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Keen for Iraq tour
By WO2 Graham McBean

Volume 11, No. 61, March 08, 2007
 
Fully trained: 1RAR troops during a mission rehearsal exercise in Brisbane.
Photo by Cpl Chris Moore
 
Heading off: Lt Darren Bury with wife Sally and daughter Tenisha at the farewell barbecue.
Photo by WO2 Graham McBean
SOLDIERS from Secdet 11 celebrated the end of training in Brisbane with some down-time and a quiet barbecue before their deployment to Iraq.

The more than 100 soldiers, drawn largely from Brisbane-based 2/14LHR (QMI), Townsville-based 1RAR, MP and combat support elements, were quietly relieved the training was over and they were ready to deploy.

It was an exciting and also apprehensive time for soldiers with young families, but troop leader Lt Darren Bury said everyone was motivated and keen.

“We have been training for a considerable amount of time now to do the job and we are ready to go,” Lt Bury said.

Lt Bury is familiar with the extra challenges of life in the military as his wife, Sally, is expecting their second child before the return of the deployment and his daughter, Tenisha, is left a bit lost with the fuss of dad leaving. “It will be hard and I will miss my daughter, and Sally has the next one on the way – I’m just hoping she can hold off until I return.”

Sally said she coped well now with the separations, but said work, rest and play were the best remedies to while away the months of the deployment.

“Keeping positive and keeping in touch while they are away are the best things – just making sure everything is OK reassures you,” she said.

1RAR infantryman Pte Tony Meixner has already deployed to the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste and was keen to add a deployment to Iraq to his experience.

“I can’t wait. It has been a long training period and we are looking forward to going over and doing the job,” Pte Meixner said. “I’m looking forward to the different culture and being able to do my job in a different environment.”