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Reserves rise to challenge
By Maj James Hammett
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007 |
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Stepping up: Cpl Adam Bourke, from Watsonia in Victoria, is serving in Timor-Leste as a member of the MP section located in Dili.
Photo by AB Kade Rogers |
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LATE last year a letter was published in ARMY challenging the Reserve forces to “step up to the plate”.
In Timor-Leste, reservists have not only met that challenge, but exceeded it beyond all expectations.
The bulk of the Australian troops providing security and stability in Timor-Leste are members of Townsville-based 1RAR.
At all levels of the deployed forces, however, reservists are filling essential roles and augmenting their regular counterparts.
On Operation Astute there is no distinction between ARes and ARA members.
Five per cent of the 1RAR-based Anzac Battle Group are drawn from the Reserve, and at JTF HQ this figure is an impressive 26 per cent.
Without the contribution provided by the reservists, personnel deployed to Timor-Leste would find their demanding task even more difficult.
Numerous critical positions, ranging from the commander’s staff through to military police and logistics are being performed admirably by competent and confident individuals from across the spectrum of society.
Further proving the quality and capability of the ADF’s reservists is the fact that many demanding and essential roles – including those of J3/5, operations watchkeepers and logistic planners – are manned by personnel who started their careers in the Reserve and transferred to the ARA.
The performance of reservists in Timor-Leste is a testament to the capability and calibre of individuals who place their civilian careers on hold to support the ADF’s significant global contributions.
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