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A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy

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- 147 –<br />

The highlight of the deployment was a concert in Honiara in front of more than 20,000<br />

people. The <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Navy</strong> (RAN) Band contingent comprised musicians from the<br />

Melbourne and Sydney detachments and presented a high energy program performed<br />

entirely from memory.<br />

The success of the recent deployment to the MEAO, also sponsored by FACE, should not be<br />

understated. The 19 strong RAN Band contingent comprising members from the Sydney and<br />

Melbourne detachments, Defence Force School of Music and my Headquarters, completed<br />

25 performances over a 16 day period in eight separate locations moving more than three<br />

and a half tonnes of equipment. This was in addition to the four days of in theatre military<br />

training. There were twelve major concerts (where civilian artists joined the band) with<br />

performance times ranging from one and a half to three hours. The entire program was<br />

performed from memory with a high level of chorography. An additional three and a half<br />

hours were required for the set up and pack down. The band gave a truly magnificent<br />

contribution to our <strong>Australian</strong> and Coalition Forces during the important holiday season. We<br />

learned a great deal, from an organisational and individual level, from the operational<br />

experience and by using all of the additional equipment that was purchased specifically for<br />

the deployment.<br />

Of the 98 current serving personnel we now have 33 entitled to wear the <strong>Australian</strong> Active<br />

Service Medal; eight of whom are also entitled to wear the campaign medal. Furthermore,<br />

a high percentage of our people have now served at sea and we continue to provide a very<br />

impressive output for <strong>Navy</strong>.<br />

For all who have been working at the forefront of our activities and for those working in<br />

support of those activities, I extend a hearty thanks and well done.<br />

TOUR DE FORCE<br />

A Musical Spectacular from the Land Down Under<br />

Article by Lieutenant Michelle Coleman, RAN<br />

After the build up of Force Preparation training, Steyr training and range practice, along<br />

with the music rehearsals, it was finally time to depart for our deployment to the Middle<br />

East. The 19 members of the <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Navy</strong> Band that were selected for this tour<br />

joined with a mixture of feelings, however the overriding one was of an excited<br />

anticipation.<br />

The flight to the Middle East, whilst long, was relatively comfortable. Food was plentiful<br />

and the troops enjoyed the attention of the flight attendants. None of the civilian artists<br />

were with us at this point, so we had a bit more of a chance over the first week to get<br />

ourselves a little more organised and rehearsed. The first few days were taken up with<br />

more training and acclimatisation. Luckily the temperature during the day was lovely, but<br />

there was a noticeable difference as soon as the sun set. Even within the first week, nights<br />

and early mornings became noticeably colder as the area headed into the coldest months of<br />

the year. Dotted in between the training, all of the groups were able to rehearse. The loss<br />

of conditioning even after such a small break was apparent to us all. The last day of<br />

training involved a four hour shoot at one of the local ranges which was a great experience.<br />

The bandies got some great results from the bulk shoot, although we did have the<br />

assistance of some infantry soldiers that were also training with us. Although a wonderful<br />

experience it was also a very tiring one.<br />

Not too long after the last lecture it was time for the first gig. The jazz group performed<br />

for an evening BBQ within the <strong>Australian</strong> camp in Kuwait, which went down really well.<br />

After eating American ‘chow hall’ food for four days, it was great to have a barbeque and<br />

with ‘Near Beer’ (non-alcoholic beer) included, the setting was complete.<br />

The next day, Sunday, ten members of the contingent participated in three church services<br />

taking place in the camp’s chapel. The brass quintet and choir performed for a Protestant,<br />

Contemporary Christian and Catholic service, which, by their very nature, were extremely<br />

varied. Mixed in with this was a one hour carols sing-along. The audiences were quite small;<br />

but extremely appreciative. It was a very long day, and we all felt it, both mentally and<br />

physically by the end of the evening.<br />

<strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Navy</strong> Band: A Musical Voyage

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