Image Galleries
| February 2009 |
Defence continues cleanup |
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| Forces Entertainment Tour- Solomon Islands Seven performers donated their time and talent to entertain troops from South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia based 9th and 13th Brigades as part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Forces Entertainment Tour to Solomon Islands. (Date uploaded: 27 February - 08 images) View gallery |
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Quick Response Force in East Timor |
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Future upgrade of Super Hornets View Gallery |
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| Fleet Concentration Period Fleet Concentration Period 2009 is a comprehensive six-week training program which challenges and enhances RAN’s mariner and war-fighting skills. The activity also provides an opportunity for RAN ships to exercise with their Royal New Zealand Navy counterparts and improve interoperability. (Date uploaded: 26 February - 49 images) View Gallery |
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World's Greatest Shave in Darwin |
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Panther fire trucks at RAAF Base Tindal |
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| Digger treats elderly Afghan The support that the soldiers of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force provides to the people of Oruzgan Province, goes far beyond the obvious reconstruction, mentoring and security missions. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 04 images) View Gallery |
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| Operation Tura Ghar The Baluchi Valley region has long been a sanctuary for insurgents and during January and February of 2009 nearly 800 Australian, Afghan and Dutch soldiers participated in Operation Tura Ghar to remove the insurgent threat and create a better security situation in the region. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 49 images) View Gallery |
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| Insurgent caches located The 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force is successfully identifying and removing insurgent caches throughout its area of operations. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 17 images) View Gallery |
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| Afghanistan - where our troops work Afghanistan is a country of contrasts, harsh, yet beautiful, where our soldiers work in environments ranging from the desert to the lush green zones bordering the numerous waterways, which criss-cross the country. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 20 images) View Gallery |
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| Faces of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force As they pass the half way point of their eight month tour in southern Afghanistan, the men and women of the 1st Mentoring sand Reconstruction Task Force, continue to work tirelessly in their varied roles. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 13 images) View Gallery |
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| Mortars in overwatch Combat Team Tusk is one of the Force Elements of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force. The Mortar section is drawn from the 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment based in Darwin. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 04 images) View Gallery |
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| Living in a patrol base Many of the Australian troops serving with the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force live and work in a group of patrol bases spread throughout Oruzgan Province. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| Snow patrol through Baluchi Valley As the soldiers of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force deployed for operations throughout Oruzgan Province in January and February 2009 where they experienced the winters for which Afghanistan is famous for. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 15 images) View Gallery |
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| Scenes from Tarin Kowt Tarin Kowt is the provincial capital of Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan and the location of Camp Holland, the home of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force. (Date uploaded: 25 February - 12 images) View Gallery |
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| Diggers patrol through Baluchi The 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force has been responsible for the creation and operation of the Australian Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLT). (Date uploaded: 24 February - 17 images) View Gallery |
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| Helping hands in Lilydale Defence has acted quickly to set up emergency accommodation for residents who have evacuated from Warburton to Lilydale due to the increased fire threat in their hometown. (Date uploaded: 24 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program Launch for 2009 (Date uploaded: 23 February 2009 - 15 images) View Gallery |
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Minister for Defence and Chief of the Defence Force visit Auschwitz View Gallery |
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Chief of Army visits Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST |
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Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST at Strathewen |
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| Chief of Army Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie visited Defence personnel during VIC FIRE ASSIST Chief of Army Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie visited Defence personnel assisting the Victorian government on Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST. (Date uploaded: 20 February - 05 images) View gallery |
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| Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST Following Brigadier Arnold's welcome the NSW police were sworn in as special constables by Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Hastings. (Date uploaded: 20 February - 01 image) View gallery |
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| Minister meets counterparts at NATO The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon, held a series of meetings with counterparts from a number of nations, including the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Afghanistan in Krakow. (Date uploaded: 20 February - 13 images) View gallery |
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| ADF support to bushfire relief in Whittlesea and Flowerdale Defence personnel deployed on the Joint Task Force (JTF662) assisting the Victorian Government on Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST are being consolidated as government agencies and fire-affected communities take over the task of their own recovery (Date uploaded: 20 February - 06 images) View gallery |
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67th Anniversary of the bombing of Darwin |
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| Retirement of the DHC-4 Caribou On 19 February 2009, Minister for Defence Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP announced plans to retire the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of DHC-4 Caribou aircraft. The Caribou will be retired by December 2009. (Date uploaded: 19 February - 11 images) View gallery |
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Major General Craig Williams inspects bushfire assistance operations |
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Anzacs patrol the streets of Dili |
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| Parramatta home HMAS Parramatta returned to Garden Island from the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO). (Date uploaded: 18 February - 23 images) View Gallery |
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| Visiting Australian Patrol Bases in Chora Valley Paying a visit on the outlying Australian Patrol Bases takes considerable effort with the threat of Insurgent activity on their minds, all who form part of a convoy going out to these bases are vigilant throughout the trip for any dangers. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 13 images) View Gallery |
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| Combat Team Tusk: Protecting reconstruction operations In a high-threat environment such as Afghanistan, reconstruction efforts are not possible without a secure work site. In the case of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1), this protection is provided by the members of Combat Team Tusk. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| Meeting with locals in Zabol Province With Australian Engineers from the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) rebuilding a bridge in the valley below, soldiers provide security for the mission. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 05 images) View Gallery |
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| Fromelles excavation project agreement Signing of Fromelles excavation project agreement at Australia House The Strand London on Friday 13th February 2009 (Date uploaded: 18 February - 01 images) View Gallery |
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| Army engineers inspect construction projects in Tarin Kowt With ongoing building works in Oruzgan Province being carried out by local contractors, under the guidance of members of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1), regular progress inspections are carried out by MRTF-1's Works Section. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 15 images) View Gallery |
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| Joint Task Force Deputy Commander visits Tarin Kowt The Joint Task Force 633 Deputy Commander, Brigadier John Caligari, visited the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) and spoke with the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Shane Gabriel, before meeting with the Commander of the Afghan National Army's 4th Brigade, Brigadier Abdul Hamid, at Camp Holland in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 04 images) View Gallery |
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| AP-3C Orions help to pinpoint fires A RAAF AP-3C Orion continues to provide aerial imagery of bush fire affected areas in Victoria. The imagery helps to enable the identification of residences affected by the fires. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 06 images) View Gallery |
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| Health teams get down and dirty Defence elements continue to provide significant assistance to the Victorian government and emergency services as the transition from response to recovery gathers momentum. (Date uploaded: 18 February - 10 images) View Gallery |
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| Brisbane based troops welcomed home from Middle East The Force Level Logisics Asset (FLLA) is responsible for providing a range of services to all the Australian force elements in the Middle East Area of Operations. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 10 images) View Gallery |
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RAAF members collect donations for bushfire victims |
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| Presents for the children While returning from their successful mission to replace two bridges in Zabol Province, Southern Afghanistan, Australian soldiers of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) had the opportunity to bring some welcome happiness to the lives of local Afghan children. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 08 images) View Gallery |
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| The road to Mula The locals from the small village of Mula watched with curiosity as the massive Australian convoy took up positions around their walled compounds. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 16 images) View Gallery |
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| Building the first bridge Royal Australian Engineers from Australia’s 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) deployed with MRTF-1's Combat Team to Zabol Province to replace two vital bridges. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 15 images) View Gallery |
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| Soldiers ready the bridge-building 'Meccano set' Following the destruction of two vital bridges destroyed by insurgents in Zabol Province, southern Afghanistan, the men and woman of Australia’s 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) were called upon by their NATO Allies to mobilise and repair these crossings on Afghanistan’s Highway One. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 07 images) View Gallery |
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| On the road to Kandahar Australia’s 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1), operates in Oruzgan Province, Southern Afghanistan. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| Last minute maintenance for ASLAV The Australians are working in the Canadian maintenance area as they prepare to continue their mission from their home base in Tarin Kowt to build new bridges in Zabol province. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 05 images) View Gallery |
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| 400km arduous journey to home base in Tarin Kowt With their mission well ahead of schedule and Afghanistan’s essential Highway 1 reopened, the soldiers of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, began the arduous 400km journey to their home base in Tarin Kowt. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 14 images) View Gallery |
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| Rebuilding bridges in Afghanistan As their Engineer counterparts worked in the freezing valley below, members of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force’s, Combat Team Tusk, took advantage of an abandoned security building. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 03 images) View Gallery |
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| Bushmaster's set off for Zabol Province With two essential bridges destroyed in Zabol Province, NATO command in Afghanistan, requested that the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force move to the neighbouring Zabol Province to construct new bridges and reopen the main supply route in southern Afghanistan. (Date uploaded: 17 February - 11 images) View Gallery |
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Commander of the Botswana Defence Force visit with Chief Defence Force |
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ADF bushfire relief efforts around Kinglake |
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Operation VIC FIRE ASSIST |
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ADF protects a Forward Operating Base in East Timor |
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Soldiers train for Close Quarters Battle on OP ASTUTE |
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Service held to remember Victorian bushfire victims |
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Prime Minister and Victorian Premier visit Kinglake |
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Diggers in East Timor pay their respects |
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ISF Victorian fires memorial service |
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Chief of the Defence Force calls by bushfire affected region |
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RAAF Base Richmond supports the Victorian bushfire appeal |
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| Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the continuing bushfire crisis in Victoria More than 140 soldiers have arrived in the bushfire ravaged town of Marysville, as part of the Australian Defence Force’s commitment to assist Victorian Government agencies with the bushfire crisis response. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 21 images) View Gallery |
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| Australian Defence Force's contribution to the continuing bushfire crisis in Victoria More than 140 soldiers have arrived in the bushfire ravaged town of Marysville, as part of the Australian Defence Force’s commitment to assist Victorian Government agencies with the bushfire crisis response. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 15 images) View Gallery |
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Defence Ministers meet in Cessnock |
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| Doorstop regarding incident in Afghanistan In the early hours of Thursday, 12 February, soldiers of the Special Operations Task Group were conducting an operation in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 01 image) View Gallery |
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| Snap shooting for soldiers Operation ASTUTE is the Australian Defence Force contribution to the Australian Government's response to a request from the Government of East Timor to assist in restoring peace and stability to their country. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 07 images) View Gallery |
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| Defence personnel from Northern Command and Townsville launch bushfire fundraising In response to the continuing bushfires affecting Victoria, Headquarters Northern Command and Defence personnel from Townsville have come together to raise funds, collecting donations at the gates to Larrakeyah Barracks, Northern Territory and Lavarack Barracks, Townsville. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 07 images) View gallery |
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| Support for Victorian Bushfires Airborne Electronics Analysis Sergeant Shane Forrest of 11 Squadron was part of a 92 Wing AP-3C Orion Crew that acted in support of fire fighting and recovery efforts in Victoria by flying over fire damaged land to record the devastation. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 13 images) View gallery |
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| Navy Clearance Diver, Able Seaman Paul deGelder At 6.55am on Wednesday 11 February, Navy Clearance Diver, Able Seaman Paul Degelder was attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour. (Date uploaded: 13 February - 003 images) View gallery |
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| Defence Ministers meet with CDF’s Reference Group on Women The Minister for Defence, the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP and the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon Warren Snowdon MP, met with members of the Chief of the Defence Force’s Reference Group on Women. (Date uploaded: 12 February - 04 images) View gallery |
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| Flowedale Hotel gives up gardens for backyard cricket On a small area of grass amidst the ashes in the bushfire affected town on Flowerdale, soldiers from the Search Task Group have participated in a special game of backyard cricket. (Date uploaded: 12 February - 04 images) View gallery |
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Troops team up for fire reduction mission |
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| A good morning at Forward Operating Base Chauvel Troops gear up for the morning at Forward Operating Base Chauvel just outside Dili. Their activities including a morning physical training session aims to build endurance, physical strength, teamwork and coordination. (Date uploaded: 12 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| Black Hawks fly out of Dili There are Black Hawk helicopters deployed to East Timor as part of Operation ASTUTE. The East Timor Aviation Group comprises of about 70 personnel including technical support staff, logistic staff, headquarters and operations staff and an emergency response cell. The Aviation Group provides a logistic and airmobile response capability for the operation. (Date uploaded: 12 February - 10 images) View Gallery |
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| Portuguese join Aussies for range practice in Dili Operation ASTUTE is the ADF’s contribution in assisting to restore peace and stability to East Timor, following a request from the Government of East Timor to the Australian Government. (Date uploaded: 12 February - 03 images) View Gallery |
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Property searches continue in Kinglake West region |
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| Exercise Kondari, 2009 Clearance Divers from Clearance Dive Team 1 conduct diving operations in the vicinity of Sydney Harbour during Exercise Kondari, which explores emerging technologies designed to strengthen underwater force protection. (Date uploaded: 11 February - 01 image) View Gallery |
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| Working hard to clear containment lines An Engineer Support Group, comprising around 70 personnel and heavy plant equipment, has been working with the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority, to assist with fire containment measures and the re-opening of roads in the Yea and Broadford areas, north of Melbourne. (Date uploaded: 10 February - 09 images) View Gallery |
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| The Minister for Defence thanks troops for their support of the Victorian bushfire crisis A Victorian-based Joint Task Force has been established to coordinate Defence assets assisting the response to the Victorian bushfire emergency. (Date uploaded: 10 February - 03 images) View Gallery |
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| Heavy plant equipment arrives on the scene A Victorian-based Joint Task Force has been established to coordinate Defence assets assisting the response to the Victorian bushfire emergency. (Date uploaded: 10 February - 12 images) View Gallery |
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| Defence supports flood stricken Ingham Following a request from Emergency Management Queensland, Defence provided emergency support to flood-affected residents in the Ingham region. (Date uploaded: 09 February - 04 images) View Gallery |
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| Remembering the unknown sailor at Christmas Island The service and cairn dedication was held in the Old European Cemetery above Flying Fish Cove on Christmas Island on February 7, 2009. (Date uploaded: 08 February - 05 images) View Gallery |
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| Black Hawks deliver aid to flood ravaged Ingham Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are assisting the Ingham community as they cope with current flooding. (Date uploaded: 05 February - 06 images) View Gallery |
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| Military Police Dogs latch on for action The International Stabilisation Force hosted a Military Police Dog (MPD) display at Camp Phoenix attended by Portuguese and Malaysian Police. (Date uploaded: 03 February - 05 images) View Gallery |
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| Ministers welcome mental health report The Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon. Alan Griffin MP, today welcomed Professor David Dunt’s independent Review of Mental Health Care in the ADF and Transition through Discharge report. (Date uploaded: 04 February - 03 images) View Gallery |
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Commemorating 50 years since tragic loss of Neptune View Gallery |
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Defence counterparts discuss Defence Cooperation Program View Gallery |
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| Digger awarded Australia Day Medallion Corporal Winton was awarded the Australia Day Medallion while on deployment with a military working dog team in East Timor. (Date uploaded: 03 February - 01 image) View Gallery |
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| Australia Day games commence Personnel serving with the International Stabilisation Force in East Timor are gearing up for Australia Day celebrations. (Date uploaded: 03 February - 03 images) View Gallery |
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