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Hawaii
bound for RIMPAC 2004
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Sgt
Nigel Gadsby, 5 Avn Regt, says goodbye to his wife Kirsten
before deploying to RIMPAC 04.
Photo by AB Nina Nikolin, NIU-E
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By
Graham Davis
View the RIMPAC
04 website.
CLOSE to 800 ADF personnel including an Army rifle company are heading
across the Pacific for RIMPAC 04, one of the most important training
exercises on the Defence calender.
The soldiers will join 600 RAN members and 130 airmen and women of
the RAAF for the exercise to be conducted on and around the Hawaiian
Islands from June 29 to July 27.
Australia’s 850 personnel will join 11,000 sailors, soldiers,
airmen and women, marines and Coastguardsmen from eight nations for
the exercise.
They will use 35 ships, seven submarines and 90 aircraft.
Soldiers from C Coy 2RAR will be used in a land component of the exercise.
The troops will fly into position.
There is one soldier, however who is going by sea.
Sgt Nigel Gadsby is an aviation technician normally attached to 5
Avn Regt working on Black Hawk helicopters.
For the past 18 months he has been assigned to the Navy’s 816
Seahawk helicopter squadron at HMAS Albatross, Nowra.
He is one of 15 members of the Seahawk flight deployed to HMAS Parramatta
and for the next four months he will be maintaining Tiger 82.
He gave his wife Kirsten and their daughter Makkedde, aged 4 ,a big
hug beside Tiger 82 before Parramatta sailed from Fleet Base East.
RIMPAC is conducted every two years.This year’s drill is the
19th in the series.
Its purpose is to improve readiness and efficiency in exercising with
the ADF’s allies and friends.
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