Baghdad bound
More troops deploy to Iraq
SIX more ASLAVs and 32 more troops have deployed to Iraq to reinforce the SECDET and accommodate additional security tasks in Baghdad and outlying areas. Most of the 1 Bde soldiers left Darwin on July 14, doubling the cavalry arm of the SECDET and providing an additional infantry section.

Back from EM
6RAR welcomed in Brisbane
6RAR has been welcomed home from the last full operational tour of duty in East Timor, in the heart of Brisbane city.

Army Ed battles on up
ARMY newspaper is to have a new leader after the promotion of current editor David Sibley to Senior Editor, Defence Newspapers.

ADF Langs call up
ADF School of Languages (ADF Langs) is calling all linguists and language enthusiasts to help celebrate it's very special 60th Anniversary with a reunion and open day.

Cash for cadets
FUNDING for the Cadet Initiated Activities program will be almost doubled this financial year.


Queen Roach
OAKEY-based soldier Cpl Melissa Castles has received the Royal Australian Army Ordinance Corps Junior Non Commissioned Officer of the Year Award, for outstanding performance during the year.


4 Tp join SOCOMD fold
OAKEY-based Emergency Responders are now formally part of Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) after a recent hand-over of command parade held at the Oakey Complex.


Right on with RIMPAC
CHARLIE Coy, 2RAR represented the Australian Army among the 850 ADF personnel and 18,000 sailors, airmen, marines, soldiers and coast-guardsmen that took part in RIMPAC 2004, from late June to July 23.


Making CSIG easier to see
CSIG has begun implementing the Business Improvement Project (BIP) across Defence in response to negative surveys and customer feedback.


Seeing D-Day rouge in Paris
BACKSTAGE with the beautiful dancers of the Moulin Rouge in Paris - every soldier's dream visit to France.

Dedicated Trucky's last parade
A MAN who spent most of his 25 years in the ARA in the transport field has died after a battle with cancer. LCpl Ronald Keith Barnett (Ret) enlisted in June 1975.

LAVs now safer on inside
TROOPS travelling in ASLAVs will be better protected by two new enhancements.


Cams for the future
NEW US Army combat uniforms are being progressively introduced to replace their Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), after successful battle testing by Stryker Brigade Soldiers in Iraq, over the past ten months.


Some spanners in the turret
SPANNERS recently took to the range at Puckapunyal to become ASLAV Fitter and Recovery Crew commander-qualified. Sgt Neil Rowe, course troop sergeant, said having the six students from 7 Bde and one student from School of Armour on the 03/04 Mech ASLAV Crew Commander's course was a rare event.


90 years old still the premier Div
HAVING participated in numerous landmark operations across the globe since its inception in 1914, 1 Div will this year commemorate its 90th anniversary.


Memorial and reminder
A YOUNG aspiring Army officer whose death while on a cadet camp led to the Department of Defence assuming control of Australia's cadet units has been remembered with a memorial at the site of the accident in which she died.


Reserve Forces Day a big hit
THOUSANDS of Defence reserves; some old, some not so old, took to city streets across Australia on the weekend July 3-4, to mark Reserve Forces Day.


Light horse honoured
THE roles of the Australian Light Horsemen's Walers throughout Army's history were honoured during Reserve Forces Day celebratory parades around Australia this month.


Newcastle parade brings out Hunter Valley pride
A TROOP of light horsemen led Newcastle's Reserve Forces Day parade. The horses in the parade represented the 12th, 16th and 24th Light Horse.


Training the modern combat commander
Combat Command Wing (CCW) has been putting our future commanders through their paces on the Combat Officers Advanced Course (COAC), at the Combat Arms Training Centre (CATC), Puckapunyal.


TAX GUIDE 2003 - 2004

Four star visits our MEAO personnel
CDF Gen Peter Cosgrove's recent four day visit to Iraq marked the first visit to the new nation by an armed forces chief from any of the Coalition partners since the transfer of authority on June 28.


Sharing the trade skills
DEVILISH rain in paradise has not been enough to stop a team of Army engineers from 17 Const Sqn finishing a new armoury for the Fijian military.


Command of WMD hunt changes hands
THE officer running the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has been replaced in a routine rotation.


Abrams purchase moves up a gear
A FORMAL agreement for the purchase of the new fleet of M1A1 Abrams tanks has been signed, with delivery expected in 2007.

Aust and US ties closer
AUSTRALIAN and US officials recently agreed to cooperate on a missile defence system, to improve interopability and to develop a joint combined military training capability in Australia.


Timorese tongue
SGT Douglas already spoke Indonesian well when he learnt Tetum in 1999, but ironically, it wasn't until late last year that he first set foot in East Timor.


NZDF purchase armoured LOVs
NZ Cabinet has approved the purchase of 133 more Pinzgauer 6x6 Light Operational Vehicles (LOVs), of which 60 will be armoured. The decision follows the March purchase of 188 Pinzgauers, the first of which are due to arrive in New Zealand in August.


USMC tailor urban training
JULY 23 may have passed with no fanfare for most ADF members, however, for three Australian Army training teams it marked the end of a seven month commitment in assisting two Marine divisions prepare for Iraq.