Officer injured in Lebanon APC accident
Volume 11, No. 50, August 24, 2006

On the mend: Capt Matina Stanfield before the APC accident in Lebanon.

AN OFFICER has returned to Australia for specialist medical care after fracturing three vertebrae in a road accident in Southern Lebanon.

Capt Matina Stanfield was travelling in a SISU (a large UN APC) that swerved to avoid road damage from aerial bombing near the township of Tyre on July 18.

Capt Stanfield was one of 12 Australian officers serving on Operation Paladin with the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) as an unarmed military observer.

She and three of the Australian contingent were stationed with Observer Group Lebanon, which conducts patrols on the Lebanese side of the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Capt Stanfield was a member of Team Sierra which manned Patrol Base Khiam. She was serving on the base when conflict between Hezbollah and Israel commenced.

On day seven of the conflict, Capt Stanfield conducted a rotation from Patrol Base Khiam to Tyre using two SISUs. While navigating for the convoy, she was injured when the vehicle took evasive action.

As a result of the incident, she was medically evacuated. Following initial medical treatment in Cyprus, the ADF coordinated her return to Australia.