Brad was approached by The Twin Town Times to offer his perspective as a modern day soldier; the following expresses his feelings on what it is like to serve your country in today’s Army.
“I served in the Australian Army for 7 years in The Royal Australian Infantry Corps. I was based at 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane. During my service, I was deployed to Iraq on Operation Catalyst (Over Watch Battle Group West 4 (OBW4) in Nov 07 to Jun 08) and to Afghanistan on Operation Slipper (Mentoring Task Force 1 (MTF1) in Feb 2010 to Oct 2010). Although I have now discharged from the Army, I remain an Active Reservist.
Today’s Army carries on a tradition steeped in the core values of courage, initiative, respect and teamwork. What binds these values together is an icon of Australian history – the rising sun badge. While the rising sun has evolved over time, every soldier that wears it carries on the proud tradition of service to the nation and is inspired by the ANZAC tradition of fairness and loyalty to their mates. This is one of the reasons I enlisted, the other being that I was in need of a challenge and a rewarding career. As I found out quickly, there is no such thing as a typical day in the Army; it is always different and exciting. Life on base is very rewarding, early finishing times, great food, benefits, and facilities for just about every sport imaginable. Being a solider is anything but average; in serving your country you are doing your duty loyally without thought, recognition or gain.
Deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan were entirely different experiences, but both involved patrolling in subzero temperatures and the extreme heat of 50 degrees. Both of these deployments were for a period of 8 months, working alongside coalition forces, Americans, Dutch and French. You get to know your mates extremely well from working, sleeping, eating and doing physical training with them week in, week out. To get to know someone like this in civilian world would take years.
Operation Catalyst – OBW4’s task was a key security and training role enabling the people of Iraq to take responsibility for their own security. Operation Slipper – MTF-1 was tasked with counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with the United States, Dutch and other coalition forces, operating from a number of patrol bases in the Mirabad, Baluchi, Chora and Tangi valleys. We also trained and mentored the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade in Uruzgan province, and built the capacity of the Afghan National Police to assist with civil policing function in Uruzgan. MTF-1 was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for sustained outstanding service in warlike operations on Operation Slipper in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, between 20 January and 30 October 2010.
Being in the Army not only means being deployed overseas, you can be deployed within Australia as well. Whilst in Brisbane, 6RAR were deployed to assist in the clean-up after the Brisbane/South East Queensland floods. We worked as many as 22 hours in a day before the floodwaters finally peaked, clearing mud and debris from the streets. We performed tasks such as sandbagging and casualty evacuation, before changing our focus to reopen Brisbane’s flood-devastated roads.
Things that were fun in Army life were having a ball with your mates whenever you were together; you could turn any situation into a fun time. Also playing all of the different sports that were on offer and loads of training. The hardest thing was being away from my wife and children for extended amounts of time. All this couldn’t have been possible without the love and support of my beautiful wife Carrie, who has been beside me the whole way. The Army was everything I asked for and more. I encourage anyone that is interested in joining to call the Defence Force Recruiting Centre on 13 19 01, or I would be happy to speak to anyone that is interested and to help out in any way I can.
Anzac Day to me is Australia’s most significant day of the year. Anzac Day is a time to reflect and to remember those who have served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in all conflicts to preserve our freedom. The trumpet playing the ‘Last Post’, the reading of the Ode, and the one minute’s silence gives me the chance to reflect on the Spirit of the ANZAC, and what it means for Australia. I now live in Harden with my wife Carrie and two gorgeous girls Evie and Lola. I work for a company called Executive Risk Solutions in the Mining Industry. Although I have discharged I do miss the Army lifestyle, great mates and the comradeship.
