacuees. TAKING CHARGE: Left, 322ECSS personnel are given orders by SQNLDR Sean Hollings as they regroup during the exercise. Photos: FLTLT Zac Sherwood
Page 1 and 2: AIR FORCE Vol. 50, No. 19, October
Page 3: AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 News AME
Page 7 and 8: AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 News ‘
Page 9 and 10: AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 Bruce le
Page 11 and 12: AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 History
Page 13 and 14: AIR FORCE October 16, 2008 LOADED B
Page 15 and 16: 2008 Defence Force Air Show AIR FOR
Page 17 and 18: 18 Flightline AIR FORCE October 16,
Page 19 and 20: 20 Cadets Corner AIR FORCE October
Page 21 and 22: Don’t forget... another important
Page 23 and 24: 24 Lifestyle AIR FORCE October 16,
Page 25 and 26: 26 Sport AIR FORCE October 16, 2008
Page 27: SPORT October 16, 2008 Inside: ■

Amberley goes on show in style - Department of Defence

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