In 2001 I deployed to East Timor for the first time. It was a United Nations Peace Keeping mission named UNTAET, and our task was to continue protecting the people of East Timor after the terrible violence in 1999. Our Patrol Base was in Bobonaro which is in a very beautiful mountainous region of East Timor. I was lucky enough to learn the Tetum language before we deployed so I had a vast number of interactions with the locals. It was the first time in my life that I witnessed extreme poverty. Beneath the poverty lived people that seemed happy with the simple things that they had, and they loved our presence.
The day I had to leave, this group of kids ran after our vehicle shouting out my name and the name of my mate who was always with me. They couldn’t really comprehend that we had to leave, and it was sad to have to do that.
Most of the time in Timor we wore blue U.N caps and we patrolled within the communities; however, sometimes we conducted clandestine patrols where we had to use more detailed Infantry tactics. On this patrol we walked by night for two nights into an area overlooking the West Timor border in an attempt to intercept militia groups. We spent about eight days on the border in torrential rain and extreme humidity. In this picture I am with our Timorese interpreter named Sippy. At the time I think this was one of the most arduous tasks that I had conducted in the Army.
I was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 2005 and in 2007 I returned to East Timor as a Section Commander. This time we were based in Dili, and we patrolled daily in the city to control the violence which had escalated again in 2006. This time it was more to do with the high rates of unemployment and the creation of gangs within Dili, rather than militia forces entering the country. It was a very busy time and a lot of us were beginning a period where we were deployed three times in quick succession. In this photo I am with my second in command, and you can see the graffiti which was very common. Sometimes we would see religious murals as the locals were mainly Catholics due to the colonisation by the Portuguese.
At the end of 2007 I deployed to Baghdad on Security Detachment 12. Our role was to defend the Australian Embassy, and to protect the DFAT workers in Baghdad. We were in the International Green Zone in Baghdad, and it was so exciting to be in a country so different from home. You would hear the prayers from the Mosques through the air, and the sounds of rockets and gun battles, which were raging on the edges of that area.
As we were on a diplomatic mission, the force protection standards were very high and it served as a great lead up to the future Afghanistan deployment. This platoon photo (above) was special as it signified the end of our deployment, and it was fulfilling to get everyone home safely.
You would hear the prayers from the Mosques through the air, and the sounds of rockets and gun battles
In 2010 I deployed to Afghanistan on Mentoring Taskforce 1. Our mission was to mentor the Afghan Army on war-like operations. Our task force was split up into mentoring teams and we lived side by side with the Afghan soldiers out in the rural areas, on the edge of what was called the Green Zone. As you can see, we lived in an elevated position overlooking the farming lands. This is where all the opium was produced, as well as wheat, fruit, and other sustainable crops. The Green Zone was bordered by desert and extreme mountain ranges. It was beautiful but very dangerous. We patrolled through the valleys every couple of days. Apart from seeing things like tractors and motorbikes, the lifestyle out there was similar to biblical times. This photo is of the Tangi Valley, which is where the Battle of Derapet took place, and where Dan Keighran earnt his Victoria Cross for Australia.
This photo was taken on the 20th of August, 2010 at our Patrol Base Anar Juy, Tangi Valley. We had been informed during the day that two Australian soldiers from our task force had died due to an IED strike that day. The two soldiers were friends with many of us and it was terrible news to receive. In the evening we all gathered on the top of our patrol base, and we fired off two illumination para-flares. As they drifted off in the distance, we said a few words and made some reflections about our mates that had died. We were living in extreme conditions, and this was as close as we would get to a funeral service. It meant a lot to create some symbology.
Little did we know at the time, four days later we would be firing off another illum round after Jared McKinney died in the Battle of Derapet. This time it was a battle that we all took part in.
East Timor
East Timor
Tangi Valley
Baghdad, Apache Helicopter
Patrol Base Anar Juy, Tangi Valley
