Why picking fights in the street is a bad idea

Bwahahahaha! That is all.

TWO drunken yobs tried to start a fight with three strangers - who turned out to be the military's most decorated hard men.

The thugs, who had a Staffordshire bull terrier with them, got a surprise comeuppance after hurling abuse at the smartly-suited trio in a street.

They had no idea their intended "victims" were a hero Royal Marine, an Army captain and a VC-winning SAS hero.

The louts pushed and shoved the three men, attempting to provoke them into a punch-up.

After ignoring polite advice to "walk away" they suddenly found themselves on their backs while their vicious-looking dog fled yelping.

L/Cpl Matt Croucher, 26, and Captain Peter Norton, 47, both George Cross winners, were walking through central London with Aussie Cpl Mark Donaldson, 31, after a reception at Buckingham Palace. Though they were in civilian clothes they were wearing their medals on their chests.

A witness to the incident said: "It was a case of yobs picking on the wrong people.

"After they ended up on the ground the guys just calmly adjusted their suits and walked off."

Three genuine peace activists murdered

No, I'm not referring to the recent tragic news of the three Australian SF soldiers recently killed in a helicopter accident. Accidents will happen when machines and men are pushed to their limits in an environment of threat, and while their deaths are a tragedy, it is hardly worthy of the fury of speculation as to the future of Australia's commitment to the war in Afghanistan. If anything, it is slightly unbecoming for the deaths of three men whose commitment to the objectives of this war can hardly be questioned to be used as a catalyst for discussion of the abandonment of those same objectives. Their sacrifice ought to be honoured and serve as a reminder of the deadly seriousness of the endeavour and to steel the resolve of our leaders to see that their sacrifice was not in vain.

The three genuine peace activists I refer to in the title are the three UN Peacekeepers killed in a random action in the western region of Darfur on Monday. The peacekeepers were providing protection to civilian engineers when they were attacked. This latest attack takes the toll of UN Peacekeepers killed in Darfur to 27 since the UN took over the operation from the African Union in 2007.

In contrast to the agent provocateurs who committed suicide by IDF Commando on the Mediterranean several weeks ago, these genuine peace activists will go unmourned by the world media because they were killed by Islamic bandits and not teh evil Juice.

Why just the officers?

ADF to drug test officers

Media to blame for Defence secrecy

The Daily Telegraph has run a story on the apparent secrecy around wounded ADF members returning from operations overseas. The thrust of the story is that Defence is trying to keep quiet the wounds that are being received over there. The story leads in with this line:

With opinion polls indicating Australians are divided over our involvement in Afghanistan, the Australian Defence Force's handling of casualties has come under scrutiny.

It has come under scrutiny from whom, the DT? The people getting upset at the lack of blood and gore horror stories coming from Afghanistan are the salivating media. The stories will come out, but rushing that through so that the Australian media scrum can onanate over the tragic circumstances of a wounded digger is not high on the list of priorities.

Wounded Australian soldiers, some having faced amputations and long-term suffering, are recuperating in facilities around the country, but the public seldom hears their stories.

Very true, the primary concern is the treatment and rehabilitation of the wounded. In order to achieve that, Defence go to significant lengths to make sure they are left alone by anyone not from their intimate circle of family and friends, or involved in their administration or their treatment. That includes nosy reporters having a slow news day.

The stories of the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan will come out. Some already have. The rest will happen when the wounded themselves are ready to tell their stories. Defence won't throw them in the deep end and feed them to the press, no matter how much that infuriates them.

A new Kokoda VC winner?

I was pointed in the direction of this article in the Mt Druitt Standard. From the text:

AN Aboriginal recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) is unheard of but on Anzac Day, two young Aboriginal boys from Bidwill stood out as they marched from Rooty Hill to Pinegrove Memorial Park, Minchinbury.

True, there have been no Aboriginal VC winners, although I would be pleased to be corrected if I am mistaken. The article goes on though:

Their mother, Bernie, says the medals
belong to her grandfather, Frederick Charles Perry.

Ms Zammit told the Mt Druitt-St Marys
Standard that her grandfather served in the 39th (Hawthorn Kew Regiment) and
53rd battalions in Kokoda.

She said he died in 1974 without anyone
in his family knowing anything about his accomplishments.

She said she only discovered her own
indigenous background 10 years ago and had since fought to be given Mr Perry's
service medals.

She said she had no idea he had received a VC.

"Back then black fellas never got their medals and no one in my family had ever claimed his," she said.

"I had to push to get them and I only got them a week before Anzac Day.

Here's where it gets interesting. There is no Frederick Charles Perry, VC. The list of Australian VC winners is here. In fact, there are only two people of that name on the WWII Nominal Roll. Given the benefit of the doubt that her grandfather ever served in New Guinea, it must have been this Frederick Charles Perry. His service details have him as a driver with the 2/47 Australian Transport Platoon, with no honours or awards that fit the National Archive criteria for display (which would include a VC).

Why would someone make a claim to something so demonstrably refutable?

Peace Convergence Update

Seven protesters from the “Peace Convergence” have knowingly trespassed into the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in an attempt to disrupt Exercise Talisman Sabre 09. While the bulk of the exercise will involve the use of blank ammunition, there are elements that will be live – that is that real bullets and bombs that go bang. I do hope that they don’t get themselves blown into tiny little hippie pieces, because the human being who launched the ordinance in the honest belief that he was firing into a safe area would have that on his conscience for the rest of his life, regardless of any actual culpability for the stupid actions of the morally retarded.

There is a familiar name on the list, and quite frankly I’m surprised he’s managed to haul his quite generous frame anywhere more demanding than the savoury snacks aisle at 7-11.

Guest post at OSK

Kae asked me to write a guest post for Ocean, Sky and Khaki; a site set up to provide information to people interested in sending care packages to deployed soldiers. It is a great idea, and a great way of showing your support for those Australians a long way from home in harm’s way. The post can be found here if you’re interested.

Vale Ted Kenna VC

Edward (Ted) Kenna, the last surviving Australian VC winner from the Second World War has died. I met Ted Kenna once at the Army Centenary Dinner in March 2001. He was a really genuinely nice bloke. I’m sure that night is one that he would have remembered with great fondness. There were 1901 serving and retired officers and soldiers at that dinner. Before the entree was served, the three surviving VC winners were announced. Sir Arthur (Roden) Cutler, Edward (Ted) Kenna, and Keith Payne entered the room to a standing ovation. As the import of the moment hit all those in attendance, the applause grew to a crescendo, and then some. It didn’t just die out either. It maintained its tempo and, if anything, grew as they walked past the assembled diners to take their seats.

In the Canberra Convention Centre that night, the current generation of the Australian Army showed their appreciation for the legacy they had been given. There were some moist eyes there that night, not only on the faces of the three heroes in our midst. I am grateful not only for having met him that night, but for having been present for such an outpouring of admiration, respect, and gratitude to men who had truly demonstrated the ANZAC Spirit. I know that when Ted Kenna left us, he knew that he held a special place in our history and in our hearts.

I’ve mentioned local radio station 4ZZZ before. In preparing to write this piece I went back to that post, and found some lovely little comments that had escaped my attention when they were written. In light of the fact that ladies sometimes drop in here, I’ll remove some of the explicit vulgarity.

Anonymous said...
you are a stupid c**t. I hope you die in the trenches for your sh**ty cuntry you c**k
November 8, 2008 8:25 AM

Anonymous said...
blow sh*t up...
kill people...
nuclear waste everywhere...
yay what a happy world!!
what better things do you have to do? bash queers? do doughnuts in your clean efficient ute whilst yelling abuse at minoirty or fringe groups?
you're a real stand up guy!!
November 8, 2008 5:38 PM

Charming and erudite. Now that we have set the tone, I’ll broach the topic at hand, the upcoming protest against Exercise Talisman Sabre 09 (Ex TS09).
Ex TS09 is the biennial exercise conducted between the ADF and the US Armed Forces. It provides the opportunity to train in a reasonably benign environment in case it becomes necessary to do it for real somewhere else. Aside from the usual collective training benefits that come from exercises of this scale, the opportunity to train with our allies from across the Pacific provides many rewards. Not only does it give individuals the chance to foster personal and professional relationships with personnel from our major strategic ally and to exchange ideas on the profession of arms, it also provides the opportunity to synchronise systemic functions and ensure that when the ADF and the US military are doing it for real, they do so with the advantage of familiarity.

What has this to do with 4ZZZ and the charming fellow who left anonymous droppings on my blog? As I was driving back to work after lunch, I was flicking through radio stations. I paused when I hit 4ZZZ just as the announcer for their “Anarchy Hour” show was introducing their (wo)man on the ground in Shoalwater Bay. It seems that after their little “workshop” (I still hate that term) in Brisbane last year, they have managed to follow through and are planning a series of protests over the next few weeks. A number of things struck me as particularly ill informed throughout the interview, which was just about as hard hitting as Kerry O’Brien with Kevin Rudd.

Firstly, the talking head kept referring to Operation Talisman Sabre. Now, I’m only a lowly servant of the Australian people who goes where he’s told when he’s told, but if I was going to devote a month of my life to opposing a particular activity, I would at least find out what it was called. As I mentioned in the last piece on this topic, words have meanings. That may not seem important when you are just regurgitating Uni Co-op talking points, but it is. An operation, in the military sense, is real. In the least threatening scenario, it means providing aid to people who have just lived through a natural disaster (Op Sumatra Assist, Op Larry Assist etc) or just a lifetime of neglect (Op Outreach). In the conventional sense, it means real bullets, real wounds and real dead people. An operation therefore, should not be confused with an exercise. An exercise is just that – practice. At the end of it, everybody packs up and goes home. I guess operation just sounds cooler when you’re dealing with perennial adolescents.

The main pitch seemed to be against “warmongering”. The rationale seems to be that by hampering this exercise, they can promote peace. This is a fairly naive position. Look at it this way, what happens if they achieve their goal and the exercise is cancelled? Will that end the war in Afghanistan? Will it prevent another Iraq? No. All they will have achieved is to deny an opportunity for all involved to learn some valuable lessons that may one day save their lives. Because that is what an exercise is for, to learn. If they were to achieve their aims, all they would be doing is to ensure that Australian servicemen and women who do end up in Afghanistan or some other theatre of operations, are not as well trained and prepared as they should be, and any death or casualty should then upon their conscience be.

There was also a point made about how abhorrent it was that the Army had conducted an Open Day in Rockhampton and exposed children to the equipment of the ADF. No link is provided for a transcript at 4ZZZ so I can’t quote verbatim, but there was a statement that ran along the lines of “these things are killing machines, not toys”. In fact, they are neither. They are tools. A tank is an inert object. Without a human in it, it is a lump of very expensive metal. What it does depends entirely upon the crew. It can be used for great good, to shield civilians from sniper fire, or to blow the hell out of a protected fire position from which said sniper is engaging his targets. It can also be used to run down a lone protester defying leftist tyranny. It has no soul or conscience or self awareness. It is a tool. Exposure to hardware and the people who operate it is the first step in de-mystifying it and hopefully mitigating the visceral response like that which the interviewee demonstrated.

There was also concern expressed about the fact that the military would be using civilian infrastructure. Well knock me down with a feather, really? What else are they going to use? We don’t have large scale military ports, certainly not anywhere near where the exercise is taking place. Both the Port of Brisbane and Port of Gladstone are government owned. Why then would another government agency (admittedly in this case a Federal Department) be denied access to the infrastructure, particularly when the Qld Govt will be sending the bill to the Federal Govt? Somehow though, the military is imbued with such evil menace, that the very use of civilian infrastructure will somehow contaminate it. It is all very sad really.

The last part of the interview concerned the environment. Now, admittedly, an M1 will make short work of a Lesser Known Purple Spotted Bandicoot, should it be silly enough not to run away at the sound of gas turbine engines, but hey – isn’t that what Darwin was talking about? On a more serious note, Shoalwater Bay Training Area has been a military asset for over 40 years. In that time, the areas around it have been developed and altered. SWBTA has been recovering from mining and cattle farming since Army took possession. It is now a pristine wilderness area. It is pristine because the only people that use are the military. The ADF has very strict regulations about the use of the range and the minimisation of damage to the environment. It is quite a pain really, but that is what is required to maintain the range as a training area for years to come. The ADF is accountable for any environmental damage that occurs in SWBTA. The same cannot be said for Parks and Wildlife. How culpable are environmental vandals in National Parks once they have left? What recourse do Park Rangers have to prosecute offenders once they are safely back at home with no-one the wiser who set fire to the Lesser Known Purple Spotted Bandicoot’s log? Defence maintains permanent Range Control Officers who live in the training area. They are directly responsible for the maintenance of the environmental integrity of the range. They also know which unit was where and when. This means that should there be any damage to the range, they know who to go and find. This is quite a strong deterrent to anyone thinking they might get away with bending the rules and ignoring the regulations. The SWBTA Environment Report 2008 contains all of the details. Read it if you’d like.

Finally they got to the nuclear angle. Concern was expressed as to whether nuclear powered vessels would utilise the same civilian infrastructure mentioned earlier. Now, I don’t know how familiar these people are with nuclear powered naval vessels, but one of the great advantages of that particular type of propulsion is that they don’t have to refuel. The US, aware of the fact that berthing an aircraft carrier at Brisbane Wharf would likely incite these people to random acts of stupidity, is unlikely to drop the crew off for shore leave. If they do, it will likely be done by “Liberty Boat”, a tender that will ferry them to and from the ship anchored well away from the crowds of smelly hippies.

In the end, I wasted ten minutes of my life that I will never get back again, listening to the ill-informed ranting of a middle-aged petulant adolescent. I am therefore not surprised that a like-minded drone dropped such infantile droppings in my comments section.

War is hell

I was going through my photos from overseas, and found this gem. The thermometer was in our kitchen/dining area which was protected from the elements by a shade cloth. The two temperatures shown are inside in the shade and outside in the sun. I don't think it needs any more explanation than that.

To paraphrase Robyn Williams - It's so damn hot, I saw these little guys in the man-dress and the silly little hats burst into flames. It's that hot! Do you know what I'm talking about?

I'm home.

I am home at last. I am currently taking some leave and reacquainting myself with Sharpe Jr, Mrs Sharpe, and the dishlickers. I am revelling in just the simple things, like constant power and running water. I have only asked Mrs Sharpe whether the water is running once when going to have a shower. I am also slowly adjusting to the idea that I’m home for good (well, for the foreseeable future anyway), and not going back when my leave finishes. I am also getting over that dislocated sensation of waking up in my own bed and not being sure where I am.

I won’t blog in any detail about the deployment. Not that any particular aspect was so harrowing that I don’t want to discuss it, but because I want to leave it alone for a while and just focus on being back at home. Suffice to say that if I have any sway in the matter, the next time I deploy will not be as part of a large international organisation mired in its own bureaucracy and ineptitude that allows civilians to run operations from in-theatre for purely political aims that ignore the military situation. Enough said.

Many thanks to all who send messages of support and especially to those who sent care packages, the constituents of which were put to very good use. In particular, the pre-dawn traditions on ANZAC Day would have been sorely lacking without them.

Civilisation at last!

Having heard the sweet sound of the half-time whistle, I have returned home for a brief respite before I head back overseas. I have been keeping a fairly low profile, just enjoying the break. I have taken advantage of the myriad of luxuries that have been unavailable for the past few months, mostly beer and a great variety of products that were formerly a pig. Ham, bacon, pork, prosciutto and any other porcine products are being consumed with great gusto in preparation for the second half.

I am also enjoying becoming reacquainted with Sharpe Jr, Mrs Sharpe, and the dishlickers. It is really quite surreal to be back in Australia in my home with the family. I still have a momentary double-take when I wake up. I guess I’ll just be used to being here when I have to turn around and go back. The dishlickers went into a happiness frenzy when I walked in the door, lots of running about in circles whining with tails going so fast they were in danger of achieving flight. Sharpe Jr took a little longer to warm up, although that was only to be expected. Mrs Sharpe is very happy, although at the same time knows that it will be short lived and I will have to go away again soon.

One of the great, although slightly disturbing pleasures, is to walk into a supermarket. The range of products just fills me with joy. I keep walking up the aisle finding things and thinking “Gee, if only I could get that overseas!” I am also enjoying driving on the correct side of the road from the right side of the car. It is also novel not having to pick the route of least discomfort through the sand and potholes whilst dodging donkeys, goats, and the locals (the latter often riding the former).

To those who have been sending messages of support, and especially to those who have sent care packages, I thank you. BOAB will be pleased to know that his parcel was a hit. The iced tea he sent was a particular favourite, and was shared out appropriately.

Things will be tense when I get back. There are political/strategic moves afoot that will have a big impact locally. It should keep me busy enough. The second half, by design, will be shorter that the first, so I am now over the “hump”. I also have a little more leave to take, which I will take locally, by which I mean that I will take advantage of being in that part of the world to visit some people and places that would otherwise be unaffordable and imminently impractical.
I still try and follow what goes on in the rest of the world, so keep up the good fight, and keep your powder dry.

Still Alive

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am still alive and well. I am currently in an area that allows me to access the internet with more than the slowest and faintest of signal. This is not the case in my usual abode, which suffers from a distinct lack of modern conveniences - a usable internet connection being one of those. Added to that, all my Blogger settings default to Arabic, which makes it a bit of a guessing game to operate. My respite will be short lived, so I will revert to radio silence again shortly.

Conditions are very basic and some inventiveness is required to make the situation tolerable. I and some accomplices were able, through some nefarious means, to avoid some of the more onerous aspects of local law to at least enjoy Christmas and New Years in a suitable fashion. Unfortunately, a nice baked ham was not on the menu on Christmas day, and I would still kill for a greasy bacon and egg breakfast. It is always a challenge being away from home over the Christmas/New Year period, but we made the best of what we had and there was a lot of support from Australia. I commend the good people of the Wagga Wagga District National Servicemen’s Association for initiating the “Message to the Troops” program. I received a number of quite heartfelt messages from that area of NSW on Christmas Day.

I still have some time to go before I will be able to take leave, but it is something to which I am already looking forward. To those who posted messages of support when I left, I thank you. I won’t be blogging about this deployment in any detail, and I’m sure most of you understand why that is. Suffice to say it is quite challenging on a number of levels, and that it has been an eye-opening experience.

Keep up the good work in my absence. When time and internet connection permits, I do try and follow what’s going on around the intertubes. I just lack the ability to contribute myself.

Duty Calls

They stand in the terminal as I wave them goodbye
Trying to hide the tear in my eye
Looking forlorn with my son in her arms
She certainly doesn’t seem quite so shy

For my part I know the risks I will face
For her part that certainly isn’t the case
All on her own with my son in her arms
It’s the challenge at home for which she must brace

It is domestic routine and daily grind
On her own the fortitude she must find
Facing the world with my son in her arms
The wife that soldier has left behind

There are dangers and hardships and perils ahead
Enough to fill ordinary people with dread
But at home on her own with my son in her arms
Is where all my thoughts and my fears will be led

Alone in the crowd as we said our goodbyes
The fear and the dread were clear in her eyes
An island of us with our son in our arms
With grief and great purpose I took to the skies


Completely unrelated to the previous post. Postings will be light, or in fact non-existent, for some time. It will depend on internet connection where I’ll be. Sharpe out.

Brisbane's storm

After spending a long time living in the Top End, and dealing with big storms as a part of life, the storm last night in Brisbane was a bit of an eye opener. Not so much because of the ferocity of the storm, it was not any worse than scores we went through in Darwin, but because of the damage it caused. The North-West of Brisbane was flattened. Trees litter the roadways, and power lines are draped in tangled piles where they fell. Roads are closed. Power has been cut to tens of thousands. Roofs and whole houses are destroyed, and cars sit flattened under the shattered trunks of gum trees. I’ve seen cyclones in the Top End do less damage. I guess all the trees that were going to blow over in Darwin in a storm, already have.

To whom does a city in need turn when things are grim? Initially to the stalwart volunteers of the SES and other groups who battled through the night to clear major thoroughfares and provide aid the most urgent cases. They did a fantastic job. The extent of the damage and the amount they had achieved overnight was impressive. When the cold light of day revealed the trail of destruction wrought by the storm, it was to the “gunhedz” as described by Bryla at Blair’s, the Brisbane City Council turned to for help. The North-West is an area that Defence Housing Australia has heavily invested in, which means that the area hardest hit was an area that many of the soldiers who were tasked with responding to the request live. They have families at home dealing with the damage from the storm, but they were, and still are, out in the rain conducting clean-up and repair. Their families are still at home, without power and now without clean water. The argument could be made that because they live in the area, they are acting in their own self-interest. This would be a very shallow analysis. They are tasked according to priorities set by the SES and Brisbane City Council. Whilst other families were stocking up on the provisions required to carry on without electricity for an unknown period, and cleaning up and setting their own homes in order, the soldiers were out clearing trees and debris, and conducting repairs to the most badly damaged homes. I, like most people, would have put family as a higher priority than community in the initial post-disaster effort.

Power to the Sharpe residence has only now been restored, some 28 hours after it went out. Many still don’t have electricity. Energex, the successor to SEQEB, warns that some homes may be without power for up to three days. We were fully anticipating that would be the case. All preparations for a protracted period of Third-worldliness made, it was almost with a sense of anti-climax that the lights flickered on and the fans began to rotate again. The eskies were full (of food and er...other essentials). A stockpile of candles had been procured and some lit. We were enjoying a game of Trivial Pursuit in the dim silence, when we were suddenly thrust back into the 21st Century. Despite some wistfulness, the next time Mrs Sharpe can boil a kettle for young Sharpe Jr’s breakfast instead of boiling a pot of water on the BBQ, she’ll be grateful for the modern wonder of electricity.

Remembrance Day hijacked by narcissistic Vietnam Vet

Being a proud former member of the Royal Australian Regiment, I went to the Remembrance Day ceremony today at the RAR Memorial Walk. The ceremony went along the normal sort of lines, there was a Catafalque Party from the 8th/9th Battalion, the 6th Battalion were all there, there were some speeches, some wreaths were laid, The Last Post was played, a minute of silence, and then Reveille. It was pretty standard, except for the speech from a member of the RAR Association who is a Vietnam Veteran. In the interest of brevity and coherence, both attributes the speaker sorely lacked, I’ll paraphrase in point form the speech that was made.

• Despite knowing about this speaking engagement for some weeks, I just penned a couple of ideas last night on the back of a beer coaster.

• War is bad m’kay. War will always happen while there are men with testosterone in charge of things (I shit you not, he actually said that)

• I was too poorly educated to know what I was getting myself in for when I went to Vietnam. I couldn’t even point it out on a map until it was pointed out for me on the ship on the way over. Even then I wasn’t really that interested.

• I am now a big fan of learning about history. I hate reading though, so I watch documentaries. I don’t have Pay TV, so I don’t get the History Channel, or National Geographic or Discovery, but I still watch whatever is on free-to-air, usually the ABC.

• I saw a good documentary the other night. It was about WWI (finally, are we approaching a point?). When Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith was in Germany (WTF?!) flying against the Germans, he didn’t know what he was fighting for.

• Then there was a British family and there were three boys and…….(A long story that had nothing to do with Australia at all followed. He rambled on for some time with no real discernable point, except that he tried to make out that “this is where we come from”.)

• I saw some of the current generation of soldiers once. They were from 2 RAR. They were smoking! One of them looked like my old Platoon Commander.

• I don’t agree with where you are serving or what you are doing, but you are doing a good job at it.

This bloke stood in front of a battalion of serving Australian infantrymen, with a collective operational resume that includes Somalia, Rwanda, Bougainville, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan, and made a weak political point about their service, At the same time, he managed to make a Remembrance Day speech that rambled vaguely about WWI, but generally talked about himself and his own experiences.

This is what really annoys me about certain elements of the Vietnam Veteran Community. Somehow, it all comes back to them. Whatever the topic, the conversation will inevitably come back to Vietnam. Not all Vietnam Vets suffer from the same blinkered view, but those that do spoil the reputation of the rest.

I can understand that if a soldier has only ever served on one operation, or in only one theatre, that their whole military experience is shaped by that particular set of circumstances. Every operation and every theatre is different. You can’t template every war from now until the end of time on Vietnam. I spent the first half of my military career exposed to that mindset. Things changed very quickly when it became apparent that the world had changed since the early seventies, and we needed to evolve - very quickly. A narrow breadth of experience does not excuse a closed minded view. It certainly does not excuse the tendency to anchor a whole personality to a single experience forty years ago, as terrible as that may have been.

Just after the first rotation had returned from East Timor, I went to an RSL for ANZAC Day with a bloke from 5/7 RAR who had only just come home. He had only been in Australia for such a short time that he hadn’t even been issued his medals for East Timor. All he had was an Infantry Combat Badge (ICB) that he proudly wore to his first ANZAC Day as a returned serviceman. As the afternoon wore on, and he had been heartily congratulated by a number of WWII Vets who had certainly learned their lesson about how to treat younger generations of soldiers, he was approached by a Vietnam Veteran. “What do you think you’re doing wearing that?” he was asked by a bloke tapping his ICB. “It’s all I’ve got at the moment” he replied, “we haven’t been issued our medals yet”. Then followed a long tirade about how East Timor wasn’t a real war, and that he’d assaulted bunker systems with no tank support and my mate had only been giving rice to villagers (not the actual term used to describe Asian people, but I don’t need to go into that). How dare this little upstart turn up on ANZAC Day wearing an ICB when he didn’t know what a real war was?

I would have thought that after the fairly atrocious treatment that soldiers returning from Vietnam received not only from the usual suspects on the left, but also from the WWII Veterans in organisations like the RSL, that Vietnam Veterans would be more accepting of the fact that all wars are different. All have their own challenges, dangers, restrictions, and indeed rewards. Judging someone else’s service against their own is exactly what the WWII Vets did to them. Using someone else’s service to make a political point is also what the left did to them when they got home.

Proud to be Australian

As a follow up from the post about the heroic actions of our SAS friend, here's a quick tune to remind us all of why we ought to be proud to be Australian. Enjoy.



h/t Blackfive

Suicide in the ADF

The Australian media have picked up on the common myth that the ADF is rife with bullied, suicidal soldiers. This old chestnut gets hauled out every time a member of the ADF commits suicide. Additionally, it gets wheeled out after every inquiry into said suicide, and then again when family members drag it up again. It’s a fairly natural response from members of the family who have lost a loved one. It’s a traumatic experience for all involved.

Whilst my heart goes out to anyone who has lost a family member or loved one through suicide, blaming the system is just an easy way out. Statistically, the ADF has a suicide rate about half that of the broader community. Given that the ADF targets and consists primarily of the peak demographic for suicide; that is an impressive achievement.

Admittedly, psychological screening on entry to the ADF does rule out some of those predisposed towards suicide, which would fudge the figures. On the other hand, members of the ADF are exposed to far greater stress situations than their civilian counterparts. By that, I’m not referring exclusively to the operational environment, as stressful as that is. There are also a number of other factors that create significant levels of stress and could lead to mental health problems.

The ADF targets its recruiting specifically at school leavers and young adults. The reason for that should be fairly self-evident. The training required to make the transition from civilian to soldier/sailor/airman is necessarily quite intense. These young people are taken out of their familiar environment and comfort zone, and exposed to a strict and sometimes overwhelming training environment designed specifically to prepare them for combat. Once that is complete, they are sent to another training institution for further development into their specific trade. Only then are they sent to a unit and life regains any semblance of normality, although that normality is not the world they left behind at the recruiting centre.

They are immersed in a world where discipline is key, where the chain of command controls almost every aspect of their lives. They are different people to what they once were. That is not to say they become inhuman. They will have friends like they never had before, people with whom they have conquered adversity and come out laughing on the other side. They are instilled with values like courage, initiative, teamwork and mateship.

At no stage in a military career can they expect to have what anyone else would refer to as a “normal” lifestyle. They are expected to maintain a high degree of fitness. An injury can cause serious career problems from that perspective. They can expect to move every 3-4 years, sometimes more frequently than that. Not across suburbs, but interstate and occasionally overseas, and often to remote locations away from their family and friends. They can expect even in peacetime to be away from home for extended periods for exercises or courses. They can expect to work long hours for no additional remuneration. They can expect that as defence tries to save more money each year, that they will fill two or even three jobs at the same time. Then there is operational service.

Operational tours cause a whole raft of difficulties just in and of themselves. Six to eight months overseas in a dangerous environment with limited ability to communicate with loved ones and in almost always very basic living conditions is difficult enough. Throw in actual combat or situations that are beyond the realm of rational understanding, and it only gets worse. That is why significant effort is made to screen all returning servicemen for psychological trauma during and after a deployment, but no routine program will ever identify every problem that lies dormant in the subconscious.

That is why military training institutions are hard. They are designed to be so that they can prepare, as much as humanly possible, a person for the career they’ve chosen. It says a lot about the military in this country that even accounting for initial entry screening, the rate of suicide is still half that of the rest of the community. Remember that ADF members, whilst exposed to all of these additional stressors, are also still people, and will experience all of the usual emotional disasters that befall the rest of the community. Relationships will fail (more so than outside the military for all of the reasons stated above), there will be deaths in the family, and poor financial decisions will cause additional hardship.

There are a number of support mechanisms in the ADF to help people deal with all of these additional burdens. The Defence Community Organisation exists to help families cope with the demands of service life. There are equity advisers in every unit and formation and are outside of the chain of command to deal with complaints about harassment, bullying or unfair treatment. There are people trained specifically in suicide prevention. There is a medical system that is trained to deal with mental illness and a dedicated Australian Army Psychology Corps (with appropriate counterparts in the other two services). There are philanthropic organisations like the Salvation Army and the Everyman who deploy to the field and even overseas sometimes. There is the circle of mates that only ever grows throughout your time in the service, and of course there are the Padres.

The padres deserve their own special mention. Chaplains in the ADF are a very special breed. The churches of the world could take a leaf out of their book for the advancement of humankind. They live and breathe ecumenicalism. The unit padre might be a Catholic and you a Protestant, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, or devout Atheist; he couldn’t care less. When your world is turned upside down by absolutely anything from a fight with the missus to a close mate dying in your arms, the Padre will be the first by your side. He is often as filthy, wet and tired as you are, but he’ll make a hot brew and listen to you pour your heart out. He has powers that other officers couldn’t even comprehend. He’ll shirtfront Generals if need be, to see a problem resolved. Anyone who says that they had no one to turn to with a problem whilst serving in the ADF is either ignorant or lying, and from personal experience, it is very hard to be ignorant of the existence of the Chaplain.

Bullying does exist in the ADF, like it exists in any other workplace. Sometimes there is a fine line between discipline from a superior and bullying. Sometimes there is a fine line between training and bullying. It is worse in training institutions because they are necessarily hard. Some examples of workplace bullying have led to suicide. That is tragic. To tar the whole ADF for the few and isolated instances where that has taken place is ignorant, inaccurate, unfair and just plain lazy.

Take a VC out of petty cash

If this guy doesn't win a VC, there is no justice left in the system. Bravo Zulu brave son of ANZAC.

Hypocrisy or just blatant stupidity?

Listening to 4ZZZ is a bit like intercepting enemy transmissions that happen to be broadcast in clear. The latest cause is the upcoming Land Warfare Conference in Brisbane 27-31 Oct 08. They plan to try and stop the event taking place, much like they managed to achieve in Adelaide. If they can’t achieve that, they’ll be protesting outside the Brisbane Convention Centre for the duration of the conference. You’ve really got to admire their idealism naiveté stupidity. Do they really think that by protesting at a conference, they will deny the ADF the opportunity to discuss the future of Land Warfare, and by default, stop war from happening? Do they really think that by protesting at a conference they will stop DSTO and DMO from trialling and procuring new weapon systems for the ADF? Do they think that by denying the ADF the best in modern weaponry that they will prevent the ADF from doing the job that the government (currently a flavour they are so very fond of) dictates to it?

The next activity on the calendar is a workshop (I detest that term; words have meanings, a workshop is not a place where hippies gather to talk shit) that will deal with plans to make Qld nuclear free, and to discuss plans for disrupting Exercise Talisman Sabre 09, the biennial exercise between the ADF and the US.

I must confess to being a little conflicted about that one. If they have their way and get the exercise cancelled, it will save me months of work and several weeks living in the dirt at Shoalwater Bay. On the other hand, the exercise will provide the ADF and our US allies to exercise in a relatively benign environment before teaming up to do the real thing in far less accommodating environs. I also just can’t bring myself to put my own comfort and laziness over the dual prospect of seeing the ADF denied the biggest training activity for the next two years, and seeing reality starved hippies get their way.

The twisted logic of these people has managed to determine that a conference held by the sworn servants of their elected officials to improve the capability of the taxpayer funded ADF is something that should be shut down, but a workshop (aaarrgh!) to plan subversive activities to disrupt an exercise endorsed by the elected officials of the people of Australia, held the very next weekend, is fine and attendance should be encouraged. Power to the people, man!

In the interest of fairness, I propose that people in Brisbane opposed to the plans of the appeasers at Peace Convergence form their own protest group. I’m thinking the People Against Convergence Organisation. We could stage our own rally at the convention centre demanding the right of our elected officials and their legitimate employees and business partners to discuss better options for the employment of the ADF. We could also demand that they cancel their workshop smoke-in because it plans to hinder the operational capability of the ADF, impact on the capability of the ADF to operate in conjunction with our major ally, and deny Queenslanders the option of a cheaper and cleaner source of energy.

On second thoughts, I have better things to be doing on my weekend than trying to thwart the plans of an irrelevant and impotent fringe group.